Extracurriculars
Even though I have good marks, my EC profile is very low. My parents never supported me to do ECs and always wanted me to excel academically because in my country they only consider A/L z-score for university selection. But I want to try applying for a US university now. Currently I'm in high school 1st year and doing physical science stream which consists of combined mathematics, physics and chemistry. This stream and 3 subjects are considered to be the most difficult course and it's really hard to get an A. Because the no.of universities we have here is very small(only 6 universities for engineering), A/L exam is crazily competitive and my parents won't allow me to do any EC now other than concentrating on my ALs. Bcz I'm from a very poor country, I can't afford to attend a US university unless I get a financial aid and only ivy universities give need based financial aids. Selecting to one of them with my ECs is impossible.
ECs I have: I play violin(visharad) and piano(ABRSM gr.5) and in the music society of my school.
A not-so-active member of the Senior science society.
Have played table tennis and swimming as a hobby at school.
I'm planning to participate in physics and chemistry olympiad next year but participation is not enough right?
Should I just forget about applying to a US university? It's impossible with the ECs I have right?
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1 answer
Your EC list is better than you give it credit for. It shows that you are well-rounded, but also focused on engineering, your major of interest. Participating in the physics and chemistry olympiad could be quite impressive to colleges if the competitions are at a national or international level.
If you added some more activities to your list that had a larger impact outside of school, you could have a chance at getting accepted to a top college in the US. A good way to do this is in your situation is by doing activities at home. Many of these could turn into very impressive endeavors, e.g. starting a digital business that earns a large profit.
I hope this this helps! Please feel free to schedule advising with me if you have any more questions!
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