Hello,
I am a sophomore right now and Princeton is the top college I want to attend. I have been homeschooled through middle school up until now, so I haven’t been able to participate in many different activities.
I ride horses (but I don’t compete), and I’ve been playing cello for two years and am hoping to join orchestra junior year. I volunteer every week, and I’ve had a job since I was 13.
Other than that, I haven’t done much. My extracurriculars are definitely not impressive. I have great grades (although nothing mind-blowingly spectacular), and I’m a year ahead in English. I’m on track to be completely done with advanced mathematics and calculus by the time I enter college. I will most likely be entering part time at my local high school junior year, so I will be exposed to more opportunities.
My question is: what should I do? In my last two years of high school, what would you suggest I join/pursue in order to enhance my extracurriculars? I adore writing, reading, photography, and cello, so I am open to anything in those categories! Whether it’s AP, summer programs, volunteer opportunities, or competitions, I would love ANY help!
Get the stats needed to be competitive first. Then, focus on your ECs. Your ECs should show your passion and skill for a specific subject matter or two. You want depth, not breadth. Try getting leadership positions in clubs that interest you. Try to connect your ECs. If you like writing, join the newspaper. Join the literary magazine club, or if there isn’t one, start it. Write creatively and apply for essay contests.
Hey, KindaLikeGranger! First, I want to preface what I am going to say with the fact that there is no formula to getting into any school, especially not the Ivy League. However, I will try my best to tell you some things I found helpful in my journey. I was accepted EA to Princeton’s class of 2022, and because they were my top school, I pretty much wrapped up my college search.
I would say that my extracurriculars also weren’t very WOW. They were typical things such as debate, student government, and volunteering. With that said, I was highly involved in those things, volunteering 150+ hours, doing well in debate, and even becoming student government president. I would say that these schools don’t necessarily care what you do, but it is how well and how much you do it. Therefore, I would try to focus on expanding on the extracurriculars you already have. Definitely try to join that orchestra and maybe play at a local church/theater/venue. Keep riding horses, but see if there is any way to elevate that activity. For example, I am a beekeeper, so I decided to get a certification from my state’s beekeeping program to prove my proficiency. If there is something similar, do that with horses! Also, you might could either teach people how to ride horses as either a job or volunteer work, and that would look awesome on a resume as well! Now, about volunteering… I would say that it is pointless (application wise) unless it fits into your “story” on your application. The best approach to applying is to make a cohesive story about yourself. Mine was that I was a hardworking person who made a lot out of the few opportunities in his rural community and who is determined to help others who have been cast aside or treated unfairly by society. Now, you will DEFINITELY need to create a story with your application from your ECs to your Rec Letters to your essays. Now, back to volunteering. Knowing my story I created, I knew how to write about my volunteer work in an enriching way. I worked with an organization that helped victims of domestic violenence, and this fit with my passion for helping those hurt by society. Find a way to make your volunteer work reflect back on you, or otherwise, in the adcoms’ eyes, you won’t stand out.
In junior year, I wouldn’t worry about adding any new ECs unless you can heavily commit to them, you love to do them,and they contribute to your story. Rather, like I said earlier, make your current ECs deeper. Also,in junior year, take as many rigorous courses as you can, but make sure that they are actually courses that build you and excite you, that are related to your inteded interest (if you have too many rigorous courses to choose from). Also, in junior year, make sure that you get all of you standardized testing done. You will want to be in the top 1% of ACT or SAT, and you will want to do very well on Subject Tests as well (which I highly recommend taking). For free yet amazing SAT practice, use Khan Academy! They raised my score by about 100 points.
Also, definitely try to add some reading/writing EC into your resume, or any EC that is related to your interest/major/future career. That could be writing for a school or loval newspaper, going to literary/writing competitions or submitting works to essay competitions. You have a lot of really good passion ECs, but it doesn’t seem that you have any ECs related to what you might want to do later in life. My debate and student government served this purpose for me as I want to study/go into government and public policy. I would suggest finding an interest/EC that serves a similar purpose for you.
I hope this all helps and isn’t just word vomit! Really though, try not to stress out about this stuff, and also don’t do things just to get into school. Do things that you love, but do them the best that you can. That passion and excitement will, if properly written, will shine through your application. THAT is what the admissions office really wnats to see.
Best of luck!