High Schoolers Stressing College Applications

“Anyone got a list of extracurriculars which can be done would be really helpful just got like a year to really lock in on my extracurriculars I got 4A*s 1A in igcse taking maths physics econ for a levels looking for electrical engineering submitted by /u/Rude_Day9303 [link] [comments]”

“As the title suggests, I have almost no significant extracurriculars aside from playing club soccer for about 4 years and being on varsity soccer my sophomore year and this year. I've recently started giving college more thought and wondering what I can do to make myself a competitive applicant, and goddam, some applicants have hundreds of impressive extracurriculars, like participating in national conventions or starting a nonprofit that generated thousands. I can’t help but wonder if I hav”

“Hello! So, a big part of my ECS is esports. I have numerous state championships and a deep run in nationals, placing second. I am currently a captain in the club. It's a competitive club at your high school, but we got a varsity letter for participating in it. We've been featured in the news. What would I put it under for the activities section? Also, I coach a collegiate team. What category would I put that under? submitted by /u/Mr_Mowgli_26 [link] [comments]”

“So im planning on applying to a top school this year and have interviews soon so does anyone have tips for college/school interviews submitted by /u/Cherry_Blossom_786 [link] [comments]”

“As you read in the title I consider myself a higher percentage of average students. I'm not counting on getting into prestigious universities although I will apply just to see how it goes. I want to major in mechanical engineering and I am a junior right now. My stats include -Robotics club (strategy leader) -Cancer funding club(president) -Volunteer hours(50+) -Varsity tennis(and I have a guaranteed captain spot for next year) -HSK5 certification (although this hasn't happened yet it wi”

“I have done a national math competition that I have earned a award at and would love to put it on my honors, but is it possible if I can also put it on my extracurricular section since I did technically do it outside of my regular school study? submitted by /u/Available_Active_381 [link] [comments]”

“I might be reading into this question too much, but is this question asking about the activity in general, or the exact activity you did? so like for example im on the swim team at my school. i hope that ill be able to swim in my free time in college, so I should answer yes right? But on the other hand, im not gonna be doing swim team in college bc its my high schools team, so I'd put no. for NHS too - Im not gonna be in NHS in college but id still be open to tutoring ppl. so how would i ans”

“before anything else, i am from SEA, so please keep that in mind, and english is not my first language so please excuse any awkward sounding sentences :( ​hi everyone!! hope you're having an awesome day. ​i'm a high school student working on building up my college resume. right now, i feel like i don't have enough tangible proof or certificates to show for my extracurricular activities and achievements. i was particularly active in my earlier school years, but recently there haven&#3”

“Hi, i'm a high school senior looking at colleges, and was wondering if anyone had any experiences at places that could possibly be a good fit for me. I'm not big into the party life, so i don't really care about that aspect. I went through a big mental health crisis in junior year, and not only did that somewhat cut off my options, but it also has me behind and feeling lost. I want to get a good degree and succeed in life, that's a given. But what matters just as much to me is me”

“Hi I would like some advice about my activities section. I currently have 9/10 activities locked but not sure what to do with the remaining activities. Currently it's Varsity Swim Team Club I'm President of Hospital volunteering (200+ hours and volunteer leader) JV Tennis Team Lifeguarding (work) Science National Honors Society (President) Community Volunteering (Chess tutoring and work at a special needs baseball program) Crochet teaching (work) School Newspaper (Secretary) Debating The”

“I heard joining these types of clubs aren't much of a good idea and it's better to join clubs like fbla for college but are clubs like Asian or middle eastern EC good for colleges and my application submitted by /u/Typical-Custard-7795 [link] [comments]”

“I was selected for a youth advisory committee for a certain member of congress. How does this look for college apps if I’m not tryna major in poli sci? Don’t get me wrong I am passionate about this opportunity but I am trying to trim my list of ECs (I have more than 10) and I am wondering if I should put this on my apps? Edit: also what happens if they were to lose the midterms? submitted by /u/sunflower_sunset_1 [link] [comments]”

“My counselor gave me a pretty simple way of thinking about extracurriculars that I found really helpful, so I thought I’d share it here. Basically, she told me that your activities can be divided into 9 broad categories: Summer Programs Research Projects Internships Academic Enrichment School Engagement: clubs, student government, leadership, etc. Community Service: volunteering, nonprofit work, etc. Competitive Activities: sports, debate, Olympiads, competitions, etc. Creative Activities: music”

“I recently came across this post by u/Ben-MA and was curious: do quirky extracurriculars actually help with college admissions? Personally, I feel like some of these activities can come across as performative or gimmicky (unless you’ve been doing them at a genuinely high level or have pursued them consistently for a long time). I’d also love to hear from admissions officers and counselors here: what types of extracurricular activities do you wish you saw more of in college applications? What ten”

