No Extracurriculars in Freshman Year

[cclawfjj]

The title says it all. I have absoloutely none in first year as my primary focus was on adapting to the new environment and attaining the best possible mark...so I did manage to pull off 3.90+ GPA that yr, but nevertheless, having no ECs in freshman doesnt look all that impressive...

any thoughts on this?

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[desler]

same here. but i'd like to think that the GPA makes up for it. what about a job?

 

[pennybridge]

Are you interested in doing some extra-curriculars or are you planning on just blasting through undergrad going to class and watching reruns of 'Everybody Loves Raymond'?

personally I would kill myself from the boredom

 

[moe_4eva]

same here. but i'd like to think that the GPA makes up for it. what about a job?

I was going to ask about a job too. At the same time, it does say something about an applicant if they make the effort to do more than the bare minimum. With that said, I wouldn't worry about it too much, just try to pick it up for the last 3 years in terms of volunteering, clinical exp., work, etc.

 

[TPROrgoTutor2]

I had none until junior year. Then did a lot and applied senior year (yea, late). Crammed a lot of quality ec's into those two years, though.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

The title says it all. I have absoloutely none in first year as my primary focus was on adapting to the new environment and attaining the best possible mark...so I did manage to pull off 3.90+ GPA that yr, but nevertheless, having no ECs in freshman doesnt look all that impressive...

any thoughts on this?

As long as you have meaningful extracurricular activities it won't make a big difference. Quality over quantity.

 

[LadyDiamond]

I didn't have any extra-curriculars during my freshmen year either. I was trying to adjust to the new enviornment like you. I got a high GPA too and I have been offered 4 interviews so I don't think not having extra-curriculars in your freshmen year will do much harm.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

The title says it all. I have absoloutely none in first year as my primary focus was on adapting to the new environment and attaining the best possible mark...so I did manage to pull off 3.90+ GPA that yr, but nevertheless, having no ECs in freshman doesnt look all that impressive...

any thoughts on this?

Yes, you need to lighten up.

 

[MirrorTodd]

My extracurricular during my first year was skipping class to sleep. Don't feel so bad. Better to get good grades then kill yourself by trying to do to much. Be glad that you got a 3.9 and not a 2.9 like me. You can get some volunteering job once a week to start out. Just be sure to start out slowly and not pile everything on at once.

 

[Orthonut]

What Dropkick, MirrorTodd, and remarkal3le said. I made the mistake of trying to cram too many in and killed myself...thus here I am in the Caribbean (while it's a fairly good school, I'd prefer to be in vet school in the USA)

I'd add them in slowly-one or two clubs that meet like every other week, and then like a volunteer/community service thing (I don't know what you guys need...I'm guessing here)

If it comes up in interviews just be honest. Say "I wanted to make sure I adjusted well to being away from home and the more rigorous academic environment, so I decided not to join any groups/teams freshman year until I was sure I had my study habits down pat. Then I decided to add the activities in one at a time to make sure I didn't overdo it" And let your stellar (hopefully) academic record speak for itself. Don't commit academic suicide like I did.

 

[45408]

slacker. tsk tsk. yeah, thoughts are that now would be a good time to start doing something. It's now January, so I'm guessing you're also halfway through sophomore year.