[x.luvya.x]

so i'm currently a junior in high school and i'm majorly freaking out right now about getting into college after reading all these threads. i don't think my current grades are good enough for getting accepted into UCs, so i figured that i should be more active and do more activities. but the problem is what? i know i'm not an athletic person so no sports for me. and yea there's always the club route, i'm in a few but idk, it doesn't seem really significant unless you're an officer. i'm thinking about volunteering at a hospital or something.

what are some other extracurricular activities i can do to boost up my chances of getting into a good college?

[Vivskies]

^ Erm. Volunteering at hospitals are always good.
Anyhow, if you live near a UC school that let's volunteers do stuff at their medical centers, go for that.
Ex: UCSD Medical Center( I know there's one here for positive, ha ha. ), UCLA (?? Not sure though. Call them and ask about volunteering)

[sPark*]

wow its a bit late lolls. try to become more active in whatever clubs ur doing now. maybe you'll get a chance to obtain an officer position. but truthfully, if you dont have "good enough" grades then concentrate on raising them. also do well on the SATs and take SAT IIs. volunteering wont affect ur acceptance rate much if you dont have the grade first of all. if ur grades are decent enough for whatever colleges u are aiming for, then u can try to go for extracurriculars.

[daehanminguk1345]

Well, to begin, I just want you to stop worrying too much. You can still improve your chances if you start trying right now. Trust me on this one.

Here's my advice:

Work harder to get all your homework handed in ON TIME and complete. Try making flashcards for the classes you have difficulty in and spend 10-15 minutes a day per subject studying. Have a few minutes to spare during a car ride? During lunch? During commercials? Spend that time quickly reviewing what you have studied. Your brain can learn better when you take in small amounts of information over a longer period of time.

Build strong relationships with potential recommendation letter teachers. Strike up a quick conversation with them after class. Stay after school for extra help so that they know you are honestly trying to do your best. Do well in the class. Most importantly, BE the best you can be rather than letting it remain as simply your potential.

When it comes to extra activities, it's the quality, not the quantity, of whatever it is you're doing that counts. TRUST me on this one. I was only in one group my freshmen year (class council), was NOT an officer, and quit half-way through the year. I didn't do ANYTHING extra in my sophomore year. I was in TWO things as a junior and two things this year as a senior. But despite the fact that I was in so little in a short amount of time (two things in two years), I was involved in groups that I believe were worth my time. The one group that I was a part of made efforts to better the lives of the needy while the other required me to think and have opinions for myself.

Lastly, RESEARCH THE SCHOOL YOU ARE LOOKING TO GO TO. Make phone calls to admissions (you can look up the number online---usually they have toll-free numbers) and schedule interviews. Ask them questions that concern you. Find out what majors / minors they offer.

You still have a chance to go to college so don't let your worries get the best of you. Hope that helps.

[Avex]

Well, to begin, I just want you to stop worrying too much. You can still improve your chances if you start trying right now. Trust me on this one.

Here's my advice:

Work harder to get all your homework handed in ON TIME and complete. Try making flashcards for the classes you have difficulty in and spend 10-15 minutes a day per subject studying. Have a few minutes to spare during a car ride? During lunch? During commercials? Spend that time quickly reviewing what you have studied. Your brain can learn better when you take in small amounts of information over a longer period of time.

Build strong relationships with potential recommendation letter teachers. Strike up a quick conversation with them after class. Stay after school for extra help so that they know you are honestly trying to do your best. Do well in the class. Most importantly, BE the best you can be rather than letting it remain as simply your potential.

When it comes to extra activities, it's the quality, not the quantity, of whatever it is you're doing that counts. TRUST me on this one. I was only in one group my freshmen year (class council), was NOT an officer, and quit half-way through the year. I didn't do ANYTHING extra in my sophomore year. I was in TWO things as a junior and two things this year as a senior. But despite the fact that I was in so little in a short amount of time (two things in two years), I was involved in groups that I believe were worth my time. The one group that I was a part of made efforts to better the lives of the needy while the other required me to think and have opinions for myself.

Lastly, RESEARCH THE SCHOOL YOU ARE LOOKING TO GO TO. Make phone calls to admissions (you can look up the number online---usually they have toll-free numbers) and schedule interviews. Ask them questions that concern you. Find out what majors / minors they offer.

You still have a chance to go to college so don't let your worries get the best of you. Hope that helps.

I agree with this advice.
Also, don't do things just b/c of the application, but because you like it.

[akenon]

I would become more involved in what you are currently in right now - run for office or something~ who knows, maybe you'll get in~ Or if you're allowed to have like committees in the club, maybe you can join one and organize an event. That shows leadership ;D

Overall I'm kind of in the same position you're in - I didn't have too many extracurriculars because I took too many classes and didn't have time for any ~ lol. But writing a good essay will help you~ :] I think they're mostly looking to see how the extracurricular activity has impacted you, not how many you're doing.