“I (15f) am a sophomore doing virtual school this year. It’s also the first year I’m doing clubs. I signed up for DECA, Debate, TSA, and HOSA. HOSA is the only one that’s started so far (a meeting every 2 weeks). Now i went into HOSA because I thought it was at the same level as Deca and debate- then was told it’s not at that level at ALL. My school doesn’t do comps, if I want to I have to do it independently with funds I don’t have (which might be the case with the other clubs but idk yet). On t”

“So I am currently a senior in high school, and I had a HUGE hiccup in my junior year. I had some strong ( 2 near-death instances and financial implications, other things Im not comfortable sharing ) family circumstances, and to add fuel to the fire, I took all APs that year and didn't get a single A. To cut to the chase, I got mostly As in freshman year with a few Bs (low-medium rigor), got a mix of As and Bs soph year (medium rigor), and Bs and Cs junior year. ( insane rigor )I also have a”

“I’m currently a junior and highschool and going for a stem major. My only pretty decent award is qualifying 2 times to nsda speech and debate nationals. Ik having something like USAMO is a lot lot better than anything like that, and I also know people regularly get any with awards that aren’t that great. I have a few other awards that are like better than ap scholar and stuff but it’s mostly regional/city recognition as opposed to an isef sort of thing. My profile is a lot more applied as in I b”

“Pre highschool: 5x attendance at a bible camp, will be volunteering eventually Elders and youth conference attendance Freshman year : DDF (debate only) like 50% win rate never won a tourney Basketball center, wasn’t great Local chess club tournament 2nd place 4x (istg I always went into the adults open league and there is a guy who is officially rated as a master with the USCF) Borough honor choir 1x (like regional honor choir, not super competitive probably like 30-50% acceptance for my vocal g”

“I am currently trying to finish up my college application so I can start applying. While going through the activities section, however, I ran into a problem. I've played soccer in high school up until my senior year, but only my junior year I was on JV. Both my freshman and sophomore year I was on our school's b-squad. Do I have to separately add that from my JV activity? I want to show that I've played soccer most of high school but don't want to have three entries just for socc”

“Im in highschool and Im gonna go to a university for some sort of program where its like an internship and Im currently answering this form thats asking for my hobbies submitted by /u/coolguywithcravings [link] [comments]”

“hi, are these good extracurricular activities for going to get my degree in finance? thank you in advance Founding member of my schools Finance club Varsity tennis treasurer of my city's youth council Member of my schools robotics club key holder for my city's soup kitchen tutored English to a Chinese woman part of a group that created care packages for veterans Member of my schools Special Olympics club Have over 200 hours of community service Security guard Helped coach kids in Golf Me”

“I feel like its kinda pointless considering im just a member and the societies at my school dont host competitions or rlly do anything submitted by /u/yesmias [link] [comments]”

“I know I probably shouldn't even be on this subreddit but I need some help as to what I can do during high school to help my chances of getting into a pretty good college. My main problem is that I don't think I have anything I am REALLY passionate about. I mean I like to talk, I like to play soccer, I do math in my freetime (I'm not a annoying nerd) and I do like finance but it seems that's all networking stuff in the future and not really your own skill. My school only allows t”

“I’m a senior starting to look into colleges and I roughly know what I want to do for a major but I have a few worries. Through all of high school I haven’t participated in really any extracurriculars, clubs, or sports. I also struggled the first two years of high school severely with a 1.0 gpa and haven’t taken a SAT or ACT. I’m just worried about how I should go about applying to colleges with these cons and also maybe which colleges to even apply to. submitted by /u/Ok-Background69”

“Guys what extracurriculars do I do in high school if I want to be a philosophy major I’m kinda lost. submitted by /u/OtherContribution179 [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I’m part of my country’s World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) team, and debating will be my #1 extracurricular when I apply to Harvard REA. I’ve been involved in debate throughout grades 9–12 and have won several international awards. My concern is that I don’t have much official documentation or “proof” of my achievements. I do have 3–4 news articles covering my accomplishments, along with photographs and other public records of me debating. I’m also planning to ask my debate coach to”

“I'm currently a junior but my main EC is a sport. I am working to get recruited for this sport and because it's "niche" compared to other college sports my parents have pushed that this is my best way to get into college. My older sibling had amazing (in my opinion) stats and tons of awards, leadership, top 10 in HS, high GPA, good AP scores, and a good SAT ACT score but didn't get into the college they wanted to. I hope to get recruited but when looking at schools how do y”

“I’m a senior in high school. The school year just started and all of my friends are talking about scholarships and college apps and I have no idea what to do or what I should be doing or how to even get started. What should I do??? submitted by /u/L3SSYAL [link] [comments]”

