I am a current junior in high school and I am leaning toward applying as a sociology major for college. I was wondering what are some activities students do that is related to sociology?
What are your target colleges? Many top schools don’t admit based on major, so general ECs are fine. Many of the schools that do admit based on major don’t care about ECs all that much, so general ECs are also fine.
Do ECs that allow you to use your talents to benefit your community, have fun, and generally thrive. If you’re interested in sociology they will probably bend in that direction anyway.
I am mainly interested in UCs like UC Davis (my dream school). I have done some ECs during my Freshmen through Sophmore summer that I enjoy and did every year. I am concern that my essay will not include any ECs related to sociology.
This is what UC Davis looks at;
https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/application-review-criteria
The relevant ones are:
What ECs have you done so far? What ECs are available to you? Since there is no Young Sociologists of America that I know of, you may need to relate a ‘regular’ EC (like say student government) to sociology. What is your essay going to be about?
These are all the things I have been doing since Freshmen year to Junior year:
-I was a member of UNICEF (9th grade) and president in only 11th grade)
-I have been going to a Navajo reservation to tutor and construct homes for a month during the summer (also my 8th grade summer) (I only get 147 hours of community service hours because of my school rule but should be getting close to 250+ hours each year)
-I have been a youth leader of my church in SF
Only Freshmen year:
-Freshmen basketball (9th grade)
-National Honor Society (my school discontinued at 9th grade)
Since sophomore year:
-I became part of a brown bag ministry group (gave food to the homeless in the SF community)
-I got a Caltrans internship during the summer
My Junior year:
-CSF
-Cross Country (Varsity)
-Volleyball (Varsity)
-Joined Garden Club (received some community service hours and helped the school garden during and after school hours)
My Senior year:
-I already got accepted for a club called Link Crew (role to helps Freshmen throughout the school year and also receive some community service hours.)
Not part of school:
I also have a vision condition that helps makes it hard for me to do sports and perform well academically compared to others.
For now, my essay ideas were:
-my academic struggle
-my opportunity to tutor and construct homes in a Navajo reservation
-my internship with Caltrans.
I really don’t know how to relate my essays with a sociology major.
Wow, you must have seen a lot on the rez. Does the essay prompt specifically ask you to write about your major?
IMO no particular activity is needed to apply as a sociology major. And FWIW any EC that you pick up senior year is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on your college application – you probably won’t have enough time to get deeply involved/make a meaningful contribution to such a new group. I’d recommend that you keep doing what you are doing, see if you can get a leadership position etc…
I am looking at the UC essays and I think I can write some decent essays on these current topics:
-Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
-Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
-Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.