Is it too late? please help

i am a 17 year old student in the UK and i want to study for my undergraduate degree in the US.
My problem is i have only just realized what i want to do with my life and have only just decided that i want to go to university. I am currently resiting my science GCSE's and next year i will be doing my A-Levels, however i have never really done any extra-curricular activities and nearly all US universities seem to want a well rounded student that has a strong list of extra curricular activities.

basically i was wondering if it was too late for me to start extra curricular activities now?
or if there was anything else i could do to boost my chances of studying at a US university?

also do you have any recommendations of extra curricular activities that would look good on an application?

Reply 1

USAsininity

Extracurricular activities, while important, aren't a requirement to get into a good US uni by any means. In addition, they will probably take into account the fact that you are a foreign applicant from a country where extracurricular activities are not as vital for your application.

Reply 2

masterfulprof

No they won't. You want to get into a university in the US, then you need to play by their rules....which means, SATs and extracurriculars as well as a well-written statement conforming to US expectations. The admissions committee expects these components from all their successful foreign and domestic applicants...whether Chinese, Kenyan, Brazilian and Brits.

Reply 3

zero_gravity

Original post by LadyJoka

No, it is never too late to start. You can begin with your school and see if there any clubs that you could join. If you want to go for a bigger scope, then you could look for societies, clubs, associations, etc. and ask them if they would need any volunteering or help of some sort.

Like what USAsininity said, universities might take into consideration of your status as an international student and evaluate you differently. However, it might be possible that other candidates from the UK have extracurricular activities noted in their application.

All in all, just remember that nothing is too late and you can begin by taking some initiative and effort to look for extracurricular activities.

Reply 4

masterfulprof

Oh dear. We need a reality check here. How many US admissions decisions has USAninity participated in?

No, the Committee won't take "into consideration your status as an international student" in determining a. who gets admitted and b. who gets into the scholarship pool. Your extracurriculars need to be highlighted as effectively as a good US domestic applicant, the more so for undergrad where no special favours will be bestowed for skill sets.

Apparently unlike the other contributors on this thread, I've sat on over one thousand admissions decisions over the last ten years at a high-ranked US university for undergrad and grad school applicants.

You're all blowing sunshine up the wrong orifice if you claim different on the basis of not only zero experience of chairing these Admissions Committees but also even zero experience inside the US system in any capacity. What ridiculous b.s.!

And you may be applying to one of the schools mentioned on this board - e.g. where I serve on Admissions.

I have seen UK applicants who've been well-trained in the expectations, by an advisor who has been in the US or who has strong placement links. The successful international candidates present themselves as well as strong domestic candidates.

If you really want a higher chance of admission and perhaps scholarship monies, play the game their way. It helps to take their criteria seriously and not blow them off like the typical ignorant UK undergrad who's "heard from his mates" how it really works. Those apps stick out a mile for bad reasons. They get tossed into the garbage can by the Committee at my school.

Reply 5

itssdj

Want to know the secrets of getting into a US University? Okay here are the sad but true secrets!
1. We USA kids all embellish our resumes. Now yes, some take this much to far, but that doesn't make it untrue. All you need to do is get involved in a couple things RIGHT NOW. Maybe start something. US colleges love to see that you founded something. My final year in school in the US I founded a fashion club and started an anti-bullying campaign at the local middle school. Now, while both of these were 100% true statements, I cannot say that the fashion club was a very successful venture. What else did I do? Well I was an editor on my schools paper, I listed this, and then I also said I won a best editor award. This was also true. Want to know how I won it? My best friend was editor in chief, and I suggested we give it to a Senior editor every month.

Now I am not saying to make stuff up completely and lie, but embelishing happens. You have a year and a half. So, start a club join something and become president. By my senior year I was president of around 8 clubs and devoting easily 20 hours a week to EC's. Just get involved right now! Start something, if it is connected to what you want to do that is even better! Do you do volunteer work? START RIGHT NOW!

2. The Personal Statement: AKA OMG I AM SO AMAZING YOU TOTALLY WANT ME ESSAY

I am not kidding. Your personal statement should truly be personal, and they love a sob story.

Have any questions? Ask me! Just please don't bash me!

Reply 6

masterfulprof

Original post by itssdj

Now I am not saying to make stuff up completely and lie, but embelishing happens.

Let me tell you this. Anything that is outright made up results in an immediate termination of the application. And if the Committee is interested, they will make some calls. Our Admissions are also in contact with other U's; from your score report requests, we can also determine where else you're applying. We pass this on. A lying candidate is blackballed by all of them.

Original post by itssdj

You have a year and a half. So, start a club join something and become president. By my senior year I was president of around 8 clubs and devoting easily 20 hours a week to EC's. Just get involved right now! Start something, if it is connected to what you want to do that is even better! Do you do volunteer work? START RIGHT NOW!

This is a great idea and certainly well worth it. But it's not enough just to serve. In the statement, make the time served do some work. What did you learn from the service? Be specific. Very specific.

Original post by itssdj

2. The Personal Statement: AKA OMG I AM SO AMAZING YOU TOTALLY WANT ME ESSAY

I am not kidding. Your personal statement should truly be personal, and they love a sob story.

Yes. If it's connected with the reasons you want to study, the path you got there. But it needs to be relevant. It can't simply be classic Brit whining.

I've seen applicants from Mexico and Vietnam who would blow any westerner away in terms of the challenges they've overcome. And because scholarship was involved, some checking was done on the chronology - when that verifies, it makes the applicant look impressive indeed.

Play to your strengths...if you're the director of the local Trekkie Group, put that in there.

Reply 7

zero_gravity

Original post by itssdj

I couldn't agree with you more! People do like to embellish their resumes without lying about their achievements. :smile:

Reply 8

punctuation

Original post by itssdj

2. The Personal Statement: AKA OMG I AM SO AMAZING YOU TOTALLY WANT ME ESSAY

I am not kidding. Your personal statement should truly be personal, and they love a sob story.

Is this really the case in the USA? Oh dear, basically the polar opposite of a UCAS personal statement!

Reply 9

sixdaysinthesun

Original post by punctuation

Is this really the case in the USA? Oh dear, basically the polar opposite of a UCAS personal statement!

This is what makes it so difficult for students who are from one side of the pond apying to schools on the other side.
As an American, I have a friend who wrote their entire admissions essay on saving a goal in a soccer game and how it was the most important moment in their life due to all they had to overcome to become a goalkeeper.
That friend now goes to Yale.

Imagine my shock when I realized what I was supposed to do for my UCAS personal statement.
The application systems for the two countries are unbelievably different.

Reply 10

victoryshinesonus

Original post by punctuation

Is this really the case in the USA? Oh dear, basically the polar opposite of a UCAS personal statement!

Yeah, UCAS is so different. Nothing about anything other than the course pretty much.

Reply 11

hippobluecampe

Go to art school, they don't care about sports haha

Reply 12

punctuation

Original post by sixdaysinthesun

Wow, I'm laughing in disbelief. That kind of thing is incomprehensible to me! Then again, my friend got into a top program for commerce in Canada and her "personal statement" was a maze spelling her name with adjectives describing her! The kind of thing that would get laughed out of the admissions office in the UK. Crazy stuff.