I’m a junior in high school hoping to get into a fairly selective college but I’m at quite a disadvantage. I live in a tiny rural town in Appalachian Ohio (nowhere near any of the good cities like Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati or even Dayton) and I have very few opportunities compared to the kids in the larger school districts in the city. My school offers 5 AP classes overall, a significantly lower number than those larger high schools, but still more than other schools in my county. I participate in everything my school offers except for sports, but I still feel very unprepared for the college admissions process. My school does not offer any clubs other than gaming club and yearbook (does that count as a club?). I have thought about starting a club myself, but I’m scared no one would join.
Anyway, my main question is: Do colleges take location into account? Colleges like Stanford get large amounts of applications every year mostly from kids form large cities with amazing stats. I just feel totally minuscule compared to those students. Can colleges even recognize that a student comes from one of these hick-town schools and can understand the lack of ECs? If someone could please answer this question for me, that would be awesome.
You should not be at a disadvantage, because your app will be looked at in terms of the most rigorous curriculum that is available at your school. Regarding the EC issue, you can change that. Why be scared of starting a club? If your school offers very little, please do start something. And if you can’t, find opportunities in your community, at church, the library, the community center, the hospital, the local park, etc… Tutor local kids, or read to senior citizens who have poor vision. It is up to you to make the most out of whatever opportunities you can create. And whatever happens, that won’t be wasted time. And if you are creative, get involved in online competitions for writing, building, science, whatever. Create a fund raiser for a good cause. Colleges love all this stuff. Whatever else you do, keep the grades up and study like crazy for your standardized tests. Good luck!
Colleges look at your experience and achievements in context of your location. If your school only offered 5 APs and you took most or all of them, you are still showing a high degree of rigor. If you didn’t have a great deal of extracurricular opportunities, but you made the most of them, colleges will definitely recognize this.
Also, colleges want a diverse student body that has different life experiences, so they aren’t just going to accept students from big cities.
Yes talking about being from Appalachia is great! That is so much better than being from a wealthy Cleveland suburb.
They look at you in context. If they are not familiar with your school check with your GC about how the school will be represented on the school profile to colleges.
Yes yearbook is a club especially if you are interested in journalism or marketing. As others have said, get involved, whether in school or out. Get a part time job if all else fails, preferably somethng that shows responsibility, like being a shift manager.
–Yes, schools do like geographic diversity and it could prove to be a bit of a help to you.
–When your HS sends your transcript it will also send a school profile that shows things like number of APs offered, levels of classes, average GPA etc. so your accomplishments will be reviewed in their proper context.
–In terms of ECs they don’t have to be school based. If you do any volunteer work, have a part-time job, help in your church or library or anything else. those are ECs as well. And yes, yearbook is considered an EC as is music is you are involved in that.
–That said, all of those very top schools are hyper-competitive so be sure to cast a wide net and apply to a number of reach, match and safety school that you would be happy to attend and are affordable.