I’ve been reading many people’s extracurriculars on CC and I have to say that I do not have any outstanding extracurriculars. I help out at my family restaurant since my parents are immigrants and don’t speak English, so I work as a cashier and take orders. Other than school, the restaurant is where I spend most of my time. I would be there at 3pm everyday on weekdays and leave at 9pm. On weekends I’m basically there from 10:30 am when they open till they close at 11:30 pm. My GPA is a 4.4 and my SAT scores are around the 1450s, but I’m sure I can raise it to the 1500s next year (senior year). I’m also taking the most challenging classes with mostly APs and Honors. My question is what are my chances at the Ivies and universities like NYU,Pitt, and Penn State? Do colleges/universities look really heavy on extracurriculars?
Ivies will be very tough without an increased SAT score. They may still be very tough even if your score goes up dramatically. That’s just the nature of those schools.
As for Pitt, PSU, and (to an extent) NYU, you have decent chances. They will understand that you are a hardworking student who has to work to help their family, and that can certainly make up for a lack of EC’s. Make sure that schools are aware of this though.
I would find a safety school or two if I were you, but frankly your chances at getting into at least one of those three schools are good.
Thank you so much.