Continuing with FFA

Applying to College
1

Is it worth it for me to continue being involved in the FFA organization? I come from a rural ag-oriented town in Wisconsin. I’ve been involved in FFA since freshman year, and as a sophomore I hold an officer position. However, my classes are really focused on engineering in college, as Mechanical Engineering is my intended major. My question is, would my time be better spent focusing on extracurriculars that are related to my intended major? We don’t have any sort of STEM clubs/AP classes at all so I would be on my own as far as participating in things like AMC and learning programming and such. For reference, my stats are:

PSAT - took this fall, waiting on scores but practice tests have predicted upwards of a 1400
Cumulative unweighted GPA - 4.06/4.33 (equivalent to 4.0/4.0)
Rank - 9/183 (top 5%)

Girls’ Varsity Ice Hockey - (9th-10th)
Key Club - treasurer (9th-10th)
FFA- parliamentarian (9th-10th)
Forensics - (9th-10th)
Volunteering 50+ hours through these organizations.

Taking 2 weighted classes, math 2 years above the typical track at my school (pre-calculus currently) and the only honors class that is offered for sophomore students (English 10 H).

My guidance counselor told me we haven’t had a student be admitted to a Top 10 college since she’s been employed (20+ years). I’m aiming for colleges such as MIT, Stanford, Georgia Tech, etc. Please advise if I’m on the right track and what I should do regarding to my extracurriculars.

2

Do it if you want to/it still excites you. Don’t drop it based on your perceived importance in college apps. It is just one more EC.

3

If you enjoy FFA, it is perfectly find to stick with it. As you know, it is a typical EC for students from your part of the world, and the colleges/universities you will apply to recognize it as well.

Now if you are fed up with it, that is another thing entirely, and it would be perfectly OK to drop it and do other fun stuff.

4

You have one of the great public flagships in the country (especially for Engineering). If you are eligible for FA that brings the cost down for a MIT or Stanford, then sure try to apply. For the others, I wouldn’t pay a dime more than UW-Madison.