Hi friends, I am a rising junior in high school and, long story short, I have basically 0 clue what I am doing in terms of extracurriculars and overall career path. I really like STEM but I also like linguistics/studying languages. I feel like I am wasting my summer if that makes sense. What are you guys up to? Was there any Ah-Ha moment where you knew what you were going to focus on?
Also, this is random, but has anyone realized that this is basically a more respectful version of Reddit? I love it here.
Honestly I’d just recommend taking part in extracurriculars that you enjoy, like if your school has a club fair just go and find ones you might like. You can like attend a meeting and see if you like it. Just as long as it’s something you genuinely enjoy because you’re probably gonna have to talk about it at some point during admissions, and it’s better to talk about an activity your passionate about. I recommend model un, or volunteering at your local senior center but that’s just my preference. I hope this helps!
Thanks! That is very helpful :)
I don't think you ever know exactly what you want to do, but colleges understand that! You can always apply undecided or just do what looks good and switch your major in college. When it comes to ECs, just try and explore a variety of activities. You can always try and get into a STEM program, research group, etc. or tutor kids in languages you know. Not every EC has to be career or subject related either! Volunteering, jobs, and clubs all look good too.
Thank you for the advice, I'm just taking it one step at a time for now!
Honestly, I never did my ECs to get into colleges. I am an international student and ECs are basically useless for college admission here. I thought about trying to get into colleges in the US just a few months ago. When I looked at my EC's I could definitely see some direction in them (spike). Basically, I'd been working in few specific fields unknowingly and now have a pretty good spike without even trying to create one.
Take a look at what you've done so far. Maybe you'll see some direction too. Maybe there is something which you have tons of fun doing. Also, you could very well combine ECs from STEM and languages.
Since you're a rising junior, you don't need to stress much. Just try to find what you've done so far and where your ECs are taking you.
Thank you! I agree with you, especially that ECs should never be just for college.
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