[metalforever]

I can answer this because I was in this position. Parents couldnt afford the gas. They worked long hours to make ends meet and couldn’t take time to drive me to this stuff even if they had the gas money. Finally, there’s just not a lot of ECs available in a lot of poor areas , like the one I came from. I filled that space in the app talking about my hobbies instead because there was no money. Yeah.

[WalterBright]

The school clubs met after school, one was there anyway. The Boy Scouts also met within walking distance. The Scouts used to meet at public schools, but the people who hate the Scouts got them kicked out because they had a religious requirement for one of the ranks.

[kelnos]

> The school clubs met after school, one was there anyway.

And how did students get home after the club meetings were over, since the school buses weren't running anymore?

> The Boy Scouts also met within walking distance.

Is it really that hard to understand that many people don't live within walking distance of their school, or of where clubs might meet?

Or at least safe walking distance; the last house I lived in before college was certainly within walking distance of quite a few things, but that would require walking along sidewalk-less, shoulder-less, limited-visibility, twisty roads with cars zipping around corners at 45mph. Even if my parents would have allowed me to walk along those roads (they wouldn't), I don't think even my "invincible" teenage self would have felt comfortable with that.

I was lucky that my mom was available to drive me to and from places after school, and on days when she wasn't, I could sometimes find a neighbor, or a schoolmate's parents to help. But many kids just don't have that option. More kids than it seems you realize.

[WalterBright]

> many people don't live within walking distance

True. You can say anything at all about people, and there will be many exceptions.

Parents with kids tend to make an effort to be within range of the local school.

> More kids than it seems you realize.

I'm aware I have a different perception of walking distance that is quite a bit further than most parents, based on how far from the local schools I see kids walking to/from. It peters out to about 0 at the half mile mark.

[metalforever]

Can you please explain how the child would get home from the after school activity, if it existed?

I’m being clear when I am saying there really aren’t any EC options . In poor areas , there’s no money because school funding comes from property tax . Where I went, the funding was so tight they had to fire the foreign language , art teachers and music teachers . If they can’t afford regular instructors , where is the money coming from for the ECs?

[Mezzie]

Poor or rural. One of my school systems had less than 100 kids in the middle school over an area of several square miles. There just wasn't the population density for many/any non-sport ECs (and even those were difficult).

[WalterBright]

Then create your own extracurricular activity. There aren't any rules about it. It just has to be something that shows initiative, drive, and ability to accomplish something significant. I did things like build a gokart out of scrap (had a lot of fun with that, too!). No adults were involved in any way.

[pixl97]

Next you're going to tell this group to lift themselves up by their bootstraps....

[WalterBright]

Overcoming obstacles makes one an attractive candidate for admission.

[WalterBright]

I walked home from school. I can't recall my parents ever picking me up.

The Boy Scouts didn't run on money. A chess club, book club, drama club, dance club, photography club, math club, etc., don't require money.

Besides, creating something from nothing is going to look a lot better on an application than following a course that is laid out by instructors and papered with cash.

[actionablefiber]

> I walked home from school. I can't recall my parents ever picking me up.

In the United States in the 2020s being able to walk yourself to and from school without A) having your life in grave danger from motor vehicle traffic and B) having someone call CPS or the police on your parents is an incredible luxury.

The neighborhood where I grew up was built in the early 90s and its elementary school and middle school are on the opposite side of an eight lane highway that has no crosswalks or sidewalks (on the school side) for at least a quarter mile. The town believes so strongly that no one should walk or bike to school that they zoned the school and built out the roads such that attempting to do so would sooner or later result in certain death.

[andrepd]

/r/fuckcars moment, but yes you're absolutely right. Transportation in the US seems to be getting worse as time passes, it's actually incredible.

[actionablefiber]

Yes, absolutely an /r/fuckcars moment, growing up in suburbia with no survivable means of transportation besides the car made me extremely receptive to the thesis of that subreddit.

[metalforever]

Yeah this was the issue. It’s probably a common one in rural areas like the one I am from. These areas also tend to lack public transit.

[WalterBright]

We're talking high school, not elementary school. College admissions don't look at elementary school activities.

