How do I move forward with extracurriculars?

Applying to College
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Hi! I am a high school freshman, and as the school year has been coming to a close, I realized that my extracurriculars haven’t been great. At this point, while I am aiming for a top college, I would be content with a UC. For context, I am a SoCal highschooler, South Asian female, with an income bracket of around 80k. I am in immigrant along with my parents (moved here in late elementary school),so I have no idea how college applications works and have been doing a lot of research. While grades are easy enough for me right now, I have been feeling really stressed out about extracurriculars. After all, some kid in my middle school had already one two national spelling bees!

I am really interested in biology and medicine, which I have heard are incredibly competitive.
Right now, my extra cirriculars from this year and my plans for next year (10th) as are followers :

  • Science Olympiad Team (applied for executive position for next year, ersults not posted) (Placed in state last year but wasn’t able to compete this year due to family emergency) (started since 6th grade)
  • Quizbowl Freshman Team
  • Applied for Hospital Volunteering (waiting for results)
  • Job Shadowing a genetic counselor (NOT an internship)
  • Planning to start a club next year on mental health with a non-profit in my school because I am very passionate about it and many people here joke about it although it is becoming a serious problem here and in the feeder middle school (Aevidum)
  • Recreational Karate twice a week (since 6th grade, I really just do it for fun)
  • Doing my own research on toxicity (specifically, on pesticides and organophosphates in my hometown in India and Oncogenetics). This is something I do for fun in my spare time and consists of mainly reading PhD articles, so I don’t think it really counts as an EC
  • Art and Creative Writing. I really love to draw and have begun selling my art as a side hobby so I wont stop drawing because sometimes it feels like the only thing that calms me down

I think some of these have great potential for me, but I’m just not sure how to proceed. Where I live, it is difficult to get opportunities like research with a professor and my family doesn’t even know how college applications are in the US, so it feels like I am on my own. People tell me to be myself and do what I enjoy, but I feel like none of these can really make an impact unless I do something grand. Obviously, this is not the case for most people and many people are in a similar place as I am, so I hope that if I can get some answers as to how I could possibly elevated these activities. At this point, I dont even care about doing it for college if it means I cant do what I enjoy (as cliche as it may sound, I really want to help people and make an impact on people’s lives while still doing things that I love). Honestly, though, I still feel really lazy.

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You are a freshman, and your focus should be on doing as well as you can at being a high school student. College is nothing more but the next step in your journey, and you should choose your colleges based on what you learned about your interests and passion in high school. College admissions is not a goal, nor is it a prize.

It’s too early for you to be thinking about anything but enjoying high school and taking advantage of as many of the opportunities that are there for you that you can.

A few more things:

In my opinion, you are trying to take on too many extracurricular activities. Your ECs should be things that you would do even if it had nothing to do with college admissions. You have a bunch of them, so you’re doing well.

Do. Not. Start. A. Non-Profit. If mental health is an important issue for you, start a school club and look for national organizations that have high-school activities and which support high school club/organizations.

Do not stress about Extracurriculars. The entire point of extracurriculars is to do stuff that you choose because it is important to you.

Keep on doing Karate - physical activity is healthy, it’s fun, and it helps you study better.

Follow up on that research project, because you will likely never have a better time in your life to do something like that. Reach out tp the scientists whose articles you are reading, and speak to them, visit their labs, maybe see if there is research that you can do as a high school student.

Keep up with creative writing and art. You will derive a lot of enjoyment from it, and it will enrich your life in many ways.

Only join quiz bowl and Science Olympiad if you genuinely like that sort if competition.

I will repeat - your problem isn’t that you don’t have enough extracurricular activities, your problem is that you are planning to do too much.

Look through your planned activities and remove the one which makes you feel the least excited. If there is an activity that you only want to do because you think that it will look good, remove it.

You are smart, ambitious, and have great ideas. You’re doing REALLY well, and you will likely do even better, as you find your place in high school.

Good luck!!

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  • Science Olympiad Team (applied for executive position for next year, ersults not posted) (Placed in state last year but wasn’t able to compete this year due to family emergency) (started since 6th grade)
  • Quizbowl Freshman Team
  • Art / Selling it

That’s enough right there - if you get things in summer, like hospital volunteering, that’s a bonus.

When you’re old enough, consider a part time job or summer job.

It’s about quality, not quantity.

You’re fine.

I wouldn’t start a club unless it’s a genuine interest.

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I think it may be more important to explore interests and then deepen the ones that resonate, that are authentic to you.

From what you have written, I think that art and karate meet that criterion.

