Best Activities?

I

iz314

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Jan 12, 2015
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8
I am a freshman girl, and I know that I want to go to USMA. So far, academics have been excellent. I am worried about extracurriculars, though. Here is what I do:

-Award-winning marching band
-Award-winning concert band
-#1 high school Jazz band in the state
-9th grade region band (highly competitive, auditions)
-High school region orchestra (highly competitive, auditions)
-On the presenting team for the Euro Challenge club (academic competition, public speaking, economics)
-French Club
-American Red Cross Youth Volunteer, International Relations liaison to the county's Youth Red Cross Club
-I plan on starting a Red Cross Club at my school next year, and I will be the president of the club
-Spring track
-Winter track
-I have been accepted into a summer program (highly competitive) at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and may go there this summer
-I am going to study abroad in France the summer in between sophomore and junior year

Is there anything I could do in the upcoming years that will appeal to USMA? Is this enough, if I continue with all of the activities and continue to succeed academically? I am not religious, so activities that are religion-related are a big no. Thanks a lot!
 
Get involved in leadership rolls rather than starting a bunch of stuff, and stick with it. Look for activities that relate to the hard sciences. More team athletics that will strengthen your upper body.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
It sounds like you have an interest in music, international relations and affairs, and athletics. Everything you listed falls under one of those three categories. This is good, considering you have specific interests and are heavily involved in them in different ways. As you'll hear from anyone talking about USMA, leadership positions are key.

The Red Cross Club President position is great. Im not a musician but I'm sure there are leadership positions in your music career as well. Strive to become the captain of your track team. Also, be sure to have positive things to say about your roles in the foreign service program and your studying abroad. Those things are more unique than say being a random club president… be sure to be able to articulate your experiences and especially what you learned about leadership.

Bottom line, don't try to appeal to USMA. Appeal to yourself. If you love doing those above activities, then keep it up and strive for excellence. If they see all you have done with those things and your passion for what you do, they'll like that better than seeing a laundry list of all of the classic activities. Admissions knows how to discern passionate candidates from those who try to rack up long lists.

Good luck.

-USMA C/O 2019
 
Wow. Let me start off by saying that is one heck of a list! I remember when I had a (excuse the lack of a better term) "laundry list" of extra-curricular activities as a Freshmen. As you go on, you'll realize that one may interfere with another or the rigors of your classes may force you to drop one or two activities. When this comes, make sure you make a wise decision. I say this because when personal statements come around and it's your time to show the academy that you're more than just numbers on a piece of paper, you'll want to pull these activities back out and talk about them WITH PASSION.

Emphasizing what other members have mentioned, make sure you have a TON of leadership on there. Now, here is the tricky part. You want a lot of leadership but you also want quality of quantity. You want a leadership position that isn't just "to get into West Point." Consider one that will actually prepare you for the future AND help your application become more competitive. Having both Track seasons on your list is very very good! :)

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me! Good luck, rock high school.
 
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