<p>Was discussing the thread about ECs with my soph in college high achieving, well rounded son. His comment on the fact that colleges are looking for passion in one area instead of multiple areas of ECs was that he looked at high school ECs as a chance to do things he may never do again and/or just what he enjoyed. He played four sports, had leads in plays, sang, was in student government, not to pad his resume but to experience a myriad of interests.
He told me he thinks high school is becoming only a stepping stone to college, but he sees it as a unique experience that should not only be driven by what you believe you need to get into the college of your dreams. Half the time there is so much conflicting info on what is looked for that you should just do what you want.
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>interesting thread… I always thought the same, especially after taking some terrific classes in high school with kids who were simply not interested in the material. I realized that although these kids were smart, and perfectly qualified to be there, they were only taking the difficult classes to bolster their applications. The result was a class dynamic where the overwhelming majority of students weren’t engaged in the curriculum - ultimately, this was a detriment to the entire course, as well as the experience for those of us who were actually interested. What a shame that high school is increasingly looked upon as just a means to get into a top college - what then? Will colleges become the next stepping stones to a top career path? In this situation, those who lose out are kids who never learn to value the experience of a good education.</p>
<p>High school is the time to do much of the work of developing into the person whom one is capable of becoming. It also is the time to develop the insight into one’s own interests and values. This means jumping in to explore one’s interests. </p>
<p>As a result of what one learns about one’s interests, values and skills in high school, one then selects colleges to apply to that are good fits.</p>
<p>Too many people go about this backward. As freshmen, for instance, they decide to do things that they think a particular college would want. Instead, students should be doing things that THEY want to do, and then as seniors, they should apply to the colleges that best match their own personalities, talents and interests.</p>
<p>The US is blessed with thousands of good colleges that have a wide range of strengths, environments, academics and extracurriculars. There’s a good college fit for virtually any student who desires to go to college.</p>
<p>One last thing: Most colleges base their admissions on one’s coursework, grades and possibly one’s scores. Very few weigh ECs heavily if at all. Also, most U.S. colleges accept the majority of students who apply to them. It’s only the very elite colleges --that get thousands of extremely well qualified applicants – pay that much attention to ECs in admission. The exception is athletics, which can open lots of doors when college need to fill varsity sports slots.</p>