Hi, I’m a rising sophomore and am planning out my extracurriculars for my next year in high school. I’ve come up with a list that I think is really good, but I’m not sure which ones look the best or are at least unique. So, I just wanted some feedback, but nothing particularly - just things such advice, feedback, or etc. Thank you!
Predicted extracurriculars and position:
International Mathematical Olympiad Club, IMO President
International Biology Olympiad Club, IBO President
International Chemistry Olympiad Club, ICO President
International Science Olympiad Club, ISO President
National Honors Society, NHS
Key Club
International Business Internship Program, IBIP President
Farming
Agriculture club President
Volunteering at local community farm (can’t say specifically)
Volunteering at local food pantry
Make a Wish Club President
Track
Boys’ Tennis Club
Badminton
Student Government
It looks like you have a great list and are very involved in your school but its hard to say without some context. What are your estimated time commitments? What are you the best at? What do are the ones you like to do the most?
You anticipate being elected president of seven clubs as a sophomore? Aren’t there any juniors or seniors at your school interested in these positions? Do you really think that people would select a sophomore over the older more experienced students?
The important thing about leadership is not collecting the most president titles that you can, but rather doing something substantial in that role. It’s hard to see how you could really be an effective leader of so many clubs.
This is all kind of a long way to say that you have too many activities. You are spreading yourself way too thin. Pick one or two that you really like and really try to do them well. You can fill in with a few others, but you really need to cut back.
I believe that the point of ECs is not to accumulate a long list. The point is to accomplish something in the ECs that you participate in. If you want to display leadership as president of a club, you need to make the club better for the people participating in the club. This times time and effort.
I am worried that your list is too long. I do not think that you can accomplish anything as the president of such a long list of clubs.
“This is all kind of a long way to say that you have too many activities.”
As others have indicated, this list is going to come off to admissions as superficial and designed to collect titles rather than being meaningful or impactful.
Does your school accept sophomores into NHS? Ours doesn’t.
Pick up to three that you most enjoy where you can delve in depth. You don’t have to limit yourself to three, but in order to make those activities meaningful and impactful, you’ll realistically need to more-or-less prioritize those three.