Besides that, maybe if there's certain extracurriculars that are different that you're in it will stand out. For example, my teacher said her past student used to be the high school mascot.. you know they wear like the animal suit and stuff? lol apparently that student got attention from colleges because it's something not a lot of people do.

[qrace]

extracurriculars? D:
join one or two clubs (i did key club and national honor society) and attend some events?
then on your essays just write about one or two events that were very inspirational (;
erm.. i don't know.. i did track for three years >.>
do something and make it seem great :3

[lavender4evuh]

ah it's never 2 l8. u still got da rest of this yr n next yr. if not sr. yr., u got da summer. i'm saying it frum a sr.'s p.o.v.
hmm... there's gotta b sum clubs dat grab ur interest. so do dat. dat's wat i did... actually i joined clubs dat i'm not relli interested in, n then i started dropping frum those clubs n stuck 2 da one i'm very committed 2.
volunteer @ any public facility. don't juss pick da hospital. i heard dat lots of kids pick dat 2 volunteer n it looses it's touch becuz all da kids r doing it.
b original. n pick sumthing dat interests u n sumthing u enjoy. dat way, it won't b hard n u'll have a good time. if u need any suggestions, u can go 2 websites created 4 ppl interested in volunteering. juss google it, u'll get googles of results.

[mochamist]

start your own club. that's what i did.

join your local american red cross, join help for the blind, volunteer at the soup kitchen, idk...join something outside of school and become very involved if you think its too late to make an impact in a school club.

[angelfightrJ]

just wondering, is it bad if you don't participate in sports? ): i'm afraid that will put me at a BIGBIG disadvantage or something ;_;''

[Avex]

just wondering, is it bad if you don't participate in sports? ): i'm afraid that will put me at a BIGBIG disadvantage or something ;_;''

no its not bad. thats a horrible rumor. Just be yourself.

you could read about this topic in an article i posted in another topic right here: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ehboiled/iss...10-2-price.html

so, would you still believe that joining a sport will make you not look like a stereotypical asian?

[Rin<3]

^ I was worrying about that too, angelfightrJ. Thank you, Avex. I was thinking about it, and I was like...but I'm not athletic at all. How can I do sports when I don't have the skills nor the motivation (since I don't even like sports)? I find it unfair if colleges require sports. Some people are naturally athletic and some are not. It's not something that they have the right to require. It's definitely good if you do sports, but I don't think it hurts you if you make it up by doing a lot of clubs and volunteering.

x.luvya.x - Worry about your grades first. They're way too important. As long as you don't have D's or F's, I think that's when you can start thinking about doing extracurriculars (since they do take up a lot of your time). Volunteering is definitely good (that's also what I've been doing a lot) and joining clubs (and being active in it). But this is your junior year and you don't have much time. Have you done any clubs earlier (in your freshman or sophomore year)? You should go back to those clubs so that colleges can see dedication. And like sPark* said, study hard for the SATs. I'm also relying big time on the SATs. Grades are important, but the SAT scores are just as important. And like daehanminguk1345 said, get close to your teachers. Recommendation letters do help. Look for summer programs too. And keep in mind that there's always the essay when you apply for college. They help a lot. You still have a good chance. I'm actually on the east coast so I don't know much about UC's, but I hope that I helped in some way. Good luck~!

[angelfightrJ]

no its not bad. thats a horrible rumor. Just be yourself.

you could read about this topic in an article i posted in another topic right here: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ehboiled/iss...10-2-price.html

so, would you still believe that joining a sport will make you not look like a stereotypical asian?

thank you so much for the article (: it was an interesting read although some parts annoyed me a bit such as the "Rachel, for an Asian, has a lot of friends." ?!!?!?!

oh haha btw, how did you know i was asian? XD

and, actually, if i did join a sport, i'd still look like a stereotypical asian. i know i'm generalizing but all asians do track (on long island in ny)...our school's track team is mostly asian.

but yeah, although i do love watching sports (especially soccer!<3 and then, baseball), i never was extremely sporty and after giving up on sports a few years back (including running even though that's not really a sport), my performance just plummeted.


i actually want to play an instrument...too many, in fact. particularly, i want to relearn piano and i want to learn the sax (: the saxophone is beautiful, the way i see it. but my parents are really against this and their reasons are extremely...flimsy. i also think that they don't think it's worth it to start an instrument now when there's only two years until college if "it doesn't count for anything". basically, doesn't help? not spending $$ on it when you might not play it once you get into college or you don't join the band/orchestra in your school -__-. :/.

[Avex]

thank you so much for the article (: it was an interesting read although some parts annoyed me a bit such as the "Rachel, for an Asian, has a lot of friends." ?!!?!?!

oh haha btw, how did you know i was asian? XD

My bad, I shouldn't have assumed. But, i guess you are since you said you were.
but that article really hits home here in California, man. I'm pretty sure the college students who attend the UCs here can relate to it one way or another.
here's an example from 06.