<p>My DD will be a High school freshman next Year. She wants to drop Band and do Cheer leading which she has been doing for the past 4 yrs. She has also been in Band from past 3 yrs. Which would carry more weightage on a college application?</p>
<p>Oh, dear. I do hope you're not trying to influence a 9th grader about which activity to do (both are good!) based on what some undetermined college might think five years from now. Tell us you're not. :)<br>
What matters to colleges is that the kids have an interest/passion in something - which could be almost anything. Schools like cheerleaders and band participants. They need all kinds of kids.</p>
<p>let your child do what she wants to do and do not stress her out about this college crap already! High school is 4 years of your life, not a waiting cell for college. These years count too! Fill her 4 years with fun and encourage her to do well and get really involved in what she ENJOYS...NOT WHAT WILL LOOK GOOD! Passion gets you places with less regrets, whereas on the other hand, trying to look good on a college application will not</p>
<p>The question did not stem from what I would want her to do for the next 4 yrs but rather from a comment the guidance counselor made. He suggested that band woud look much better and hence the question. I wondered if it was something that I was not aware of.</p>
<p>The better thing is what your child wants to do. If your child loves cheerleading but doesn't like band...there is no point in doing band regardless of how it would "look on an application". Students should pick ECs based on their interests and passions, not based on what will look good on a college application.</p>
<p>I have been a cheerleader since 9th grade and love the sport. I was also in band in middle school and gave it up. I really didn't like band at all though...the clarinet gave me a headache and it was a chore for me. Cheerleading is fun and you can do both. People on our squad have done this. Maybe it isn't possible at your school, i dunno. If she drops band, she could still take music lessons and be involved in a local orchestra or something i guess</p>
<p>I'm sure the GC meant well, but I don't believe he's right. Chances are, your D will become involved with a few other activities in HS as well as one of these, so she will present a whole picture, the composite of everything she has done. Which one of these two she picks will not make much of a difference either way when you look at the whole picture.
Frankly, you could make a case that cheerleading would be a better bet. If you have a very book-smart kid, with a lot of academic activities and honors, having an EC that requires "personality" may be seen as a plus.</p>
<p>Youngmom,</p>
<p>If your daughter is passionate about cheerleading, let her cheer. My duaghter cheered through all 4 years of high school was a captian and coached the middled school cheerleaders. I can tell you first hand that it did not hurt her in the admissions process. In the end it is about having a passion, level of commitment and taking on leadership roles. </p>
<p>I once worked with a young woman who went to college on a cheerleading scholarship as intercollegiate cheerleading is a big business as a "competitive sport".</p>
<p>Band is better for college applications. Hands down.</p>
<p>And before people get upset about this comment :</p>
<ol>
<li>Yes I know cheerleading is a serious sport.</li>
<li>Yes I know that students should follow their passion.</li>
<li>Yes I know that people shouldn't be concerned about stereotypes.</li>
</ol>
<p>but unfortunately:
1. Music is considered more acceptable to liberal arts colleges. Its closer to being "academic"
2. Unless a student was going to a school to be recruited for cheerleading, its in the same category, then picking cheerleading over band is more analigous to picking a gym class over a math class than we would all like to think.</p>
<p>And if you wouldn't pick a gym class over a math class for a college application, you shouldn't pick cheerleading over band.</p>
<p>massguy - what is the source of your information and opinion, for example, that LAC's want extracurricular activities to be more academic?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is the stereotype that cheerleaders are ditzy and/or were picked to be cheerleaders based on a popularity contest. It's getting more press as a serious sport, but you still have to work to dispell the stereotype.</p>
<p>With band, it is easier to show individual excellence--being chosen for honor groups, all-state, music prizes, etc.</p>
<p>Still, a kid needs to do what will bring them joy in high school.</p>
<p>Let's face it, neither brings National honors (usually), is unusual in any way or will excite any adcom. If my kid was chosen to help the new Pope choose priorities, I might give some real consideration to this and other options. Cheering v. band? Whichever is fun.</p>
<p>I disagree, massguy. I think intellectual musicians may be quite a bit more plentiful than intellectual cheerleaders; consider the number of HS orchestra seats vs. cheerleaders on a HS squad. In terms of demographic variety cheerleading is probably better.</p>
<p>To the OP: It may be true . The GC might be right. I may give the same answer, but....let your D do what she values. She'll be better at it, happier doing it, and in the end, it will serve her far better.</p>
<p>By the way two of D's best friend's were just declared "National" Champs in some dance competition (like Laker Girls dancers) individually and as a team. They are both top students. It may be rare as hen's teeth, but it does happen.</p>
<p>youngmom - is there any way for D to do both? also would she be applying to any California schools? The UC's have a performing art requirement is why I asked.</p>
<p>my niece went the cheer route in HS, but only for the athletic portion -- she hates sports, and thought the boy athletes were dumb. However, her essay did not address that issue, and she was rejected from her state flagship, despite an A- average. However, based on a new app a year later stressing the value of cheer to her, she was accepted as a transfer, and earned a nice merit scholarship. The moral of the story is to explain why that passion is relevant....</p>
<p>I agree with massguy. Cheerleaders are some of the most dedicated to their passion people I know. But that being said, being a cheerleader and being a musician have very different cultural connotations. Extrapolate these two ECs out a bit you'll see what I mean. At the high end of the musician scale you find Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Wynton Marsalis. At the high end of cheerleading you find ...well, The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. So which of these is going to be regarded as a serious pursuit and which is going to be seen as basically fluff?</p>
<p>When it comes to top colleges, there probably are far more band members applying than cheerleaders. Thus, a cheerleader could stand out in the pool -- particularly if that is combined with leadership, service and strong evidence of intellectual ability and passion.</p>
<p>Three cheerleaders from my school received national honors for cheerleading and are going to college with basically full-rides one is even the top entering business major freshman at her chosen school. The kids from band received band scholarships from a local jr. college and that's it. Although one of the aforementioned cheerleaders was also in band.<br>
Let you daughter do what she enjoys the most or do both, if possible, if she enjoys them equally.</p>
<p>coureur,</p>
<p>HS band, esp. if it's marching band, is very different from orchestral playing that has as its high end YoYo Ma, Perlman, Marsalis. Although many band players play in honor bands and All-State, orchestral playing requires a different tone and technique altogether. My son was in orchestra, and placed first chair in honor bands. Quite a few of the band students found the transition from band to orchestra far more difficult.</p>
<p>A musician with no passion for band is probably going to be in the back of the section. Colleges see hundreds [thousands?] of kids who are "in" band [or "in" orchestra]; only a few of them really excel at their music, and those are the ones who have the passion for music in the first place. </p>
<p>Shouldn't choosing ECs be like choosing a college? </p>
<p>I thought the idea was to find a college that fits the student, instead of trying to mold the student to fit the college. </p>
<p>How does it help the student to substitute an EC that the GC thinks "looks better" but doesn't really inspire her?</p>