Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:58
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My kid is first chair in a regional orchestra but is that really a strong extracurricular? He is not winning national or regional concerto competitions so neither of us really think it will move the needle although we would be happy to be wrong
Especially in the string world, some of the best youth musicians aren’t even in the audition-based orchestra programs, either the private ones (AYPO etc) or the school based ones (regional/all-state etc). Instead they’re in pre-college conservatory programs and/or studying with the highest-level teachers, practicing many hours a day, often prioritizing chamber music, going to selective summer programs, and entering competitions including nations or even international ones.
PP here - yeah that seems right to me (although my kid is not a string player). If he wanted to go to a conservatory he would have auditioned for the Julliard weekend program. I had friends who did that growing up. None of those friends still play professionally though.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:54
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
At my kids' school, only a couple of people try to get elected for school president (no idea how many students vote, probably not many) and then ... do close to nothing as far as the rest of the student body can see. It's just a title to put on the resume.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:53
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:My kid is first chair in a regional orchestra but is that really a strong extracurricular? He is not winning national or regional concerto competitions so neither of us really think it will move the needle although we would be happy to be wrong
Especially in the string world, some of the best youth musicians aren’t even in the audition-based orchestra programs, either the private ones (AYPO etc) or the school based ones (regional/all-state etc). Instead they’re in pre-college conservatory programs and/or studying with the highest-level teachers, practicing many hours a day, often prioritizing chamber music, going to selective summer programs, and entering competitions including nations or even international ones.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:49
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
Accepted to a Top 10 and Top 20.
Ask your kid who got accepted to "a Top 10 and Top 20" to explain to you why correlation is not causation.
I'm guessing this posters kid is/was not captain of a varsity team sport. Just sayin.
Sounds like you're delulu.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:46
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Strong ECs means:
1. school president
2. first chair in audition orchestra/band
3. elite-level athlete
4. multi-year (3+) community service commitment at the same organization
5. multiple awards won at top tournaments/conferences: speech and debater/Model UNer
6. steady job of any kind (McDonald's and the like=bonus)
Strong ECs does NOT mean:
1. president of many clubs
2. started a non-profit
3. did research with a professor
4. participated in any or all of the "strong ECs" above but not with demonstrated commitment (i.e. many years) and/or significant recognition (i.e. varsity athlete but not top individual stats, on student council but not president)
This list is not comprehensive but there is a great deal of misinformation here about what "strong ECs" means.
Ok
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:44
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
Accepted to a Top 10 and Top 20.
Ask your kid who got accepted to "a Top 10 and Top 20" to explain to you why correlation is not causation.
I'm guessing this posters kid is/was not captain of a varsity team sport. Just sayin.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:41
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
lol ok whatever you say.
Was your kid a captain of a major varsity team sport?
Not whatever I say...how many captains of sports teams are at your school alone? No multiply that out by the schools in your county, state, and the country. This is a massive number of kids. At our HS, a single team might have 5-7 senior captains PER SPORT. It is not like the captains do anything truly impactful. Maybe some team bonding, working on stuff for the end banquet, leading cheers, etc. That's about the extent of it.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:40
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
I had to laugh at your list because my cousin's daughter started a non-profit her sophomore year of HS. I know they think it's good for college admissions and it's none of my business, but it's so hokey when the VP and treasurer are mom and dad.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:40
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:People like you are exhausting.
+1
+2 Plus OP must live in some overprivileged bubble where having a job at McDonald's is so exotic that it would be considered as a special hook to get into college.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:38
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
lol ok whatever you say.
Not whatever I say...how many captains of sports teams are at your school alone? No multiply that out by the schools in your county, state, and the country. This is a massive number of kids. At our HS, a single team might have 5-7 senior captains PER SPORT. It is not like the captains do anything truly impactful. Maybe some team bonding, working on stuff for the end banquet, leading cheers, etc. That's about the extent of it.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:38
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
OP, just stop this random BS. You know nothing about elite activities and just are making up shit out of your narrow world view.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:35
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
Accepted to a Top 10 and Top 20.
Ask your kid who got accepted to "a Top 10 and Top 20" to explain to you why correlation is not causation.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:34
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
Accepted to a Top 10 and Top 20.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:33
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What is elite level athlete? You are either recruitable, or not recruitable.
You can be recruitable but choosing not to play. If a girl was a starter on a nationally ranked team but chose not to play they still have a fantastic EC. If they were a captain on the team even better. They were elite at their main EC which is the bar.
Definitely not true and I say this as a parent of varsity atheletes. If your kid is not an athletic recruit, sports are among the useless ecs. May get some leadership points if kid is a varsity captain, but others pretty useless as far as admission as impact.
My son was a varsity captain of his basketball team but not a recruited athlete but 3 kids on his team were high D1 recruited. The varsity captain helped college admissions tremendously in addition to his strong academics.
Source for this? Where is he going? Captains of teams are ok but generally meaningless. There are many of them at every school...
lol ok whatever you say.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 16:31
Subject: A reality check on "strong extracurriculars"
Anonymous wrote:People like you are exhausting.
+1