“hi guys I just started senior year a few weeks ago and I came to realize I focused too much on grades and have almost nothing for the activities/ extracurricular section aside from family responsibilities stemming from my parents health. Should I join clubs this year or is it too late? 😥😥 submitted by /u/BarberNo4246 [link] [comments]”

“I'm trying to figure out how I should rank my top 4 EC's. I have hospital volunteering since 11th, co-founding a tutoring service since 10th(not high impact but is active), top 10 selective stem summer program(not rsi), and top 25 stem summer program. I was originally thinking of putting the 2 summer programs first but maybe I should put the hospital voluntering first and tutoring service second to show more leadership and I've been doing it for a longer length of time even though th”

“If i do volunteering and HOSA and Student Council and all of that, would it look weird if I didn't do Key Club? I am def gonna do NHS bc I've heard it's weird if it's not on your application submitted by /u/Pitiful-Swim-2489 [link] [comments]”

“I just started my junior year and applications came out for it at my school. I only have mid awards such as for science fair, qualifyjng for hosa state and so do u guys think it would be an ok award/ec to work on and put in because i cant even reach life member status submitted by /u/Which-Highway-9358 [link] [comments]”

“So I joined the chemistry club end of junior year and applied for leadership and got accepted; then throughout the summer we did nothing but since August we meet every other week for around 2 hours and I'm confused on what to put down for the hours per week/weeks per year because technically I just started it...? submitted by /u/caloriecounterfreak9 [link] [comments]”

“Hello, I am a current junior in high school. I will be applying to colleges in the 27-28 cycle but am curious on how i can improve my current ec's. My ECS: Student council position at school, working at summer job since before freshman year, a part of an a capella group, musicals, cross country, started a nonprofit related to health equity, health equity interview series with pediatricians, hospital volunteering. I am applying as a premed major and want to know what I can add/what to improve”

“Hi, so I'm on my country's debate team, and wanted to know what r some other extracurriculars I can do. I'm interested in public policy, philosophy, Econ & math submitted by /u/user2039381 [link] [comments]”

“i’m starting my junior right now and i currently only have the basics for honors: ap scholar, honor roll, wtv. so the really boring classic stuff. I don’t know what to apply to or what to start doing to get more to add to that. any tips or plugs would be appreciated or any advice in general! submitted by /u/sleepyhead_xxx [link] [comments]”

“I’m so scared to do any extracurriculars because of my social anxiety but I really want to get into a top college - tips? submitted by /u/EntertainmentBusy638 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’ll be a on my 3rd year of hs and was wondering if founding a club on it will help with my application (I’ll apply for Computer Science). The idea is that I make an algorithmics club in my school where I help students study for the informatics olympiad and help them with general knowledge on some cs topics. Also at the end of the school year I was planning on organizing a competition based on the knowledge we got and also invite students from other high schools? PS Ill apply in eur”

“My parents wouldn't allow me to do any extracurriculars in my freshman year of high school or more than one a year leaving me with 2 or 3 if I list my part time job. My dream school has always been UW Seattle but my gpa is lower than their average (mine is a 3.68), because I'll be applying as an in state student my family seems to think I will automatically get in and shouldn't even worry. I am retaking my SAT in November to hopefully get a 1480+ but they have been telling me I need”

“i'm a junior and so far i've had like a 2.8 gpa because i've never really cared abt my grades til now. i've never been in any honors or aps til this year (ap lang, euro, and psych) + i'm taking chem for the first time this year, but i'm in like a slower class which is the same for math (algebra two but a dumbed down vers.) and i have NO extracurriculars like genuinely none... i've always been scared to join clubs + i don't really have hobbies or passions anyway. i”

submitted by /u/Fancy_Initiative4536 [link] [comments]

“This question has been bugging me for a while now, I’m going into Grade 11 this fall and I have a list of great ecs I want to include in my application. The problem is I know many people that graduated high school without ANY ecs at all. So are extracurriculars useless? When can it actually benefit to have all that because so far, it’s like free labour. submitted by /u/Good_Cauliflower7049 [link] [comments]”

“looking to get into osu and maybe t20’s submitted by /u/CoolPerson12354 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been hearing mixed responses on what to add to this section. I was wondering, would DECA, BETA, and HOSA, etc awards be acceptable to add to this section? Or should I rely on only like AP scholar and GPA awards. submitted by /u/I-love-cucumbers [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’m currently looking for any information about grants, scholarships, financial assistance programs, or other resources that could help me financially while I finish high school. I’m a high school senior in Florida and the child of a parent who is struggling with alcohol addiction and a very bad recovery which has really made things unlivable at home. I am an only child, and unfortunately the financial and emotional impact of that has made things at home bad. I’m trying to become mo”

