During covid you feel there is not time for extracurriculars?Answered
I'm an overseas student. I tried to do extracurriculars, but the school system at least in my country cannot afford students to do fancy-schmancy extracurriculars; it wasn't designed for that. In my country, we don't put a lot of emphasis on it. After all, I tried some extracurriculars i.e. applying to scholarships, enrolling in college-level courses, etc. while at school and it's just unsustainable.
Any advice? Should I take a gap year to do extraordinary things to compensate? For real, I don't see myself doing awesome extracurriculars while in high school there just not time for it. After all, I'm in my senior year; I will take the gap year.
Earn karma by helping others:
2 answers
What you described as extracurriculars (applying for scholarships, college-level classes) typically aren't considered extracurriculars in the US. But that's ok. When you apply to colleges you are judged based on the context of what is available to you. If ECs aren't very popular where you are it's going to hurt your application less than if you were from the US. Having said that, depending on the colleges you are applying to, some will still expect to see some form of ECs.
Having a job can be considered an extracurricular, if you have significant family responsibilities those can count too, volunteer work also counts as an EC. If you have hobbies you're interested in consider doing a project or something and that can be considered an EC.
If you're applying to top colleges in the US you will want decent ECs and a gap year could make sense. But only if you have a strong plan for how to spend that year. If you take a gap year and end up not doing much with it then it won't look good for you. If the schools you are applying to are less selective you can definitely get away with not having extraordinary ECs and in that case I probably wouldn't take a gap year.
That is perfectly reasonably. Colleges understands that extracurriculars are difficult during COVID and each country is different when it comes to what is important. You don't have to do extraordinary things to make up lost time. All colleges want to see that you are doing something that you are passionate about in your free time instead of watching tv or scrolling through social media. Try to find virtual opportunities that does not take much effort or start something yourself! I hope this helps!
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!