<p>I want to go to Yale School Of Drama. When I start high school in the fall, I want to take up a few extracurriculars to help my chances. So I have narrowed down the activities I can possibly see myself doing.</p>
<p>Definitely Doing-
Drama Club
Acapella group
Student Government
Submitting to the literary/art magazine.
Best Buddies</p>
<p>Possibly Doing-
Latin Club (I take it)
Yearbook
Newspaper
Editing Literary/art journal
Volunteer Corps
Peer Education
Cheerleading
Soccer
Tennis
Swimming/Diving</p>
<p>So, what activities do you recommend? I also plan on taking all AP courses, including AP art, and taking Arabic junior/senior year and teaching myself Spanish or French. Thanks.</p>
<p>One person who is the captain of his cross country team, captain of indoor track, and captain of outdoor track shows a huge interest in running. He also has leadership from it. He runs in the fall, winter, and spring. Let’s say another interest of his is math. He takes extra math CC classes, qualifies for USAMO yearly, is captain of some math team, goes to MathCamp, etc. </p>
<p>That’s just an example. This guy would have shown serious commitment in only two EC categories (running and mathematics).</p>
<p>Whereas you plan to join 7-10 clubs. Narrow your focus.</p>
<p>OP,
You’re what, 13 years old now? Concentrate on taking the most challenging classes your HS offers AND getting top grades in them. EC’s won’t override a less than stellar GPA or so-so classes taken to give you more time for EC’s. And narrow your EC’s down to a few that you really care about and are willing to invest time in.</p>
<p>@Runnerxc I am planning on only doing one or two other activities. Submitting for Lit magazine doesn’t really count, as it wouldn’t take up as much time. Now that I look back on it, I would probably drop Best Buddies and maybe student government. Thanks to everyone.</p>
<p>The ones that will ensure your best senior year. Yale is unpredictable as any top school is and it would suck if you wasted your time doing activities for a resume and were rejected. </p>
<p>Enjoy yourself and best of luck w/ admissions! :)</p>
<p>I would suggest playing a sport on your school’s team, especially one that will push you, because it’s a great experience (in general, not necessarily for Yale) and will keep you in shape too. Other than that, just do what you want to,</p>
<p>So you’re kind of barking up the wrong tree. You can’t go to Yale School of Drama until you’ve finished college. If you want to apply to Yale College, you should follow the advice you’ve been given in this thread: do what you like to do. You simply can’t guarantee yourself admission to Yale, no matter what you do, so you might as well do what you like. Unless what you like is, I don’t know, methamphetamine or something.</p>
<p>Don’t do any ECs. Yale hates them. Instead, have as many random hook-ups as possible and consume a wide variety of illicit drugs. If you list these avocations, Yale will value your out-of-the-box thinking and accept you.</p>
<p>Master the Rubik’s cube. Get your solve time under 15 seconds, then move on to solving it blindfolded. That may sound impossible, but it isn’t, and those who can do it blindfolded typically get into whatever college they choose.</p>
<p>I agree, Laurence. It is sad that so many teenagers are asking this kind of question year after year.</p>
<p>Partly, it’s sad because it seems misguided. It seems to reflect a belief that extracurricular activities are as important as academic qualifications, or even can (as I’ve actually seen put into words in other threads) make up for deficiencies in them. Being qualified academically is the first hurdle, and if you don’t clear it, you’re done. Realistically, a person probably won’t get into Yale without significant extracurricular involvement; it probably helps if that involvement shows personal growth or leadership and helps tell the story of who the applicant is. But, for the most part, unless you’re a Siemens semi-finalist or a recruited athlete, it doesn’t matter much whether the activity is lacrosse or oboe or mountain climbing or working in your family’s One Hour Martinizing franchise.</p>
<p>It is also sad because it reflects a mistaken assumption that applicants have more control over their fate at really selective colleges than they actually have. The fact is, with extremely rare exceptions, all an applicant can do for Yale is to be good enough. But tens of thousands of applicants every year are good enough. From among them Yale will choose the ones that Yale wants, and will choose them however Yale wants to. There really isn’t anything an applicant can do.</p>
<p>Finally, I find it sad because so many young people allow themselves to get so worked up about going to really famous colleges. I’m sure it’s fabulous to go to Yale, and I don’t mean to suggest otherwise. But the moment you allow yourself to say the words, “I’d do anything to get into Yale,” or “I’ll just die if I don’t go to Yale,” you set yourself up for profound and bitter disappointment. Yes, Yale is extraordinary and unique, but, on the other hand, a whole lot of colleges and universities in this country are really great and have a whole lot more to offer than one student can possibly take advantage of.</p>
<p>^ Sikorsky: another poster referred to this as “fetishizing” a big name school. I concur 100% with your comments. HYP? Been there done that. It’s not the end of the world if you’re not there.</p>
<p>I recently quoted “another poster” who talks about applicants “fetishizing” a particular elite college. I thought I was quoting you! Sheesh, if I wasn’t stealing from you, I wonder who I was stealing from.</p>