USAPL powerlifter: have been doing it for 4, been in a national federation for 2 years, only competed in one meet cuz of COVID I technically coach my 4 of my friends too, but I don’t know if this counts as coaching if I don’t have a certification.
Guitar: passed grade 8 ABRSM test which is a classical music test
Solar car team: school made a solar car team this year so I joined it. I do electrical stuff
Interned at a PPE startup: did data entry and customer service around 15 hours a week
Taught myself how to code: made 1 or two projects with a GUI that’s about it.
volunteered at library 220 ish hours
NHS
Calisthenics: was in a club in school, got pretty into it during the pandemic
I know I don’t have a lick of leadership on here, but I just wanna know if this is average or not. I’m applying to some t20’s cuz my stats are up there, but I’m not expecting to get into any cuz my ECs are so abysmal.
Actually I think your ECs are unique and compelling. I’ll include a couple of links below that will help you know how to present the ECs on your common app. With non-standard ECs it’s especially important to carefully consider wording. You may not have much leadership but you do have a few that show initiative and independence. You can absolutely include the coaching. Be careful not to downplay your ECs the way you’re doing in your post. For example, think along these lines:
Solar Car Team
Electronics Lead
Then put what you did and learned (brainstorming/teamwork/specific electronics etc)
Student
Self-Taught Coding
Learned languages , _; created ____.
Anyway, you get the idea. The articles below show how to properly word things so they’re impressive.
See this for examples of how to write your activities:
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/extracurricular-activities-examples-common-application
See this for brainstorming activities to add:
https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/extracurriculars/extracurricular-activities-list/
Best of luck!
I actually like your ECs; especially the powerlifting, which is really different and unique. It sounds like you do powerlifting at a pretty high level. I think this is going to be more about how you talk about your ECs.
I also think that your ECs are good. I like the fact that you are coaching 4 of your friends. Even if it is not “official”, it is likely that one of your references or your guidance counselor will know about it and be able to mention it in their letter of reference.
I like the fact that your ECs are unique. It looks like you are doing what you want to do, and doing it very well. This is exactly what I did which did get me into a “top 20” university (but a long time ago). Hopefully it will work for you also.
Of course top 20 universities are always a reach for almost every student. Definitely apply to safeties. Also, look for a good fit and make sure that the “top 20” universities that you are applying to really are a good fit for you.