Extracurriculars
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Anonymous
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My DD is starting her junior year in HS. We have slowly started the college search - thinking about fit, visiting a few campuses, etc. She had a difficult transition into high school from middle school and currently has a solid B average. However, she needs to bring it up to be more competitive at some of the colleges she is thinking of. My concern is her ability to do this while also playing a sport, holding down a part-time job, etc. She has done a variety of activities, but none seems to light her passion other than a young entrepreneurs program she participated in at GMU. She and her team deceived the winning idea for the district level competition but lost the regional. She is still interested in developing the idea further even without her team.
My question is if she is light on a plethora of ECs, but ardent about one how does that play with admissions committees. I don't want her checking boxes just to check boxes, but to accomplish something. |
Anonymous
| It really depends on the college. Some like the dedication shown by kids who only do a few things but have done them for long periods. I highly recommend your daughter do an interview when she applies, it will really help back up her passions. |
Anonymous
| Received not deceived |
Anonymous
Spoken like a true novice to the college admissions process. Most colleges don't do or even consider interviews, and the ones that do typically only assign it minimal weight. I wouldn't count on turning a decision around on the basis of an interview. The bottom line is that extracurriculars play a distant third in the process at best, behind grades, test scores and probably URM status. In some schools they don't matter at all, and in every school where they do matter, a couple of extracurriculars seen all the way through school will trump the "serial joiner" every time. Based on your decription of what your DD is up to, I'd say she's fine on the extracurricular front for many, many good colleges. Maybe not Harvard, but she won't get in there with a B average anyway. I'd stop worrying so much about extras and encourage her to pull her grades up the best she can, without stressing her out. Beyond that, I'd leave her alone. |
Anonymous
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One more thing: if you're asking whether she should drop something that she has (like the sport) to get her grades up I'd strongly advise against that. She's not busy enough and her grades aren't low enough to justify that. What's more likely to happen is that she'll just keep the same grades with one less activity. That would be counterproductive.
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Anonymous
| There's just no way to know how EC's count. If I could do it over I would have my DD focus on grades and relax more. When I ask she says she loved everything she did but hated the stress and exhaustion. Not a single school that took her cared one bit about any of her EC's. Not a single school. If she's not playing a sport in college drop it now and breathe a sigh of relief. I will mention that for the computer science program at her college (not her major) the department said that they only took freshman who had developed apps and actually made money off of them. Seriously. CS is extremely competitive to get into at this school btw. Who would have guessed? |
Anonymous
You're contradicting yourself. Your first answer is the correct one. |
Anonymous
| OP, admission at State U's are generally number based - an intercept of SAT & GPA (maybe weighted/adjusted, rank in class considered) The intercept/weighing of classes may vary re: the declared major. EC's unimportant unless the EC's bring a very special hook - which benefits the university - athlete they need, musician they need, etc. |
Anonymous
| ECs come in to play if the student is on the bubble. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I guess my point is for her not to exhaust herself. Her goal is to at least try to get her business idea off the ground as she thinks that would be an accomplishment that really sets her apart. |
Anonymous
| 17 year olds shouldn't have to find the cure for cancer to get into college. |
Anonymous
| She is also a big admirer of Evan Burfiekd of 1776. He started his first business while still in high school and then took time off to attend Oxford before moving to his next startup. |
Anonymous
If you mean set her apart in the college admissions process, sorry to burst your/her bubble, but it won't. Not with a B average. With a B average she's not getting into a top college unless she's an underrepresented minority (maybe) or a recruited athlete. You really need to refocus here. She can have ten extracurriculars AND her own business and still all anyone's gonna care about is the B average. You're kidding yourself if you thin otherwise. |
Anonymous
| If your daughter really loves the entrepreneurial stuff she should do it -- not because it's a sure fire way for her to get into college, but because it will help her develop as a person. Who knows? This could spur an interest in business, and that could make her passionate in some many ways that will pay off down the road. |
Anonymous
| Look; entrepreneurship is the current buzzword on every campus. Every school wants you to make it big and donate it all back. Better yet just form a quasi corporation with them and split the profits immediately. Part of it is finding the kids who are willing to take a risk and show resilience when they learn the hard way that their ideas are missing experience. I know that deep down you are juggling how to give your kid an edge and yet still have her do something she loves. But, that is the only thing you have to do. Let her do something she loves and stop wasting time on useless pursuits that sabotage her grades. Remember college is all about academics. Grades are actually paramount. Obscene scores are nice too. Everything else slides on down the scale very quickly. |