At the end of my junior year I caught the “College Confidential bug.” I’d avoided looking at the “Chances” threads for years; hearing seniors talk about them used to make me feel sick. I’m a private school faculty brat and my father was a college counselor for YEARS. So let me put something out there: Unless you ask an admissions officer at the school to which you’re applying or a VERY GOOD college counselor, no one who “chances” you really has any idea what they’re talking about.
But I did it. I listened to my hormonal teenage brain instead of my dad and my college counselor and my own better judgement. And in asking for “Chances” to Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Tufts, I found that, according to College Confidential users, my extra-curriculars were “weak.”
Now, before I go further, a little about me:
I’m strong academically. That was never the issue. I knew I deserved to apply to the schools I intended to apply to because of my hard work over 4 years, but I also knew that I look like a lot of other strong candidates. I deserved to apply and have my application read thoroughly; I didn’t deserve to get in. No one really deserves to get in anywhere, I learned that from my dad. He doesn’t even like the term “safety school.”
As I said, I go to private school. One thing about New England prep schools is that they keep you busy from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and most strong students don’t stop doing homework after study hall ends at 10. Most of us don’t have much time for anything extra. We have a school run afternoon program, mostly sports but art and music as well, and beyond that there simply isn’t time. I kept up with piano and cello because I enjoy my music, but I’m decent, but not by any means a prodigy. I’m pretty sure one of our postgrad football stars is a better pianist than I am.
I worked hard in my classes; I played piano, cello, and tennis (very badly, but I did make it on Varsity!); I was in a school musical and am currently doing a play (not really my thing, but I want to get the most out of my school while I still can because it’s great and I love it and the people here); and I found my passion in journalism. I’m the Editor for the newspaper this year, and that’s by far my biggest extra-curricular achievement. And it’s not even really extra-curricular, as journalism meets as a class, although I do put in a lot of extra time with my co Editor and our teacher.
I took all the hard classes expected of me, both AP English classes, AP Euro and US Histories, AP Calc AB and currently BC/Multi Calc, AP Spanish, Advanced Physics… you get the idea. But I also took fun classes like Chorus for 3 years (including senior year), Literature and History of Elizabethan England, and Writers’ Workshop (a creative writing course).
I’m white. I’m a girl. I’m upper middle class (and very thankful every day for the opportunities my parents’ success has given me). I go to prep school. I’m from New England. I’ve never done anything super exciting like have an internship with a senator or write a published scientific paper. I’ve never done summer programs or studied abroad. I haven’t had a job beyond giving piano lessons to a couple faculty kids. I’m not an athlete. I’m a really good student, but I look exactly like so many other really good students. I’m a college counselor’s nightmare; I deserve to apply, but it would take a huge stroke of luck to get in. My college counselor was glad I knew that, and I put together a list of schools that I knew I could be happy with. I would have truly been happy and content going to any of them.
I’m going to be a freshman at Yale University next fall.
I applied early, honestly expected a deferral although I wasn’t asking for financial aid and was a legacy, and amazingly got in. I didn’t apply anywhere else (“collecting scalps” is kind of looked down on at my school) and am incredibly thrilled. My point is, don’t listen to people about ECs. Do what makes you happy, find a passion, get involved. Don’t stop doing something you like doing to instead find a “better” extra-curricular. Don’t wrap all your dreams up in one school; find a variety you’d be happy with.
Above all, enjoy high school, because it’s one of the last moments before real life starts.
