Too Late to load up on ECs as a sophomore?

Chance Me / Match Me
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<p>Hi, I’m a sophomore at a top northeast public high school (49% of last year’s senior class of 360 students now attend top 80 universities, probably 35-40 seniors were accepted into ivies and other schools of that ilk; I think this year there are 2 Harvards, 5 Yales, 2 Princetons). As you can imagine, competition here is immense, and there is lots of pressure on students, including myself, to take the best classes offered (and I do; I’m on track to be taking all AP courses by senior year, plus I’ve skipped a year in mathematics). My grade point average is approximately 3.95 UW (A- is 3.7, A is 4, and A+ is 4.4), and our school does not calculate a weighted GPA. Although our school does not reveal class rank, I am confident I am within our class’ top 10% (it is also composed of around 360 students) although not quite at the valedictorian/salutatorian level. I have scored 770 on the Chem SATII, and I envision myself as realistically earning an 800 on Math IIc when I take it next year, and a high 700s score on Physics. Other SATIIs I might take include US History and Chinese, but as of now I can’t really predict my score. Although I have taken neither the SATI nor the ACT (not sure if I plan to take the ACT), I will likely earn a top score on the math section, and a mid-700s score in CR and writing. I have not taken the PSAT yet.</p>

<p>Academically, I am not worried that I am unqualified to make it into top schools. But as of now, my extracurriculars are dreadful. I’ve played over 10 years of piano, but my interest in the instrument is fleeting and I do not have any passion for it. I am also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, but I haven’t participated in it for 2 years now and probably will not go back to it. I also have been attending Chinese School nearly all my life on Saturday mornings, but it’s something I get nothing out of. I participate in two varsity sports, winter track and baseball, the latter which I can say is the only extracurricular I have a strong passion for. My coach tells me I have a decent chance of being recruited to play in DIII and less competitive (Ivy) DI, but right now I am not going to rely on baseball as my admission ticket. </p>

<p>That is my short list of extracurriculars. I do not have any awards, not even in math, the subject I am by far the strongest at and the most passionate about (I took the AMC10 test in January and missed the AIME qualifier by 1.5 points, as my score was a 118.5…gah). I know that ECs are what I need the most work at, but at this point is it too late to join school clubs and participate in other activities? Would it appear as if I was only doing it to increase my admissions chances? I know ECs are about having one true passion, and I have that with baseball (I dedicate lots of time improving myself), but if I’m not good enough to get recruited, what is my passion for the sport worth to top universities? I do not have any hooks to top schools except UPenn, where I have double legacy, but I do not have a large desire to go to UPenn (unless it was Wharton…yeah right). I would much rather attend a top engineering school like MIT, Caltech, or Stanford; that’s not to say those are my only 3 schools of interest, but those are my top 3 choices. Given my circumstances, do I have a realistic chance in making those schools, and how should I handle my extracurricular situation going forward?</p>

<p>Also, a little side question: does being biracial count for anything if I’m half-ORM and half white? I’m going to guess no but I’m asking just for clarification purposes…</p>

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<p>The idea is not to join a bunch of clubs and ‘load up’ on ECs. That will not impress any top colleges, and ECs only matter at top colleges. The secret is to choose one thing you have genuine passion for and achieve more in it than your peers.</p>

<p>And no, biracial in this case will not help.</p>

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<p>Assuming baseball doesn’t count, I would definitely say that I am passionate about math. I do plan joining our school’s math team, but are there other ways in which I could get very involved in the subject?</p>

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<p>Math team is a very good way to get involved. Get a position, go to Mu Alpha Theta nationals, place in state competitions.</p>

<p>That being said, you have a good mix of sports and academics. Good job. Tae-Kwon-Do and Piano will not cut as your E.C. activities, however. My suggestion is to attempt to get more involved during the summer and look for opportunities to do the following year. Better late than never…</p>

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<p>If you’re aiming at top colleges you want to go way beyond your school’s math team and look at setting yourself up for national competitions, look at doing research at a local U, if it extends to science enter Seimens and Intel…</p>

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<p>I think that baseball will be a bigger hook than you think, and I would definately not rely on Math to be your hook since qualifying for AIME in 11th grade while it is pretty good it’s not going to stand out at top-tier schools.</p>

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<p>You should run cross country in the fall. And if you only play baseball for school look into joining a club team because for most sports other than football and running recruiting is based off of club or travel teams, not school.</p>

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<p>Regarding getting recruited, I am attending an athletic showcase this summer and probably the next summer as well. I’ve been told that I have just about the right qualifications to be a baseball recruit, and quite a few players from our school’s baseball program have been recruited without joining any outside of school clubs. I just worry that I will not be recruited for whatever reason (injury, unexpected regression, etc.) and that’s why I do not want to rely on baseball, not until I get a more clear idea if I’m likely to be recruited. Also, I do plan on continuing with winter track but I don’t think I will join Cross Country, as I want to play fall baseball, even though it is not technically a varsity sport that merits a varsity letter.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses, guys. hmmom5, when you say national competitions, are there any in particular I should be looking at (aside from USAMO, I’m aware of that one), and are there prerequisites for competing?</p>

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<p>It’s never too late. Most colleges say they look for 3-4 years of committment. Most of my major ECs didn’t start until sophomore or summer of junior year, and it’s the depth that matters as much as time. Just start now and look for opportunities that you would be comfortable continuing from now into college as well.</p>

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<p>Great advice on this thread.</p>

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<p>Are most of these competitions connected with school or are they something I should be looking out for on my own?</p>