Lack of Extracurriculars!

[beatlesgirl13]

Hi IB-ers I'm an Indonesian student currently about to finish my first year of IB Grade 11, and I really want to apply to the University of Pennsylvania (my dream school). However, I'm completely lacking in my extracurricular activities..I've done a few things here and there, volunteered for a few events, taught English to underprivileged students, had an internship, etc., but I still feel it's not enough and I've only got one summer left before Grade 12 begins and I have to take the SAT subject tests (which I've never taken before), do my application essays, so on..anyways, I'm pretty stressed out right now and worried about the whole university process thing, so do you have any suggestions for what I should do this summer to boost my suckish resume? Your input would mean a lot to me

Below is a total of what I've done so far throughout my high-school life:

Grade 6 (private school)

Editor of class newspaper

Frequently contributed to the school newsletter

Won the Creative Writing award and distinctions in French and English

Grade 7-8 (public school)

Maintained good marks

Contributed to the school newsletter

Graduated Grade 8 with Literacy award and honors

Grade 9 (pre-IB)

Nothing much, really, I struggled quite a bit academically during this year

I participated in a few clubs, but did nothing of real worth

Grade 10 (national plus school with a mixed curriculum)

Maintained good marks

Volunteered teaching English in public schools

Grade 11 (IB)

Average marks

Member of the girl's rugby team

Member of the swing team (dance)

Volunteered with some organizations

Journalism internship with the Jakarta Student Globe

P.S. How much of a chance do you guys think I have in getting into UPenn? I'm taking the SAT Reasoning next Saturday, so I'll update then.

[dragon_princess]

I'm not entirely sure what Penn u wants for you to get in, however, it seams like you have a good start! I think it really depends on what you want to go in to. Whatever the subject. Or program, you will want to reflect skillls off of that. Surgeons, for example must prove they can be precise and can handle a load of stress.

[Black Bird Lockheed]

As far as I heard from seniors to get scholarships for US univs you must have at least 25 certificates having first or distinction. Why don't you focus on social service? US unis gives a lot of emphasis for these social activities..

[Matsu]

Not too bad I guess. I have no idea what you're talking about because you seem to be doing a decent amount each year. I think your best bet though would be to stick with something you're already doing and just focus on being excellent in that while maintaining your other ECAs. I think it's really important to show dedication and excellence through your extra curriculars as it conveys lots of positive traits about you as a student. Don't worry too hard, and just make sure to make the best of this year. Just remember not to be a jack of all trades because you'll end up being a master of none. There's also no use stressing about the past because quite frankly, you can't do sh*t about it haha. Also, your "high school life" is starting grade 9 not grade 6 .

I agree with akash jishnu, try getting into something that helps social welfare, preferably something that seeks to help a pressing modern or relevant problem. Either that or try to get a good internship as I assume you're applying to Penn for Marshall.

[ChocolateDrop]

If you're applying through common app, you only get 10 spaces to fill in about your extracurricular activities and work experience, so it'd be best if you chose your favourite and best ones to fill in those spaces and added an extra resume for your extras. You seem to have pretty much got your 10 spaces filled so I wouldn't stress too much about it. If you really want to do more, do stuff related to your course of study or stuff you like to do just because not just to fill spaces. Also try to figure out what you learn from these activities and how they've impacted your life, the life of others and helped you grow as a person.

Alternatively you could get a part-time/ summer job. Holding down a job and having responsibility and maintaining good grades not only looks impressive on application, but also gives you some cash monies. You've pretty much covered sports and volunteering.

[carpediem]

Universities do not care for activities pre-high school, or pre-grade 9. This is shown by the Common App, where you have to select an option to when you participated in your activity, and it only offers grades 9-12, or PG (Post-Graduate). However, take this with a grain of salt, as there is a huge overhaul in the Common App system and it will be different for you when you apply.

Also, if you have more than 10 extra curriculars (which I had), then list the most important in the top 10 offered by the Common App, and what I did was to provide an "Additional Information" document that mentioned more minor activities and detailed the most important ones. ("Additional Information" is under the Writing section, after Activities.)

As for your extra curriculars for you specifically, the best thing is not to do immense amounts of activities, but for commitment. So if you carried on with volunteering to teach English this summer, you can put down in the Common App that you've done it for Grades 11 and 12. And from what I can glean from your activities, you seem to like to write, so continue to write and do writing- or English-related activities that demonstrate your passion instead of being activities for the sake of looking good. Jobs count as activities; you're able to put them down on the Common App. So do whatever interests you, as you want UPenn to accept you and not some faux-student. (I bet Admission officers can sense authenticity since they read so many applicants, so don't lie about anything. Even if you think you don't have enough extra curics, for example.)

P.S. How was the journalism internship? I think that sounds fantastic.

[beatlesgirl13]

Thanks for the replies, guys hehe so I should probably be more specific about my "situation".. so, I love writing and I want to major in something that involves subjects like communications, social issues, international relations, etc.. My dream is to one day do something that'll change the way the world thinks about Indonesia (whether it's through a book, movie, government, etc.) I'm native Indonesian, but I actually grew up in Canada and have only lived in Indonesia for 2 years (I did pre-IB grade 9 in Canada and it was really difficult for me). This is why I'm concerned about my lack of ECs--as someone who grew up in a privileged country, I should have stellar grades and ECs (I don't).. Grade 9 I didn't really do much (family matters), and I'm afraid that'll cause gaps in my portfolio, especially since I have a limited amount of time to put it all together. This is mainly why I'm stressing out about things right now..

