Hello,
I am a rising senior who wants to major in mathematics, but my extracurricular spike has more to do with being a food and nutrition content creator (which is something I am passionate about but do not want to make a career out of). I do not really have long-time extracurriculars in math, but I have taken courses in high school that correspond with taking such a path in the future. Will this hinder my chances of getting into a top 20 college in the first place?
Hey!
Most likely this will not hinder your chances, colleges like to see you pursue your passions even if they aren't your career of choice! I would definitely still mention it on your application. However, if you aren't already, I would recommend tutoring younger students in math since you already have taken some difficult math courses. You can also join in on any kind of Mathletes or Math Bowls taking place and try to earn a good placing to boost your application. Lastly, I would recommend joining some math societies, the American Mathematical Society is great, and try to do some work within those societies.
Hope this helps! Good luck on your application!
To keep this community safe and supportive:
Thank you so much for the advice! I am a part of my school's Mu Alpha Theta Club, but I do not have any prominent roles in it. I also started making videos on math topics at the middle school/early high school level this summer as I believe that educational content should be there at all times. I also felt like everyone tutored at some point and I wanted to do this instead as a unique approach. The only catch is that I have not been doing this long-term, which is why I didn't mention it above.