Is one strong extracurricular activity and a strong academic transcript enough for the Ivies?
I am a junior high school student currently studying in Africa. My academic standing is quite impressive, but at a sacrifice of the extracurriculars side. That is, my most impressive and comprehensive extracurricular work is being at a national role in an organization based in our country. This is usually the case of most students in my country. Therefore I would like to ask if have a quite impressive academic background and one extracurricular activity ( example given above ) give you an above average standing in applying to colleges ( preferably with a admission rate ranging 10 to 25% )? Are there any extra benefits in further amplification of the academic standing in standardized tests?
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Hi! Congratulations on your academic success thus far! It sounds like you have done great things with your one extracurricular activity. In response to your question, your academic background is taken into fair consideration, so on that, you are likely to gain admission to selective colleges. But many of the Ivy Leagues like to see that you have committed time to various activities, the Prepscholar blog likes to say that you should do three clubs, one you're passionate about, one volunteering club, and one relatively related to your future career/major. It sounds like you have achieved great things so far, but you definitely only have an average standing in getting into per say, the Ivies. I can't tell you definitively yes or no whether you're getting into the Ivies, but because you have such a prestigious role in your extracurricular, you definitely will be considered. What I would recommend going forward is perhaps joining another extracurricular, maybe one that you enjoy and doesn't take a lot of work, like I do quiz bowl and we only meet twice a week, for 45 minutes. Onto your second question, the Ivies definitely look at your academic stats, but there are many individuals with exceptional scores who are rejected because they are not what the school is looking for. However, I think that you definitely stand a chance at the Ivies, just keep up the exceptional work!
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