@salma_koko1 Time management! I really need to work on my time management -__-

@akash jishnu Yes, majoring in anything related to social service is definitely something I want to do

@Matsu hahaha I knoww it's just that I was really lacking in Grade 9 and 10 so I just added stuff from my elementary-school days (I actually did more in elementary school than in high school..)

@ChocolateDrop I could get a summer job, but it's pretty uncommon here. I was thinking of becoming an English tutor for this summer, though. Thank you for the information about the top 10 ECs, didn't know about that

@carpediem I'm severely lacking in terms of high school ECs and I'm pretty much panicking any suggestions? The internship was amazing though, I had tons of fun and learned lots

P.S. Can anyone give me information about scholarships for international students? I've heard about Questbridge, but it's extremely competitive..

As always, your inputs are appreciated

[Matsu]

There's a lot of scholarships you can apply to get for free from like collegeprowler.com, etc. Also, since Penn is a private university, I'm guessing they're probably need-blind, so if you fit into their profile of what a Penn student should be, they'll probably try to make sure that stupid things like money do not bar you from getting the education you deserve. Nonetheless, you just gotta surf the net, look for scholarships you qualify for and apply for them. I can't really point to anything particular to Penn as I did not apply there, but I'm sure they have scholarship programs that extend to international students (they're frickin' Ivy lol) .

Also, put a lot of time into your college app essays, they're a super valuable part of your application that might be able to make up for things such as a perceived lack of "significant" extra curriculars, assuming they even see that because yours look okay actually haha!

[difiCa]

Penn will fulfill your demonstrated need. As someone suggested, the funds for international student financial aid are limited and competitive. Here is a bit of a fact sheet regarding this: http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/pdf/2013-14/QA-International-2013-2014.pdf

However, standing here as one of those approximately 45 students to be receiving an aid award, large enough to make Penn cheaper than the UK, as an admitted freshman, I can say with full conviction that it is possible. Your extracurriculars seem just fine to me, so just keep at it and try to concentrate on things that are relevant to what you wish to do. I had fewer extracurriculars than you, but with plenty of work (I've worked throughout summers since around fifteen with only one exception and sometimes during school too) and concentrating on leadership (which for a business school applicant is somewhat important, especially as I wish to concentrate on management) in the national IB student organisation and other projects, I think what made the difference for me is demonstrating commitment and interest in the particular field I'm interested in. So, keep racking up things that allow you to demonstrate this. Also, make sure you highlight your interest in making a difference in your application essays and try to score well on your SATs to complete what should be a very well-rounded application.

Good luck applying next year!

[carpediem]

Grade 9 I didn't really do much (family matters), and I'm afraid that'll cause gaps in my portfolio, especially since I have a limited amount of time to put it all together. This is mainly why I'm stressing out about things right now..

This is a valid reason. You could even write about this in your Common App essay, if you feel that situation helps answer a Common App question/criteria, or you could write a small sentence in the "Additional Information" section to explain your circumstances. Universities in the States have a more holistic process, therefore you should provide them with a well-rounded image of yourself, and not just as a student.

@carpediem I'm severely lacking in terms of high school ECs and I'm pretty much panicking any suggestions? The internship was amazing though, I had tons of fun and learned lots

It's all about quality and not quantity, and I could point an example out for you right now: your internship. It may have been a one-off thing, but you learnt lots and it was a great experience. Plus if you do too many ECs, admission officers can tell - it's their jobs to tell. So just do ECs to with writing, communications, social issues and IR to demonstrate your passion for these areas. You still have time, and you still have to finish CAS, so I wouldn't be worried.

[JoeG]

Your extra-curricular activities right now are good. While it's always good to pursue more activities, you shouldn't be too worried.

Also, unless it's something absolutely spectacular, or something that carried over into your Secondary School (High School) career, most colleges/universities really don't care about what you did in Elementary/Middle School. You really want to focus on what you did in High/Secondary school.

You seemed to dismiss the clubs you were in. You should try to include them in your discussion of what you did.

If you could try to mention some leadership roles that you had, or try to pursue them if you haven't. Colleges LOVE when you have leadership roles. Heck, I'm starting to look at Graduate programs now, and leadership roles are still important at some schools.

Edited June 8, 2013 by JoeGuff

[beatlesgirl13]

Thanks for all the help so far, guys, I really appreciate it Just to update: I made the horrible mistake of taking the SATs for the first time during summer of Grade 11, and although I did a good job, they weren't above 2000 (basically the minimum SAT score to get into UPenn?). I also took the SAT Subject Tests twice: the first one was very mediocre and the second one I'm still waiting for. My second semester of Grade 11 was suckish (I dropped from an IB score of 30 to a 28), but I think I might have a chance of increasing the score to an 33 this year.

If I get +3 marks for my TOK essay and EE, I would be getting a predicted IB score of 36 before the exams.

I'm an ethnic minority and I have a diverse background (born in Indo, raised in Canada and attended a number of different schools, moved back to Indo in Grade 10 and attended a number of different schools). I've attended public, private, alternative, IB and pre-IB schools.

I'm currently in my second and last year of IB and attending a private international school in Jakarta, Indonesia. If say I have an SAT score in the weak 2000s (I'll be taking the SATs again in December), an IB score of 36 and some extracurriculars (a few, but not so outstanding), do you guys think UPenn would accept me? Please be honest with me...

[Forester]

To be honest it will be a long shot for Penn to accept you, but stranger things have happened, so definitely apply and give it a shot! Make sure your application essays are brilliant.