Currently, I do not have many ECs that I can put on my college applications, but I know that ECs are very important for college admission and I want to strengthen mine. My dream is to go Stanford or one of the ivies, so I will have a lot of tough competition. Right now, the only thing I do is piano, but I am not that good at it and am not looking to do it competitively. I love writing and hope to someday be a published author. I’m going to try to get a book published while I am in high school, but it is a long stretch and very unlikely to happen. Other than writing, I have been thinking about starting a youtube channel for a while. If I do start one, it will just be for fun, but it could possibly help me stand out in my application.
I am currently and 8th grader, so I still have 4 years of high school ahead of me, but I really want to try to stand out during college admissions. I’ve been thinking about going further with my writing, but I am not sure what would help me stand out other than becoming a published author. I also have several clubs that I want to join next year, in high school, but I doubt I will be able to get a leadership position in many of them because I am not the “leader type”. So what kind of ECs would help me stand out from the crowd during college admissions? I also really like traveling and I’m hoping to get some traveling opportunities during high school, but I don’t know how much that will help. I really want to get into one of the top schools and I want to try my hardest to increase my chances.
It’s only fair that you get suggestions. Kids with savvy parents, kids that attend expensive prep schools, they get advice. Why shouldn’t you?
Keep in mind nobody can say “do this and you’re in.” They look at the whole package. Grades. Classes you took. Standardized test scores. Letters of Rec. Your essays. And even kids that are competitive on all aspects are just that. Competitors, not sure things.
As to what you listed: traveling, all that will show is that your parents can afford to send you on trips. If you enjoy piano, stick with it! Don’t do things just with an eye to what some adcom might think. But on the flip side dabbling in this and that (playing some piano, making a YouTube channel) are not the type of ECs that stand out. Spend the next year or two finding something that really captivates you, then brainstorm ways to stand out in it.
Edit: I clicked on your username and saw you posted this
Here’s the deal. If you’re fearful of taking a class that your school offers to frosh, then you’re not really Stanford/Ivy material. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s the way it is. Your school wouldn’t offer it if they didn’t think frosh could do it, and the fact it exists shows that other frosh are in fact taking it. If you are unable/unwilling to enroll then you’re not even competitive to be one of the top kids at your HS, let alone the national level that the most selective schools draw from. ECs don’t make up for academics, so you can save yourself the trouble of worrying about them.
Northstarmom was an alum interviewer and has not actively posted in years. I have only seen a form of her list with respect to the UCs, but in some obscure place I probably couldn’t easily find again.
Read and keep reading what Stanford and other top schools look for. It’s a sort of attributes, not pres of this or that high school club. Real leadership comes from having drives and pursuing them in legit, challenging ways. In 8th, it;s tough for a kid who hasn’t tackled hs coursework to determine what those drives are. Give yourself a chance to explore. And treat comm service responsibly. As for writing, it’s more than loving to write or completing x thousand words.
I am not looking for ECs to fill in my academic record. I am going to take AP World History and I don’t think not taking it would totally destroy my academic record either. I just didn’t want to be one of those kids who spend their entire life doing homework and have no life other than school. I have friends that are freshman at my high school that are like that because they took too many honors/AP classes and they are finding it difficult to get good grades and have a life along with that. I posted that discussion to get a sense of what I was in for and make sure I wasn’t destroying my life in the process of having the hardest classes offered. Besides, I think that my academic record is probably going to be much stronger than my ECs and I wasn’t looking for ECs to fill in gaps in academics. I’m looking for ECs because I know that they are important in college admissions, especially for the ivies.
I am an alum interviewer for a top LAC. While yes, leadership is a positive, as it suggests you will follow that path in college, a commitment to what you love, what makes your heart sing and your feet tap is compelling. Don’t be a serial joiner, and don’t join clubs or teams just to pad your resume. That will become apparent to seasoned readers. So, rather than our suggesting to you what EC you should pursue, ask yourself- what do you love? If you love to walk dogs and set up a dog walking service, great! If you had a talent for computers and end up as the neighborhood kid who fixes everyones PCs, great. If you love to play the piccolo and join a Revolutionary war re-enactment group, great. While sure, being an intel winner for perfecting cold fusion is impressive, be open to new things and think about what you offer the school, not the other way around. There is a great youtube made by the admissions director from Stanford who talks about this. I am on my ipad at the moment and cant link it. But watch it. It will help you. Good luck.
