Average number of extracurriculars for selective schools?

Parents Forum
1

So my daughter is a pretty decent student at her school with a cummulative unweighted gpa of 3.9 and a cummulative weighted g.p.a of 4.3 as of 10th grade on her transcript from last semester.

As a sophmore she is taking:
Ap World History
Ap English Language and Comp
Ap Calculus A/B
Ap Biology
IB HL visual art
IB SL Spanish
As of this semester she currently has a 4.8 weighted g.p.a and a 3.9 unweighted g.p.a and plans to go into the full IB diploma program next year. Her ranking is 14 out 804 students at her school.

Although her grades are decent I’m worried by the time her senior year comes she may be rejected from more selective schools because her extracurriculars aren’t impressive since she spends most of her time studying. Right now she plays a bit of club volleyball and joined her school Science Olympiad club but I’ve heard stories of teens only managing to get into selective colleges if they have a bunch of extracurriculars. I don’t want to force her to take more extracurriculars since she’s already pretty stressed as it is and I understand that she is trying her best but would it be better to some more time on extracurriculars even if her grades might fall a bit?

2

First, I would worry about a kid who “spends most of her time studying.” especially if she is “already pretty stressed.” I would say it might help to make high school a valuable experience without regard to admissions if possible. That is a heavy load of courses: can she ease up a bit?

Colleges aren’t interested in kids who load up on a ton of activities to impress admissions. Right now, your daughter is too busy, apparently, meeting the demands of her academics, to know what truly inspires her. For her well-being, it might be nice for her to explore some other interests. Does she like science best?

I’ve said this before, but again, it is better to find a school that fits the child than to try to fit the child to certain schools. Let her evolve, support any interests that develop (and pay, drive!) and she will end up at a good school for her.

3

There is no magic number that gets a student into a top college. IMO, what matters most is what you do with the extracurriculars and how they help tell the “story” of who your daughter is.

4

More is not better. It is more important to show leadership or attain a high ranking in some (i.e.; state debate champ, Olympiad winner) vs just participating or being a member in a lot of clubs.

5

It’s more important for, your daughter to do ECs that SHE likes…rather than ECs that she thinks will impress some college.

6

Think of a college application like this…

Your GPA…proves how much self discipline you have, how good of a student you are.

Your Test scores…proves what you’ve actually retained from your education.

You essays…your sale’s pitch. Make every word count.

Recommendations…Is someone willing to vouch for you? Do you make a good impression on your educators as being a cooperative, interested, talented kid?

Extra Curriculars…are proof you “play well with others”…that you have connection to your surroundings…that you’re not going to shoot up the school one day in fit of depression because you’re all about grades but feel no connection to friends or community. ECs are your note from home that says…yes, lots of people have had exposure to this kid in lots of different settings…and he/she is a normal, nice person who isn’t problematic.

Extra points if that note from home can say…Hey, and you know what? Not only does this kid play well with others…but other people tend to respect them enough to follow them.

That’s the whole “leadership” thing. Are your kid’s social skills developed enough to be well liked and respected?

You do need EC’s for selective schools.

My advice…concentrate on a couple, rather than trying to do a dozen of them.

Make them meaningful to your kid’s ambitions if possible. They should be something your kiddo truly enjoys doing.

My kiddo got into a selective college as a biology major.

For her EC’s she did two things primarily…

She was part of a green energy club, and she was very involved in theater.

She eventually became president of the green energy club, started an initiative to compost lunch waste with worms, and sold the compost as a fund raiser.

She also paired her two EC’s together and had the drama club doing an Earth Day play in conjunction with the green energy club. She directed a play that was performed for all the elementary kids, to get them thinking about science and conservation.

You don’t have to do a million EC’s

Do a couple and make them meaningful. Find the hook.

7

It depends on the level of college. The tippy top few, almost everyone who applies will match her academic qualifications. So then colleges look to other things, like ECs, to distinguish between applicants. In general, they are looking for students who are interested and interesting. But it is hard to fake it – your kid needs to find things that interest HER and spend time on them. Don’t forget that summers are a good time to try new things or dig in deeper on something she likes.

Gonna say, at the admissions discussions, she was likely known as “the kid who sold worms”. And that isn’t a bad label to have – it stands out. :slight_smile:

But if your kid really doesn’t want to spend more time on ECs and isn’t super interested in high flying admissions, I wouldn’t push it. She will have very good choices due to her academics, even if she isn’t gung ho into lots or very deep ECs. She should do some things she enjoys.

8

I also had encouraged her to ease up a bit on her course load when she did her course selection however it was ultimately her desicion to take a heavy course load despite knowing that it was going to come with some stress. She truely adores Science Olympiad and has played volleyball for years and also loves it but she too shy into trying extremely different or unfamiliar. Any advice on encouraging her to try new things?

9

She is taking a difficult course load, and is doing well. I have heard several highly selective admissions officers tell us that EC’s are important because they tell what a kid likes to do with her time. If their free time is spent caring for younger siblings, or working a part time job, because that is what they have to do for their family, that is perfectly acceptable. Kids who spend their time studying for dozens of attempts at SATs or ACTs rarely get accepted.

Leadership in these areas is overrated - what is important is that the kid understands and can express why they do these.

The number does not matter, nor does the type. What really matters is that the student can compellingly express the WHY?

See my response in another similar thread

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20526369/#Comment_20526369

10

If she’s playing club volleyball, she is most likely playing at a high enough level to satisfy EC suggestions. She likes volleyball. She likes Science Olympiad. It sounds like she has her ECs. She’s happy, she has great grades, and she is involved. I wouldn’t worry her. Whatever will be, will be.

11

“Although her grades are decent I’m worried by the time her senior year comes she may be rejected from more selective schools because her extracurriculars aren’t impressive since she spends most of her time studying.”

This is a pretty sad statement right here, the fact that you can make excellent grades but if you don’t have the right number of ECs, oh well, you’re not getting into a USN&WR top 10 school.

That being said, I’d focus on the quality of the ECs rather than the number. Everyone is an officer in some club. Big deal. Do something unique.

12

Science Olympiad and volleyball are fine. Why does she need to,add others if THESE are of interest to her?

13

It seems as though the OP is quite advanced in English and math (taking AP English and AP Calc as a sophomore). If the OP is looking to add impressive ECs without a tremendous time commitment, then consider entering writing and math contests. Many will take an afternoon to complete and may result in an award.