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I heard nowadays that extra curriculums weigh more colleges are deciding whether the school is right for you. I'm not the best student in the world, but i've done so many extra curriculars and i'm super athletic. I'm captain of softball team, president of billiards club, representative student council, etc.. but my grades are average in a competitive school. I have about a 2.7 gpa for all three years. How do you think my extra curricular programs would weigh in along with 112 voluntary hours of work? theres no ranking in my school either

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 02:30 pm: Edit

Extra curriculars are EXTRA's - they won't make up for a low GPA or low standardized test scores.

The FIRST and MOST important thing that college admissions offices still look at is your GPA and the type of classes you've taken in high school. Then, they'll look at your test scores, your class rank, your recommendations.

Finally, essays, community service, extra curriculars and other factors are weighed in - but if your GPA doesn't fall within their mid-range of accepted students, the BEST extracurriculars in the world probably won't be enough on their own to get you in.

Now, there is one exception: are you good enough at sports to be a recruited athlete for a particular college level sport? If the answer is yes, then that MAY help---but you have to be very talented and play a sport that a college or university is looking to recruit for. I don't know how many colleges recruit for softball or billiards.

The good news is that there are many colleges out there where a 2.7 GPA won't necessarily shut you out of the game. Tell us some more about what you are looking for in a school - location, what you're interested in studying, size, etc. - and we can make some recommendations of schools for you to look at.