@cue123 do you really think that they only have one passion? The smartest person that I know well (full prof at top university in his field) had many diverse passions. Could have been a professional songwriter. One of the leading experts in a type of collectible pottery. If you met him outside you wouldn’t never know what he did for a living. In a work environment, it was completely opposite.
Idk, people at my school (both students and counselors) try to put down the idea of having a spike in an academic area because they think that it makes you come off as unilateral, and promote being well-rounded instead. Even if you are truly passionate about that academic area and your ECs reflect that, others will still think that you will get rejected because of how you come off as unilateral. Thoughts?
You will not get rejected from colleges because you are involved in academic ECs you care about.
AGAIN… colleges accept we’ll rounded applicant’s with a variety of interests as well as applicant’s who have a focused area of interest/strength. One is not better or worse than the other
How do I let these people know that then? They keep putting my ECs down and making me think that they are going to see more success in admissions than I will, and it’s making me really question my decisions and messing with my self-esteem (I go to a toxic school)
Lesson number 1: Students who have never been through the admissions process are not the font of all knowledge. Best not to take admissions advice from those who do not know his much they do nit know.
It isn’t about the number of hours or academic vs. sports vs. fine arts ECs. What counts is the impact you make, your effectiveness, and how you challenged yourself, stretched, contributed, and grew.
The pandemic has affected many, many things. However, it has presented students with a massive opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and resilience. I have been so impressed with all the different ways high schoolers have stayed safe while still being productive and relevant this summer. It isn’t a reason to sit on the couch.
I am a fan of participating in one or two EC related to one’s intended major. So many kids target a career because they think they’re going to make a lot of money or because they have to please their parents. Then they go on to bomb that weed out biology class necessary for medical school or that higher level math required for engineers. Having a little related experience demonstrates interest, indicates you’ve thought it through some (even though you can’t predict everything that lies ahead). That’s not about impressing an AO so much as trying on your own readiness and commitment, exploring your interest a little more in depth. And when things get tough in a college class, a fond EC memory might help remind you of why you chose that path.
I am also a fan of having some ECs outside of one’s major. It usually makes you a more interesting person, it develops different skill sets which can be valuable later in ways you can’t foresee, and simply allots time for a broader range of your interests. It may offer opportunities to contribute to your school, team, or community.
I am not a fan of having 10 different extracurriculars. By all means, explore your interests. That once a month book or yoga club? Do it because you enjoy it, but leave it off the application. It is usually obvious to colleges who is padding their application and who is making an impact or a contribution. It’s hard to go deeper when you are spread too thin. And the thicker the application, the thicker the kid.
Also, do colleges compare our ECs to those of others at our school?
My son got into several T10’s.
My daughter got into one T10.
It was about grades, tests, essays and LOR’s.
EC’s were the least of their priorities in their applications, and they were unique to each. They did what they wanted to do and applied to various schools including the in-states.
You are overthinking this^ and wont get into any school if you are trying to become something that you are not.
The slots for T10’s are mostly filled.
My kids had hooks: Legacies, recruited athletes and URM.
You cannot force yourself fit a school. Square peg-round hole. What will happen if you don’t get in and spent your time trying to fit in with EC hours or things that are not you?
If you have to ask about hours spent on EC’s, and types of EC’s, you really are prioritizing the wrong area and the colleges will instinctively sense that.
While Harvard is unlikely to accept everyone on your school’s polo team, admissions officers spend maybe 8-10 minutes on each application. That doesn’t exactly leave sufficient time to scrutinize to that level of comparative detail.
You are waaaaay overthinking this. There’s a book coming out in September called “Who Gets In & Why”. Consider giving it a read.
Can I DM you my extracurricular profile for advice, I just want to know how it comes off to other people
“Your overthinking as stated above. Just do what you enjoy.”
Exactly. The point is not which ECs you do. The point is to do well at whatever you do. If you participate in the ECs that you want to participate in, then you are likely to do well.
“How do I let these people know that then? They keep putting my ECs down and making me think that they are going to see more success in admissions than I will”
Ignore them. They do not know what they are talking about.
There are a number of people who regularly contribute to CC who did attend “big name” universities. We probably will really never know exactly why we got accepted. However, we at least know that whatever we did worked. I think that this gives us some credibility.
True leaders do not put people down. Leaders make the group that they are in better for everyone.
One of the reasons that I might have gotten accepted to MIT out of high school was that I was president of the chess club, and in this role increased the participation in the club significantly. However, I did not do this to get into MIT. I did it for the good of the people participating in the club. We started a number of activities (such as tournaments, and a friendly competition with a nearby high school) which just made the club more interesting for the people who participated in it. Make the groups that you participate in better. The people who write your references are likely to notice.
You also do not need to attend a “big name” university to do well in life. In my experience graduates from MIT and Stanford and U.Mass and UNH and Rutgers and UC Berkeley and IIT and schools that you have never heard of work together every day and no one cares where anyone got their degree. I also know students who have gone to a university that you probably have never heard of and are getting a great education and getting great research opportunities (including personally applying for and winning government grants to continue their research over the summer).
You might want to read the following blog from someone associated with MIT admissions.
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways/
And then relax, and participate in the ECs that are interesting to you. Remember that “leadership” means helping people, it specifically does not mean getting your way.
Here is the thing - “spiky” individuals do well with spiky ECs list. Students who are more rounded, do better with a more rounded list.
A kid who is absolutely obsessed with math, will have a math heavy course list, with every math course the school has, as well as a bunch of outside courses, spend many hours a week on math activities, from math club to competitions, to math camps. They will also likely have a long list of awards in the competitions. That is about a spiky as they come.
Another student, who has interests in physics and music and sports will have ECs in all, and have a decent list of accomplishments in each.
Does one have a better chance than the other? Unless the math kid is an absolute world-class genius, than no. Both are pretty strong in the EC department. They both pursue their non academic interests and passions.
Your ECs should be a reflection of who you are.
Colleges, in general, accept students based on what the students will contribute to the college, not as A Prize For A Job Well Done. Popular ones with very low acceptance rates can pick and choose whoever they want, and they will choose those who they think will contribute the most to the college. The contributions can be straight financial, and in alumni donations, in future connections, or they can be in positive publicity like winning academic prizes, increasing the visible diversity of the college, and winning in sports. They also like many who are excellent team players and will help with team achievements - not all prizes are for superstars. There are some who fill places in the incoming class that make sense to AOs who have their own ideas as to the type of incoming class which will contribute the most to the college.
The problem is that many students, like you, have this idea that they can build themselves into one of the students that AOs will decide that they need.
That is not how you should be looking at college. Your primary aim in college admissions is finding the college which you need. You should not be making you four years of high school into a tine where you do your best to fulfill the needs of a small number of college. That is ridiculous.
The point of the ECs are not to make yourself into something that some colleges will think that they need. They are a way for you to figure out what you want and what you need in your life.
Focus on figuring out what you want, what you need, what you like doing. Then, when you are applying to colleges, find the colleges which meet your needs and can provide what you want, and those are the colleges to which you should apply. And I am absolutely certain that you will succeed, thrive, and fully take advantage of your four years of college. It will not matter whether those are T-10 colleges or not.
Those are the right colleges. The colleges which will fit you.
I mean, if you want to buy clothes, would you tray and change your body shape to fit the clothes, or would you choose the clothes which fit you?