It is concerning when you mention two students winning national spelling bees. It sounds like you are in a competitive environment and that can cause anxiety about being “less than.” It is hard to say “be yourself” but I assure you that is the best way to achieve your goals.

It sounds like you have a genuine interest in science. Great to explore that but it doesn’t have to be competitive. If you were in my area I might suggest working with a vernal pond team in the field, for instance. Hospital volunteering can be fun.

Finally, I hope that you can research colleges beyond the “top” ones. If you are going to need financial aid, Ivies and “little Ivies” offer excellent financial aid, so that is one reason to apply. UC’s are a great option of course. Check out “Colleges that Change Lives” for other ideas.

Little Ivies - Wikipedia

Don’t spend high school worrying about admissions. Enjoy life in high school, make friends, explore academic and EC interests and know you will be fine. Don’t forget: down time is important too…and sleep!

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Thank you! All of the activities I listed are genuinely things I want to do in high school. Things like quizbowl are just for fun and my enjoyment, and I really do like the competition aspect of Science olympiad, which is why I do it. Also, to clarify the mental health club is just a school club, just starting a chapter from a pre-existing organization. I also agree that starting a non profit goes nowhere and would be useless for my goals if I only do it for college applications. Would it still be bad if I started this club because I genuinely want to? I feel like its become really bad in my area and it is kind of painful to keep hearing about people who struggle with mental health here. I’m trying to balance stuff I do solely for fun with stuff that I am curious/want to do related to my interests just to see if its something I want to keep doing.

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Thank you, this is very helpful! And no, I am not just looking for top colleges like Ivies or T-20s. I think I may apply for one or two at most, but a lot of my targets and reaches are likely going to be UCs or good state universities. And I agree, sleep is very important :slight_smile:

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In some ways yes biology and medicine are very competitive. However, there are a huge number of universities that are very good for a bachelor’s degree in biology or a related field. At some level the competition starts after you arrive on a university campus as a freshman. Biology and medicine are areas where some form of graduate degree is very likely. Admissions to medical school, and admissions to other biomedical-related graduate programs, depends a great deal on how well you did as an undergraduate student, and really does not depend much at all on where you went to get your bachelor’s degree.

I have discussed this “where to go for a bachelor’s degree” with two doctors I know. Both have said that the other students in their (highly ranked) MD programs had come from a very wide range of undergraduate schools (one said “all over the place”). I have three close family members none of whom are MDs but all of whom either graduated from or are current enrolled in very good biomedical-related graduate programs, and all of whom have similarly said that other students in their graduate programs come from a wide range of undergraduate colleges and universities. You can attend any of the Universities of California, or any one of a wide range of other universities and colleges, and be well prepared for a graduate program related to biology and medicine.

For a student who might potentially be interested in medicine, some experience shadowing in a medical environment is quite valuable. Some students start this in high school. Some start after they get to university.

Mental health is a very important area, and one which the US (and probably most of the world) does not handle nearly as well as we should. You should not start a club for the purposes of university admissions. However, if you have a different (NOT admissions related) good reason to start a club and a reasonable idea regarding what the club might do then go for it.

Generally you can get into very good universities as an undergraduate student with little or no extracurricular activities. In doing ECs, think about what is right for you, and ignore university admissions. Also, the point is NOT to get a long list of ECs. Rather, the point is to do whatever you do well.

You might also want to read the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. As I understand it, it recommends that you do what is right for you, whatever you do you should do it well, and treat people well or at least fairly. Our family has used this approach and it has worked at a range of very good schools (not just MIT), but what each of us did was quite different. We each did what was right for us.

I do not think that anyone in my family got involved in research until after we started university.

Also, do not try to compete with other students. There really are a lot of strong students and a lot of opportunities and a lot of very good universities for all of us. If another student in your high school is involved in an interesting or impactful EC, then good for them. Do not worry about it. You continue to do what is right for you.

This is exactly right. Be a good student. Be genuine. It will work out one way or another.

Another thing that might be worth adding: Many students start university thinking “premed”. Most end up doing something else. There are a lot of forms of “something else” to do. Some students find that they cannot maintain a “medical school worthy” GPA in tough premed classes. However, just as many just decide that they just want to do something else. Some students get stellar grades in the toughest premed classes and also find something else that they would rather do. That is perfectly reasonable and very common and can lead to some very good outcomes.

You don’t sound lazy to me at all. You sound like a conscientious, intelligent, and serious high school freshman who is thinking about her future.

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If you really enjoy doing all of these things, then you’re absolutely in great shape, though you should please stay aware of the chance of burnout.

Exactly this. Also, a school club is different than a non-profit, for many reasons, and here are a few.

