When is being well-rounded a pro and when is it a con?
And what does it even really mean?
Usually someone who has some knowledge or experience in a lot of different fields (e.g. arts, music, math, science, sports) but is not necessarily an expert in one of them.
Being well-rounded is good, but most graduate schools and employers want to see someone that is an expert in the desired field.
Well-rounded: I play basketball, baseball, football, track, and rugby for my school. Not well-rounded: I play basketball, and I put more time in basketball than the well-rounded student does in all five sports combined.
Schools that care about ECs want to see evidence of achievement in something – and it is generally hard to accomplish that without a lot of focus on one thing. But they don’t want one-note candidates – if you only care about one EC to the exclusion of all others, you risk being seen as one dimensional. So depth in one or two things, and at least a couple other interests are probably good.
As long as you find things you are interested in and are involved with in-depth it is fine. Colleges take some kids with targeted interests and others who are more broad based in their interests.
@golfcashoahu - I’m not sure your person is all that well rounded (although we can agree to disagree about this) as every activity is sports related-- they might be considered to be an athlete rather then a well-rounded person. IMO a person would be considered well rounded if they are in a bunch of different and unrelated activities – such as a someone who plays basketball, is a viola player in the orchestra, writes for the school newspaper and does community service.
Unless you are a RECRUITED athlete, how many sports you play is irrelevant.
Well-rounded hardly means mediocre in a lot of fields.
Does well-rounded more mean good at both academics and ECs or is it more strictly referring to ECs and how a student excels at different activities?
I think of well-rounded as someone who as a full-tool kit, so to speak, of skills and aptitudes, the kind of intellectual curiosity that causes them to be interested in the world and other people, and emotional and intellectual self-awareness. All good stuff that makes for a happy and successful life. But the way well-rounded seems to get used in college applications is `a sport, a musical instrument, president of something, a bit of volunteer work, a top student, and maybe a part-time or summer job.’ That kind of ‘well-rounded’ is just checking the boxes and coloring between the lines out of fear of being perceived as too different. Not what colleges are looking for at all.
So I think the goal is to aspired to being a well-rounded human being while at the same time cultivating a few particular passions. Depth not breadth. Ask yourself if you are achieving a level of expertise/mastery in anything, are you having an impact, are you pushing your boundaries and discovering new things about yourself in the process? If you can say ‘yes,’ then you are doing the right things. As an athlete (it doesn’t matter which or how many sports you do), what are you accomplishing? I don’t mean how many wins or prizes or team captain positions - I mean, how is it changing your life to be an athlete? What have you learned about yourself in the process? How to you contribute to a team or make a difference? The depth is there.
Well-rounded doesn’t refer to being in Chess Club, Math Club and Robotics club.
It would be more like the student who comfortably participates in academics and sports, including music and social activities.