“im a junior in high school right now and want to do pre-med or something in the medical field, whether it be research or clinical, in the future. i have some very mid ecs, but they don't really align with anything on the medical track and i really don't have many awards or leadership positions at all. I have good grades at school and am willing to work hard on any ecs that actually are worth my time (meaningful to not only college apps but also for experience in the field). i feel like e”

“I’m a junior in Ohio interested in finance/economics, and I’m trying to find an ongoing school-year opportunity rather than a summer camp. Last year I participated in Ohio State’s Student Leadership Research Collaborative (SLRC), where I worked with other students on research and presented our findings. I’m also involved in district-level student leadership and co-founded a school finance club. I’m looking for something similar that meets consistently throughout the school year: research, leader”

“I’m a high school senior applying to college soon and trying to figure out which extracurriculars are worth highlighting I founded and serve as president of a the Young Democrats at my school. We have 40+ members, and I’ve organized meetings and events with a lot of high profile state and county officials My concern is that because it’s a political organization, I’m worried that putting it prominently on my resume/application could potentially introduce political bias from whoever is reviewing m”

“I’m going into my senior year of high school, my grades have been pretty bad all of Highschool, my gpa is probably a 2.5 (on a good day) and I’m not involved in any good extracurricular activities. Blame me all you will, but I had no hope when it came to college coming into Highschool, there’s been months where I’ve wanted to get my shit together to hopefully better my chances at getting into colleges but I was pretty dead set on just commuting to Montclair state. My parents have no hope either,”

“my idea for this club would basically be help refine/better students colllege apps at meetings and give advice, maybe host fundraisers to make a scholarship??? like im just wondering if anyone can se ehow this can be a bad idea or what to take caution in. also yeah this is to add to my own college app submitted by /u/HelpMeWithEmeralds [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’m a high school student interested in business, economics, leadership, and politics, and I’m looking for meaningful things I could do during high school. I’m hoping to apply to competitive U.S. universities in the future, but I don’t want to simply collect activities for my application. I want to actually build skills, take initiative, and do something useful. I’d love to hear about: ECs or projects you personally did Things you’ve seen other students do Leadership opportunities B”

“I'm an international student and I plan to maybe apply to an american school with decent quality next year and I haven't have any passion projects started nor any extracurriculars that may boost my chances of success yet. Are there any online versions of these that I can maybe sign up for since I don't think my town really have any to offer. submitted by /u/Ok_Avocaduh_7120 [link] [comments]”

“Hello everyone! I am a junior in high school and I was wondering what kind of things I can do to make my college applications look a bit better. Currently, I don't have much that is geared toward architecture specifically, but I believe I have a decent base of volunteering, rec letters, and academics. Are there any specific free/cheaper programs I can begin practicing with? What should I focus on adding to my(if any) portfolio? Are there any specific programs I should be looking out for in m”

submitted by /u/Thelatebirdd [link] [comments]

“the title says it all. I wasted my sophomore and freshmen year focusing SOLEY on academics. I've participated in quite a few clubs (robotics, math, math honor society, etc) and competitions/olympiads (WRO, ILO, AMC 10) but I've won NOTHING substantial. I've also never had a leadership position. My academic profile is pretty good as of now, but my ECs pale too much in comparison. What are some ECs that I can do to get into prestigious universities (hoping to apply for NUS, GeorgaTech,”

“hey guys, I’m currently a senior in high school and I’m looking for tips on applying to scholarships and just any tips you guys wish you would have known before starting college! I currently go to a very small Christian private school in Mississippi, and I plan to attend a community college. I plan to study health sciences but I’m not sure exactly what major yet. I’m thinking between radiologic technology, medical laboratory technology, sonography, or health information technology/management. An”

“Hi, I’m from England and I’m 15 years old, going from year 10 (freshman) into year 11 (sophomore). I’m thinking about what to do beyond school in life, and I’m considering the possibility of applying to US universities. I was wondering if anybody had any advice of what sort of requirements and achievements I need to have in order to get into American universities, as I’m sure it’s different from the UK. I have composed a list of the universities I’d like to go to in the US (mainly ivies, MIT and”

“as a rising senior who has so far won >35k in scholarships, competitions are the meta. you can win huge amounts of money from competitions that can put a huge dent in the cost of college. i’m not going to say which ones i’ve done so i don’t get doxxed, but things like quiz bowl-esque comps w prize money or essay competitions are definitely the move submitted by /u/Still_Squash8987 [link] [comments]”

“I’m a rising junior in high school and I’m really worried about the extracurricular and awards section of my college application. I’m honestly lost in figuring out what extracurriculars to invest my time in that will be meaningful in the long run. I feel very behind but I don’t want to rush an activity. I feel that although I may not have lots of extracurriculars to start now as I’m already a rising junior, I should just go deeper into a few and pour lots of energy into those. But I’m really con”