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Hate to be too cynical about this. However, it is well known how important activities are for most scholarship applications and many university admissions. Good grades and test scores are often not enough. Students are told how the "well rounded" candidate will get the scholarship or admission. So, you better get lots of "bullet points" for your application to proof how "well rounded" you are.
One angle is this, "Are you doing a particular activity because you really want to and enjoy it?" Or, is it more just to add another line to your resume? In the past I talked with med students who faced this situation. If the volunteering is more or less required, can it still really be considered volunteering?
Junior and Senior years in high school I cut back most of my extracurricular activities and worked instead. When people (especially teachers & coaches) asked about it, I explained I was working and saving up for college. Their reaction was less than 100% positive to say the least. Is it really less "noble" to work & save for college versus playing a sport & doing other school activities? Activities which then become bullet points on a scholarship application? I do concede participating is better than sitting around and doing nothing.
Topics:
- How much weight should they be given?
- Sincere effort versus just "playing the game"
- Parents who push their kids into particular activities for this reason
One thing that college admission reps look for is longevity of activities. If the student plays a sport one year, then plays a different on the following year and continues the cycle, it's a big no-no. It's better to do less and stick it out than join a bunch of clubs and then qut.
I was aware that EC's are something that college admissions people look for and that was in the back of my mind when each of my kids started HS. More important to me though was that they each find some activity that they really liked so they would enjoy school more. Being challenged and happy is a heck of a lot better than challenged and slogging through. My kids got involved in band, drama, robotics, track and choir. They found their friends in the groups and interests that carried through to college and beyond. THAT'S why you do more than just take classes.
Hate to be too cynical about this. However, it is well known how important activities are for most scholarship applications and many university admissions. Good grades and test scores are often not enough. Students are told how the "well rounded" candidate will get the scholarship or admission. So, you better get lots of "bullet points" for your application to proof how "well rounded" you are.
One angle is this, "Are you doing a particular activity because you really want to and enjoy it?" Or, is it more just to add another line to your resume? In the past I talked with med students who faced this situation. If the volunteering is more or less required, can it still really be considered volunteering?
Junior and Senior years in high school I cut back most of my extracurricular activities and worked instead. When people (especially teachers & coaches) asked about it, I explained I was working and saving up for college. Their reaction was less than 100% positive to say the least. Is it really less "noble" to work & save for college versus playing a sport & doing other school activities? Activities which then become bullet points on a scholarship application? I do concede participating is better than sitting around and doing nothing.
Topics:
- How much weight should they be given?
- Sincere effort versus just "playing the game"
- Parents who push their kids into particular activities for this reason
Any thoughts?
The small amount of money you can make at a part time job that pays minimum wage or slightly above is probably not worth giving up an activity you like. You have your whole life ahead of you to work. So it's not "less noble" to do so, but in the long run probably no more remunerative, and a lot less fun. That is unless you find a job you really love. Unlike some other posters here, I think it's OK to try a few sports. As for the volunteer activities, if you're doing a job that needs to be done, I think it's OK to do it to get the bullet points.
I teach at one of the top ranked stem high schools and our kids are all very high achieving with similar numbers in paper. The well rounded thing is a myth these days at the very top schools at least. What they are looking for is something that sets that student apart. Instead of being a member of ten ECs. They want one or two in which the student is passionate and has actually accomplished something meaningful. This year Princeton told one of my students it was her dichotomy that made her stand out, she had won major awards for a research project she had been working on since freshman year, and her commitment and success as a rugby player. She has almost no other extracurricular activities in the form of clubs or school sponsored sports but since that wasn't really what they were looking for they were fine with that. In the past we have heard similar things from other top schools. Interestingly, MITand Caltech have always been a mystery and we scratch our heads over which of our kids they take and which they don't.
Working part-time has always been considered an EC. What colleges do not want to see is a kid that sits in his/her room and does nothing but study. They want to see that you are involved in something other than getting an A on that test.
As for the motivation behind that, well, yes, the primary motivation for most is to get into college, but once they get into college they will find they need to continue being involved because employers don't want kid that sat in their dorms and studied. They want employees that can work well with others, have some leadership potential, etc. Then, when you get into the adult world, your employer will likely have committees they need help with, maybe the sponsor some kind of charity and need volunteers to help, maybe your kid's school needs some people to help in the classroom, etc, etc, etc. Most kids that are involved in high school continue to be involved for life, and that is what schools and employers are looking for.
Whatever your reasons for volunteering, the service is getting provided. I have no problem with that. Some high schools have service-learning requirements, where you HAVE to accrue x hours of volunteering.
a. None of the above.
b. Some of the above.
c. All the above.
All three are correct. It seems what colleges look for varies from year to year and from college to college. And let's not forget other intangibles that make no sense but look good to a college. Are you a woman looking toward physics? Or a man looking toward Early Childhood? Or whatever is considered opposite of the stereotype sex for that career? Do you fit the demographic they happen to need to fill that year? Any factor can trump any other at any time. So just pick your direction, do a variety of things that interest you, and don't stress too hard on being "perfect" for your desired college because you won't even know what "perfect" is until after they make the decision.
As for things like sports, I ensured my kids were/are involved because being an athlete make the whole high school experience easier, esp if you're also a "brain."
I teach at one of the top ranked stem high schools and our kids are all very high achieving with similar numbers in paper. The well rounded thing is a myth these days at the very top schools at least. What they are looking for is something that sets that student apart. Instead of being a member of ten ECs. They want one or two in which the student is passionate and has actually accomplished something meaningful. This year Princeton told one of my students it was her dichotomy that made her stand out, she had won major awards for a research project she had been working on since freshman year, and her commitment and success as a rugby player. She has almost no other extracurricular activities in the form of clubs or school sponsored sports but since that wasn't really what they were looking for they were fine with that. In the past we have heard similar things from other top schools. Interestingly, MITand Caltech have always been a mystery and we scratch our heads over which of our kids they take and which they don't.
This is my understanding as well. They want to see that the student has a "passion" for something which is why they don't like it when the student has a whole bunch of activities listed on their application that they participated in for only a year. Most applications do specify the dates of participation. If the student works after school at a hospital, doctor's office, CVS and claims they want to go into the medical profession, or at a camp because they want to work with children in a social science field, or at a fast food chain because they want to go into business or the culinary arts, it should carry some weight with the college evalluation process.Agree with lkb, colleges want something that makes the student standout. Also agree that MIT admissions is a mystery and that Princeton is more consistent. But much depends on your region and who your particular admissions rep is. One of these days, when I am completely out of the business, I am going to write an expose about the wheeling and dealing that goes on behind the scenes with the top 20 national universities and the top 10 liberal arts colleges.
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