<p>Hello. I am a junior this year, and I am starting to really worry about not having enough extracurriculars, seeing as some of my senior friends got deferred from some "good schools" (not ivies, but top 30 or so) because they had few ecs. I'll be in varsity swimming for 4 years, but that would be the only ec that I've been in for the full 4 years of school (not sure if I can get leadership/captain position). Freshman year, I was in no other clubs. Sophomore year, I was in a robotics/engineering club, but quit in the middle of the year. This year, I joined a science club, and plan on rejoining next year (again, not sure if I can get leadership position). </p>
<p>My grades are fairly good (3.8), but my lack of ecs is really starting to worry me. Would it be too late/Would it even matter to colleges to join 1-2 more clubs my senior year? Also, should I even bother listing the robotics club since I quit halfway through (it was after one of the competition seasons ended, and another one about to start)? Thank you for your help</p>
<p>You could always apply to one or two schools that have completely numbers driven admission (ie. they only look at gpa and test scores). I don’t know of any in the US off the top of my head, but I am sure with the vast multitude of US colleges there have to be some decent ones that don’t care much about ECs. If you are willing to go international (albeit barely) McGill and the University of Toronto don’t look at ECs for admission (except for getting in off the waitlist) and they are both very good universities.</p>
<p>At the most selective colleges (of which the top 30 are certainly a part) they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says
<p>It may be late in the game for you to try to make big changes in your ECs. As far as the clubs you mention - join if they are something you want to do. You are never going to be in HS again. But if you’re just doing it to impress adcoms at selective colleges, “member of this, took part in that” are not strong ECs. Look again at the Stanford quote. Nor are minor leadership positions, such as officer in the robotics club. Your best chance for improving your ECs in the short time you have left is to think outside the box. No rule says ECs have to be organized by your school, and in fact the most powerful ones are often the ones you invent yourself since that shows the initiative and leadership selective colleges want to see.</p>
<p>Since this is an advice forum, though, here is advice. The most selective colleges, maybe top 100 or so, are by no means certain for even the strongest students and you already realize that your ECs are not what some other kids bring to the table. I’m not saying give up on a selective college, you’ll never know unless you apply, but rather than spending your time agonizing over which top-30 is right for you I think most of your time should be spent identifying colleges likely to accept you that (A) you want to attend (B) you can afford to attend. In a way this is liberating because too many HS students are focused on getting into a selective college with little thought given to what will happen once they are actually there; somehow holding a degree from such a school their future is supposedly bright or in reaching their career goals they have a “better chance” whatever that is supposed to mean.</p>
<p>If I were in your shoes I’d start by getting a good book on college admissions such as “Admission Matters” to understand the concept of fit. Colleges are more varied than many HS students realize. With plenty of time before apps are due you can make some preliminary decisions as to the right type(s), visit samples of those, and arrive at a better understanding of what you want. Then find matches, again using the info from the book to know what to do on college visits, questions you might want to ask, and so on.</p>
<p>Last year, as a junior, I had a bit of an EC shock too. I swam varsity freshman and sophomore years, but didn’t have time for anything else. Pretty much, I just decided to quit swimming, join a bunch of clubs, and get leadership in those clubs. Not really because I wanted to improve my resume, but because I liked meeting new people, making new friends, and improving the reputation of anything I’m affiliated with. Keep in mind that you only have ten spaces on the Common App for everything you do outside (and inside tbh–research) of school. So, you have swimming (passionate), science (possible leadership), probably some volunteer work (tutoring? helping the homeless? try joining your school’s key club. better yet, start a new club for something international. You like science? I know KenyaVenture (something I do) is looking for people to start fundraising chapters to connect Kenyan students with the internet basic and technology), possibly some real work (Lifeguarding? It’s fun in the summer, and if you get a “good” solo-guard pool, it’s just 9 hours of you, a table, and books). So, with swimming, science, volunteer/community work, and real work, you have four things you’re extremely passionate about (maybe three; few people are extremely passionate about their lifeguarding summer job). In three (or four) of those things, you could have leadership. </p>
<p>Tl;dr: You still have time. Colleges want to see about passion, leadership, and meaning; they don’t care about quantity.</p>