Extracurriculars

Consider these factors before making a decision:

1. Is it impeding your academic progress? Is your GPA doing comparatively worse?

2. Are you unable to participate in other activities? Are you unable to commit to many other ECs due to this? (club involvement, leadership positions, community service, etc.)

3. Is your mental health drastically impacted by the stress from balancing school and choir?

4. How impactful is show choir? Are you able to participate in state or national level competitions? Are you in the highest level of show choir (example: varsity)? Do you hold a leadership position in show choir (equivalent of Varsity Captain or an Officer)?

5. Does it relate to your intended major? Is it part of your "spike" or the theme of your whole application?

6. Colleges like to see variety, long term commitment and excellence in any of the activities that you participate in while maintaining good academics. Keep in mind that most people who apply/get accepted to Ivy Leagues or UCs usually have 8-10 ECs listed where almost all of them are Tier 2 and Tier 1 level activities (national/state level and/or leadership roles). It would be great if you could be involved in community service, a part time job and show choir all the while maintaining good academic GPA and course rigor! But that isn't something that everyone can do and that's ok! Make the best out of your strengths and weaknesses.

From personal experience: Being involved in JV winterguard (6hr a week of rehearsals + almost all of my Saturdays) definitely took a toll of my grades (All As to 2 Bs, but I take 4 APs) and my mental health (stress and sleep deprivation ) while making it difficult to do my best on other Ecs that I'm involved in. I'm planning on quitting for the next season since I'll be even busier junior yr.

I suggest considering all these factors. You can try making it up with 3 other better ECs (club leadership, part time jobs, summer internships, etc.) that might work better for your schedule if you think this one activity will be detrimental to other aspects of your life.

Well, that depends. For choir, are you going to be travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival singing at Carnegie Hall? If so, then keep with it! Obviously both of those are hyperbolic, but if you can demonstrate excellence then the UCs won't care what you do. I know someone that got into Stanford for being really good at electronic DJ-ing; I know another that got into Duke for being a social media influencer. So, my advice to you is, just do what you enjoy, but do it at a very high level. That will give you a VERY GOOD chance at getting in to a Berkeley or UCLA. However, it's always a good idea to do community service! Not for college apps (super common), but because it builds character.