I’m planning to major in Computer Science at a top university in the United States. I’m currently a SOPHOMORE (start of year). Btw in our school there are JV (Junior Varsity) and Varsity teams… these are both high school teams, not college teams… just varsity is more prestigious, etc, etc.
I joined wrestling in my freshmen year and although I barely made it through season. At our school wrestling is a serious commitment and all my other extracurriculars have to make way for it as wrestling I have to come to every single practice. I joined in freshmen to get a hang of it and this year in my weight class theres an open position, but theres a junior who has the mentality to drop down to my weight class and he’s much better than I am in terms of experience and strength. I know that since wrestling is such a huge commitment and will be physically draining for months I want my efforts to bear fruit in sophomore year due to in Junior and Senior year I will not join because it will be too draining because of the IB curriculum.
The sport is good, but practices really suck and I’d only be going into it knowing my effort would at least most likely bearing fruit. This is causing me anxiety because I’m not sure if I stay in JV would be bad for top colleges. My gpa is in the 3.9 to 4.0 range and I have a good range of extracurriculars (Brain Bowl, Robotics, MUN, Honor Band, Speech, Programming) and leadership positions (Robotics Club, Class President). Should I leave the sport do some sport like weightlifting and focus on other things or should I risk going for varsity with the chance of it not bearing fruit, etc
NO, you don’t need to. JV vs. Varsity will not make the difference in being admitted (or not) to any university. In fact, you don’t need to be in a sport at all to get into a top university. It’s just another choice of ECs.
I suggest you get/stay involved only in ECs you truly enjoy or have a passion for. Never do something just because you think that’s what colleges want to see. That’s the wrong approach and often transparent.
Sounds like you are off to a good start with your grades and other ECs, so relax. You’ll be fine.
Agree with above. Don’t do anything you don’t like because of your resume. As the mom of a wrestler, it’s a tough sport and not one I recommend if you’re not 100% i to it.
Agree – not only would never making varsity not be an issue but it would also be fine to drop wresting after this year if you don’t enjoy it. Unless you are a recruited athlete (which doesn’t sound to be the case) a sport is viewed as nothing more than another good extracurricular activity. Decide where you want to spend your time and energy.
@NJWrestlingmom I like to wrestle, but practice really sucks (can’t really do anything about that but man/woman up)… I guess maybe I should go for this year and then decided from junior year if I want to continue… Would you suggest so?
People say, “Don’t do anything just for the application.”
But then don’t expect “top colleges” to love your choices just because you do. Lol. Life is full of things we do for the experience and growth, love it or not.
It’s fine to drop wrestling or stay JV. Your other ECs look fine, a combo of stem and other. Just be sure to understand what your targets do value, put the energy into this understanding, so you can tune in the right ways, some stretch, some fun.
@titanrey15 it’s funny because my son always loved practicing more than the matches! I think the difference between JV and Varsity makes 0 difference to a college. If your school is like ours, JV practices just as much as Varsity. You have other ECs. Wrestle if you enjoy it. If not, use that time to do something else you enjoy or to keep your grades up. In the end, grades are going to matter more than JV or Varsity! Good luck!