I’m an intl hoping to major in history and minor in English lit. My Extracurriculars are quite varied and I’ve asked diff questions on here multiple times but I seem to get all kind of different opinions which is quite disorientating. I was hoping I could get someone experienced on here to be willing to DM me so we could work a clear strategy out as I’m rlly confused and the consultants who help with these cost thousands of dollars
You don’t need a strategy. You need to reflect on what you do, and figure out the things that are meaningful to you. Keep doing those. Talk about those on your application. Everything else is just padding and adcoms will realize this.
There is no strategy that can help you. There is just YOU, a high school kid. You aren’t curing cancer or solving climate change. You do you.
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I agree with @blossom. Be genuine. Be yourself. Whatever you do, do it well. While you are at it, treat others fairly. If you get into a leadership position, remember that leadership involves listening, and focusing on making the activity better for everyone.
You might want to also read the following blog from the MIT admissions web site. While MIT is not known at all for history or English literature, the same approach of “do what is right for you, and do it well” has helped my family members get into a number of very good universities, most of which were not MIT.
“Quite varied” is entirely okay with regard to extracurriculars, as long as you are doing what is right for you, doing it well, and treating people fairly and honestly.
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You don’t want ECs that are “a mile wide and an inch deep”; quality and depth of experience are, IMO, more important.
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As per your threads from last year, you were looking for schools for Fall 2023. Did you apply? Have you already graduated?
If you applied and were rejected your “strategy” should mainly focus on finding schools where you might be a good fit based on your profile. There’s not much you can add in terms of ECs at this point that will move the needle at the most selective schools. Rather, work with what you have.
I think you misred, I’m 16 I’m not applying for 2 more yrs. I just finished GCSEs in the UK and I’m obviously interested in improving my application profile for the US in the summer.
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Yes exactly I do a lot of speech, creative and essay writing (started tampering with poetry lately), MUN, debate that kind of thing but I just want to have someone to talk to privately to look at my awards and comps and kind of decide what particular bit in it stands out and could enhance my application/fill a hole. I do want to stress I am not looking at this like a tick-off-the-boxes list - I do genuinely love these activities. IMO its really a shame so many people who hate debate/MUN still do it for the CV because
(a) waste of time
(b) It draws away from ppl like me who genuinely love it
That being said I want to focus on something I like and will add significant value to my application
I mean I would not do any EC if I hated them like you would not see me doing maths or science competitions because I find STEM painful but I just want to focus on ECs that I love but also will add value to my application in six form/
Your EC profile ranges from being crucial to not at all important, depending upon many other factors. You want to go to a top private college, with fin aid, as an intl? You need an EC achievement that stands out on the intl level. You want to go to a less selective private or public, paying full price? Honestly, your ECs wont matter much.
First, get the best grades you possibly can, in the most rigorous courses available to you. Then, get the highest SAT or ACT score you can. Lastly, do what you love for ECs, do them well and intensively, only because you love them. It is much better for you to focus on one or two favorites, and show high achievement in them, than to do many activities at the joiner level.
what stands out on the international level because I’ve won or got shortlisted/highly commended on like a bunch of essay competitions but most of them aren’t very famous…
As long as you’re not asking for any financial aid, then you should be good to go. Make sure your GPA is good, and that your ECs are your passions. If you have a strong connection with an academic teacher, make sure that they would be willing to write letters of recommendation for you.
Good luck!
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