I expect my stats will be good for the next two years, but a major thing I am concerned about is my complete and utter lack of extracurricular activities during the 9th and 10th grade (I’m a Junior rn). I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations regarding STEM one’s (Research/Competitions/Projects). I am mostly leaning towards Chemistry and Physics but also want to improve my coding skills.
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No reason to be concerned - if you didn’t have any, you didn’t have any. If I had to guess, over half of colleges don’t care about ECs in regards to admission.
If you want to improve your coding skills, see if there’s a club at school. But ECs needn’t match an interest. Get a job, join the band, volunteer at the library, etc. By job I mean fast food or grocery store. It teaches you responsibility, etc. Walk dogs at the shelter.
If you want to learn to code, do a google search to check for local opportunities.
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My kids all did part-time jobs to save up money for school. The universities tend to like this because it shows your skills in multitasking, punctuality, supervision and leadership, plus following directions. In other words, it’s a respectable EC.
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ECs are valuable – not simply to fill up some lines on a college application – but more importantly to learn, grow, and expand your horizons. Find ECs that interest you. As others noted you can do ECs in your school, your community, or even get a part-time job. Your ECs need not be directly tied to your academic interests.
If a STEM EC does interest you, ask your teachers about opportunities at your HS.
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Thank you very much for all of the recommendations.
Does your school have a FIRST robotics team? My kids loved the team and learned a lot about the different branches of engineering - there was a CAD team, software team, electrical team etc. Also had spots for kids who weren’t interested in the technical roles, but enjoyed the vibe and competitions. I agree that one shouldn’t choose an EC for admissions, but it really enhanced their high school experience.
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I think they do, I will be sure to check it out, thanks!
It seems that quite a few colleges / universities now have scholarships for students who participated in FIRST robotics in high school, so that might be a plus, if you enjoy it! 
Sounds excellent! Thanks very much for all of this information.