<p>Here is my situation and I am hoping for help.
Since the age of 12 I have only had one EC and that is Rhythmic Gymnastcs.
I have been a member of the USA National team since I was 13 and am currently
training for a spot in the 2008 Olympics.
With that said I’m a rising senior with a weighted grade point of 4.0 having taken
only honors classes so far (I will have 3 AP classes my senior year)
The only Standard test I have taken is the ACT (didn’t even know I was going to
take it, no studying and just returning from a 3 week training/competition trip
to Europe. I scored a 28, 32 in English. My goal is to bring it up to at least 30 with
intense studying this summer especially in the Science area which was my weakest.
I have never had the chance to take the SAT since I have always been out of town
when the test was offered.
Honestly, my Olympic goal has always come first and it wasn’t until recently it dawned
on me that I need to plan for a life after this. I really never concidered college and I
have no idea what I want to be. So my thought right now is to go to a good liberal arts college
and explore my options.
Could anyone please help me in beginning the search for reach/safety colleges etc.?
Also, I am a W famale, hometown very rural MI but transfered to large Chicago Suburb Junior Year.
I live with host parents and train 35+ hours a week.
Will only having one EC completely ruin my chances for a good college?
Sorry this is long and rambling.</p>
<p>Normally, having one EC wouldn’t be very good, but since it’s at an olympic-type level, it should be fine, as long as you show the admissions people that you do have other interests. It seems like if a school had a gymnastics team or program and you were willing to participate in it, that that would help you in admissions, but I’m not sure how common it is for a school to have such a program.</p>
<p>Thanks Upsilamba, the problem with my sport is that there is no Rhythmic Gymnastics in any high school. It’s a very small Olympic sport in the Americas but a huge sport in Europe. With my training schedule it is very difficult to fit in any other EC’s. I am looking to do some Community Service in my free time though.</p>
<p>I would reccomend that you involve yourself in a few community serivce activites this summer and you will be just fine. Good luck for 2008 !</p>
<p>Thanks for the good luck Dennis173. It’s been a long road but worth it. What I am still needing is which type of colleges I should apply to. My host parents are both Northwestern Alums, but I think that is quite a reach. Any ideas on which colleges I might aim for?</p>
<p>I really don’t think you need to pick up any more ECs, unless you want to, that is. Getting to the Olympic level in any sport takes a huge time commitment, and colleges will recognize this. It’s the quality of ECs, not the quantity that counts. Anyways, I think your energy would be better focused increasing your ACT score to the 30+ range. If you do that, then even though a 30 is lower than alot of other peoples’ scores, I think you could get in to some top universities with your unique EC. I would recommend Northwestern ED if you’re really interested, and depending on your interests you also might want to look at colleges like U Chicago, Rice, Claremont McKenna, Williams, Amherst, etc.</p>
<p>bump for more input - Thanks</p>
<p>I second the “quality over quantity” statement. No matter how small the sport is, if you’re at the Olympic level… then wow. Colleges know–and if they don’t know, they can imagine–the extreme dedication it takes to get to that level, and it will open doors for you as far as college admissions goes. The whole Olympic athlete thing, plus your academic achievements like the relatively high GPA in honors classes (getting an ACT score of 30 would be good–not taking the SAT shouldn’t hurt you)… I wouldn’t expect you to fare too badly. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about getting into a good college–it isn’t all that far out of your reach. Sure, try to do some community service, if you’ve got time. Get involved with your other interests, if possible. Read up on colleges–there are tons of resources out there to help people decide where to apply. You’ll definitely have something unique to write your admissions essays about. And you’ll definitely catch the eye of many admissions officers, no matter where you apply. </p>
<p>And if it comes down to it and you haven’t got much to show for yourself besides your involvement with rhythmic gymnastics because you hadn’t given much thought to college and your future… well, that’s even something you can mention in your application. College admissions people would like to get to know you, the individual, and you shouldn’t feel you should pretend to be someone that you aren’t–i.e., a “normal” college applicant with half a dozen ECs, etc. You’ve devoted your life to something for many years, and now you’re learning something new about yourself: that there will be more to life. Adcoms would like to know that you’re going through this journey and are having these revelations. They’ll understand.</p>
<p>Good luck with everything. :)</p>
<p>Another possibility might be a university in Europe. If your sport is big there, that could be a sort of hook.</p>
<p>…teach gymnastics if you have time. Teaching is great- community service or job (job would show committment to making money and ability to save over long periods, community service= taking your EC even further). </p>
<p>Make rhythmic gymnastics a big thing in the US! Write a newsletter (a guy from my school got an internet newsletter going on fly-fishing and got a 1.5m circulation- he got accepted into some top school- a big stock story from the counselors).</p>
<p>Or apply to international schools where it is big.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the advice, I’m feeling better about the process.<br>
You guys are really good! Thanks again for your help.</p>
<p>are you planning on continuing in your EC in college? </p>
<p>I live in Colorado Springs, a block from Colorado College (which is an excellent LAC) and the olympic training center is located here. I have no idea if training is provided for rhythmic gymnastics – but I do know that many kids training for the olympics at the training center attend my son’s middle school and the high school down the street (they make special arrangements for transport and time in class). I am guessing that some college kids take classes at Colorado College who are also training – the unique block scheduling would allow a student to take off for 4 weeks for travel to competitions without jeapordizing grades (you only take one class at a time for 3 1/2 weeks).</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.coloradocollege.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.coloradocollege.edu</a></p>
<p>If you want to stay near Chicago, look at Lake Forest College, Loyola, DePaul, maybe Illinois Wesleyan.</p>
<p>From what I have heard from many sources- those who demonstrate a passion and commitment to one thing- as you have- are viewed more favorably than those with multiple ECs but no “passion”.
I sure hope so-my daughter pursued ballet (30 hrs/wk) until this yr.
Good luck to you and your Olympic dreams!</p>
<p>I like Terra-cotta Fren’s idea about teaching gymnastics. You could make an impact on your community–especially if you teach on a volunteer basis–and spread awareness of your sport that way. </p>
<p>The newsletter idea is good, too, if no one is already doing it. </p>
<p>There are tons of colleges with gymnastics programs. (You can do a search on the College Board’s website–[here’s</a> a quick link.](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/servlet/advsearchservlet?buttonPressed=viewResults&navigateTo=9&viewpage=1]here’s”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/servlet/advsearchservlet?buttonPressed=viewResults&navigateTo=9&viewpage=1)) I’m not sure of all the differences between “regular” gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics, but it seems to me that if you applied to any of those colleges, they would consider you to be a great asset.</p>
<p>Edit: [Here’s</a> a link to schools that have Div I women’s gymnastics.](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/servlet/advsearchservlet?buttonPressed=viewResults&navigateTo=9&viewpage=1]Here’s”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/servlet/advsearchservlet?buttonPressed=viewResults&navigateTo=9&viewpage=1)</p>
<p>Some great ideas here, let me just sum it up and add others.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Teach kids how to do gymnastics. That will show LEADERSHIP along with your ability.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply to colleges with a solid gymnastics program. Heck, aren’t some colleges RECRUITING you for that?</p></li>
<li><p>Anything at an OLYMPIC level is what people on CC.com call a “HOOK”. Hooks are things on your application that 1 out of a million people can say they did. Every other person has been the president of a club, but I bet you’re the only one who has olympic aspiration status.</p></li>
</ol>