Good ecs?Answered
Hello. I'm a freshman going through a 1/6 life crisis right now. I don't have any specific extracurricular that people can associate me with. I wish I was a dancer, rhythmic gymnast, or reincarnation of Picasso or Mozart. Alas, I am not. So, are these ecs good enough for a top 20 school? Please give advice on how to expand on these ecs.
Also: I really don’t expect to accomplish everything on this list. Maybe like 2-3 goals. I just set general goals in case an extracurricular doesn’t work out and I have to pivot. If I was a machine and had cloning abilities, then sure, but realistically, nope.
Research: Currently: reaching out to bio & computer science professors at a college near me. Goal: Producing an independent research project using a novel AI model to monitor a specific disease or cancer. My dream is getting invited to ISEF.
AI App: Not really sure what I want to build yet. I'm thinking of building a medtech application with machine learning. Or a writing service with machine learning or some time of social art application. (Will come to fruition during my junior year.)
Robotics Team: Currently: on a top 36 FIRST ranked team in the world. I haven't really done much I am going to study JAVA and the programming controls over the summer. Goal: On the programming and build team. Helping program around 80-90% of the machine work.
Student Council: Currently: delegate. Goal: student council leadership.
Magazine & Podcast: Goal: interviewing influential people in the cleantech, medtech, Web3, and social media sphere. 1,000 monthly listeners on the podcast and over 5,000 followers on social media pages.
Compute the Future: a nonprofit I co-founded with my friend about teaching kids in our area in computer science and technology. Currently: working on securing funding. Goal: getting funding, teaching kids cs and tech at a local library and getting them into hackathons.
Umunna Houston: A social club for the Nigerian/African students in Houston. Currently: Director of Education, planning social media work with other exec members and social events.
Speech: Goal: being on the team and trying my best.
National Honor Society: Goal: leadership opportunities.
SciTeens: volunteering organization a museum of natural science near me. Goal: ace my interview, get accepted into the program, and get 125 volunteering hours for the PSV gold award.
Voices of Black Youth: a version of the Black Student Union at my school. Currently: freshman rep and sophomore rep (elected)
Cross Country or Tennis: Goal: running or tennis team next year
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2 answers
I think that you have an impressive EC list that will make you competitive for top schools. The strengths of your list are that you demonstrate a spike in AI, a commitment to DEI, and you have ECs beyond these areas that make you well rounded.
There are three main things you can do to improve your EC list. First, I recommend honing down on a concise career direction and framing your ECs with that goal in mind. It will be easier to write your essays once you have this big picture dream as a focal point too.
Besides that, try to reach the national or international level of impact in as many of these ECs as possible. For example, if you could expand Umunna Houston to connect the Nigerian/African diaspora across the US by organizing a conference, that would look great.
One last thing you can do is replace NHS with a unique hobby that shows personal flair. Activities such as playing a rare instrument, doing calligraphy as a hobby, learning a new language for fun, and others would stand out more than NHS.
Hope this helps!
Hi,
I'm also a current freshman and I think you have a great ecs list. It's great that you already have a head start with many goals you want to accomplish. I can tell from the list that you are very interested in the AI/Computer Science field, and I would recommend framing your ecs around that field (which you mostly have). I like your idea of conducting computer science research, being a member of the robotics team, and your nonprofit. I think you should focus on those 3 activities and try to reach a national level. For example, maybe have your research published or get invited to ISEF (one of your goals), or maybe increase your nonprofit membership and have more people that are interested in your community participate in it. This would show leadership, which is a skill that many top colleges like to see. Overall, I think you have a strong ecs list and I wish you the best of luck in accomplishing your goals. :)
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Thank you! I definitely do want to hone in on a career field. I also hope to gain more leadership in Umunna Houston and I'm still brainstorming a unique hobby to replace NHS with.