Use 9th grade as a time to try out different clubs and activities at your high school and find out what you really like. My D started out trying theatre and badminton, but eventually found her niche in speech & debate and mock trial. Also don’t obsess about the idea of getting leadership positions. It’s better to actually excel or accomplish something in your EC than it is to merely be elected president of a club, which is often a popularity contest. Also read the MIT admission blog about Applying Sideways: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways. Rather than obsessing about how to mold yourself into someone that you think Stanford or Ivies will want, be the best student you can be, figure out what your passions are, and then around your junior year, figure out what schools are the best fit. Also traveling is enjoyable for its own sake, but is not likely to be that helpful for admission purposes. If anything, being able to do a lot of traveling may just mark you as looking privileged. (By all means do it for fun if you can.)
Don’t do things just for college applications. YouTube will only help if you get a lot of subscribers (but feel free to do it for fun). Maybe you could try sending in pieces of your writing to various competitions, newspapers, etc. Write on your high schools and towns newspaper. Get a leadership position like editor. Maybe start a poetry club freshman year. Enter humanities competitions like the national Latin exam or poetry out loud. Maybe try slam poetry in your city.
The idea about ECs is to do things you are passionate about. Having in depth involvement in a few things you love is the key. It can be sports, music, community service…really anything. Leadership positions are helpful and you may grow to a point where you will want to have some by the time you are in HS. There is no magic formula. Short of being a recruited athlete or something no EC will pave your way into college. And IMO 8th grade is way too early to be setting your sights towards any particular college or group of colleges, especially such hyper competitive ones.
@blueskies1 You need to set a goal and stick to it. You need to take a rigorous load, but not to the point that you fail. You need to dedicate yourself to a couple of things and stick with it and excel at those things. And there are dozens of students that have straight A’s and super high SAT but what they want is character. They want someone who is out and can contribute new ideas, but has also a good academic record. But make sure you have one general category in mind. Like stick to L.A.s. I started high school trying to become a chef and now I applied to schools as a mathematics major.
In fine your ECs should eventually show who you are, not what you did. So they should be explored and enjoyed with curiosity and interest, not strategy.
You should take a look at the students on this forum who have reported being admitted to the top colleges and see what their EC’s were. When you review them, see if you can identify the one or two strongest extracurriculars for each admit because it was probably those the Admissions Committees were considering the most when they made their decision. By that, I mean try not to focus on the fact that they were in Chess Club, Math Club or National Honor Society.
“…and think about what you offer the school, not the other way around.”
Wow, that’s an eye opening statement. Has it really come to that? So students seeking challenging and interesting classes, leadership opportunities, an active social environment, careers, travel opportunities,sports and clubs from colleges are a thing of the past?! It’s no longer what a college can offer you but simply what you can offer the college?! Sad.
@moscott – it’s not sad – it’s reality. For overly subscribed schools, it’s the duty of the admissions office to choose what they deem the best entering class. Yes, the shoe is on the other foot.
I’m not saying colleges get a “pass” on needing to deliver. But some schools, by benefit of reputation, are already understood (rightly or wrongly) to be ABLE to deliver.
When I give presentations about my college, I joke that at 3PM, no one is sitting around watching Judge Judy. The dorms are empty b/c everyone is out at labs, libraries, playing fields, organizing mtgs, rehearsals, etc. I find it perfectly acceptable for my college to want students who will take advantage of its offerings – and a good predictor of that is how much the student, while in HS, has taken advantage of opportunities given.
So yes – a 2380 SAT kid, with no social interaction – SHOULD be passed over vs. a lesser-stat kid who clearly influences her classmates. Some other colleges don’t share this philosophy. That’s 100% ok.
@Moscott- Furthermore, that’s the way it’s always been. Colleges try to attract as many solid applicants as possible. Students get to select the schools to which they’ll apply. Colleges get to select the kids they want. Finally students get to decide which offer they’ll accept. It’s a back and forth.
40,000 apply and 2,000 get admitted. It’s a whole lot more than who really, really wants to go to Harvard. The school gets to cherry pick. So go read what the top colleges look for.
“So yes – a 2380 SAT kid, with no social interaction – SHOULD be passed over vs. a lesser-stat kid who clearly influences her classmates. Some other colleges don’t share this philosophy. That’s 100% ok.”
I agree to an extent. However how many 2380 kids have NO social interaction. Most if not all are involved with clubs, sports and EC’s. At 3pm I guarantee youthe 2380 will be in a lab, library etc…while the other may be taking music lessons(no offense). When my disease diagnosis is on the line, give me the anti social 2380 vs the 1900 musical prodigy.
So many top students are being “programmed” to be/do certain EC’s…take this, join that, to artificially increase the chances of acceptance. Many kids will do it simply because if they don’t colleges won’t select them. You don’t end up with a true picture imo.
Has anyone mentioned reading “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport? That book will show you how to take your interest and turn it into an awesome EC.
So if you like writing, what do you like to write about? Can you write short stories? Does your HS have a literary magazine? If not, can you start one? Can you work with community learn to read programs? Can you write for the school or local newspapers?