  • First, you won’t be wasting time and resources in organizational and legal aspects of establishing an organization, since high schools are set up to support school-based clubs.
  • Second, you are specifically thinking about the mental health of high school students, and being a school club makes it easier for you to advocate for other students.
  • Third, as a school club it is far easier to be part of existing mental health advocacy organizations, rather than try and do everything from scratch on your own.
  • Finally, if you establish a non-profit, even if it is successful, you likely will not have the time to invest in it when you graduate and it will collapse or peter out. A school club will continue long after you leave.

A non-profit usually lasts only as long as its founders are still active, while a school club is built on recruiting new members, and they have a process of members becoming leaders, and the leaders almost immediately mentoring the next set of leaders. They also have a faculty leader who provides continuity.

As @DadTwoGirls wrote - if this is something that you want to do because you believe that it should be done, go for it. However, since we’re talking about mental health, consider how much time and energy you have. You are already heavily committed in extracurricular activities, so figure out how much time and energy you have to spare. If you really want to do this, you may have to give up another EC. However, don’t give up the activities that support your mental health, like Karate and art.

I will repeat - you are doing extremely well.

Reading your posts, there are many words and terms which I would use to describe you. All of them are positive, and not a single one would be “lazy”, or any synonym of “lazy”. Well, not all are entirely positive, since they would include “may be overcommitted”, and “too hard on themself”.

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Thank you, this clarifies things a lot! And I agree, being “too hard on myself” is something that I have been trying to work on, and especially amplifies why I want to help others who have been feeling this way, too. I feel like especially now, as more people are trying to get into top schools, it gets easier to fall into the trap of feeling like you are falling behind. Also, I have heard that those who are Asian or White tend suffer in the admissions process because they are allegedly more culturally inclined to put great value in school. I’m not sure if this is entirely true or not, since it certainly isnt like that for everyone, but I suppose that is also a reason I’m stressed out. Regardless, this has been very helpful!

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It’s much more of an issue with parents who are immigrants or first gen, especially middle class (either arrived as a middle class or wealthier, or made it to middle class before the kid started applying for college). I know a large number of kids from middle class immigrant families from Africa who have the same sort of pressure to do well in school and to be accepted to a “prestigious” college. Among Americans from European countries, you see it mostly in Eastern European families.

What is common is that in these countries is that the big divide between the upper and middle classes is education, particularly education in a prestigious university. Members of the middle and upper classes from these cultures also push their kids to major in high prestige fields, like medicine, law, and now engineering.

For low income immigrants from cultures which see education as difference between the lower and middle classes, and a way to break into the middle class, the focus is on fields which require the least amount of time in college, relative to salary. So they will pressure their kids to get degrees that are highly employable, like nursing or accounting.

Most immigrants in the 19th and early 20th century did not come from cultures in which an education, especially a college education, was what separated the low income people from the upper income and the wealthy. Immigrants for whom this was true, like Eastern European Jews, did push their kids to attend college. However, requirements for admissions were different, so the pressure was different.

There are a good number of affluent families who are fourth or fifth generations in the the upper income brackets who push their kids to do well in school and be accepted to prestigious colleges, but it is usually very different.

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I see, this makes more sense. Thank you! I know that I don’t have a lot to worry about, I think I should probably stay off of college admissions content for a while.

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Learn to use Anki and use it to study for the USABO. Aside from the college admissions benefits, learning to use spaced repetition and active recall is a valuable study skills of you ever choose to go into a memorization-heavy subject or field. It will probably also help with school and Science Olympiad.

As for impact, the best way to go about it is to continue with what you’re currently doing and leverage that. For example, if you reach a high level in Karate, you can then start to work as an instructor’s assistant (yes, jobs are ECs, and good ones too) or maybe start a karate club or volunteer to teach a few introductory classes at local elementary/middle schools. Many options, but they are all based on the foundation of genuine skill you develop through consistency.

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I see that you are interested in science competitions. That’s a great start. I recommend to also try biology competitions if you like science competitions. For example, if you are going into med I think you might like USA Biology Olympiad. I did USABO when I was in high school and I really enjoyed it. My top recommended resources are Campbell’s Biology, Albert’s Molecular Biology, and Vander’s Human Physiology. Additionally, I also recommend biology olympiad training camps. Biolympiads has some great ones that are very helpful. I wish you all the best!

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Yes, I’ve actually been preparing for the USABO with similar materials as you did! If you don’t mind me asking, was there any more effective way to study than to read the textbooks, take notes, and go over many past exams and try to take them myself? I’m honestly very excited but I feel like my studying and understanding is shallow