High schoolers can walk around unattended. Even a quarter mile, both ways. It's not a big deal. In the summer I often try to get in 5 miles a day of running/walking.

> incredible luxury

Don't overstate your case.

The irony in this thread is all the complaining about "can't do things that will look good on a college application" just means that another student who does find a way around obstacles is going to be the one admitted. Surmounting obstacles makes one a standout candidate.

[kelnos]

You seem to have had a pretty privileged upbringing. I did too. School bus was always available during normal hours, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom, and was (nearly) always available to drive my sister and me places.

My schools were never within walking distance, and my parents wouldn't have been comfortable with the type of roads I'd have to traverse even if they were, even when I was in high school.

Your assumption that everyone -- or even most kids -- have a situation like you had is just flat-out wrong.

> Surmounting obstacles makes one a standout candidate.

This is just hogwash; being in a position to surmount obstacles is privilege too. And you seem to be ignoring the fact that some kids didn't have obstacles, and so it was easier for them to participate in all these other activities: they started out with a built-in advantage. Even if you do have obstacles, and are able to overcome them, you're still going to have a harder time than the kids without the obstacles. And not in ways that are obvious to admissions departments such that your experience would give you a leg up.

[actionablefiber]

> High schoolers can walk around unattended. Even a quarter mile, both ways. It's not a big deal. In the summer I often try to get in 5 miles a day of running/walking.

Extremely location dependent. Where I live today, in Virginia very close to DC, I commute by bike and do lots of biking/walking for fun and to run errands. What you are saying about walking around as a means of getting from place to place is just completely untrue in many parts of the United States.

I made a specific point about my ES/MS because of how egregious it was to have them at a half mile's walk away but with unacceptably dangerous terrain, in the very place I grew up. My HS was a couple miles away and, until ~2010 when they built a protected ~800ft long MUP, would have required walking/riding on the highway to reach without a car as well.

The point of that is that if you live in an area like this and your parents work, you are extremely handicapped in what you can do by yourself. You would need a third car to get yourself around and if you cannot manage that then you are completely subservient to your parents' availability and your local school bus schedules for all of your transportation needs. Which has repercussions on clubs, extracurriculars, your social life, really the full range of experiences you can have growing up.

When I was in K-12 my life consisted mainly of school, sleep, and playing video games in the basement. Now that I am in a city and can go wherever I want whenever I want I find I am extremely active and social and have many different hobbies.

[atonse]

Yup same here. Public school was walking distance (20 min walk but not a big deal) so I didn’t rely on my parents. We also had a public metrobus route with discounted fare.

[atonse]

Our school was in a better neighborhood but still a part of the historically pretty dysfunctional DC Public Schools system.

Not sure how much was teachers volunteering, but we did have old instruments, old computers, etc.

[fortran77]

> but the people who hate the Scouts got them kicked out because they had a religious requirement for one of the ranks.

Actually people who love our Constitution got them kicked out.

[WalterBright]

In my career in the Scouts, there was not one religious thing done in any of it. There was "trustworthy loyal helpful ... brave clean reverent", and AFAIK the reverent was only a word, with even less meaning than "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance at school, or "in God we trust" on the currency.

There was no religious requirement for being a Boy Scout, there were never any religious ceremonies at meetings, religion was never even mentioned in any of the activities or meetings.

The only thing was one requirement for the Eagle Scout.

The religious thing was just a convenient excuse for the people who hated the Scouts.

[atonse]

Not sure where you went to school but I went to a public school in DC.

Both my immigrant parents worked crazy hours so I spent my evenings playing with friends and in various clubs.

Computer Club, Orchestra (early morning practice), various sports like tennis and soccer.

None of it cost my parents a penny, it was all free. Even school uniforms were free. I know generally in public schools, things are almost always free. If they aren’t, there are pathways to pay for it.

[Izkata]

Same here. You were expected to find your own way home afterwards since the buses were long gone (parents drive you, upperclassmen gives you a ride, bike, walk, etc, so I guess cost of gas could factor in here), but in general none of the clubs cost anything to join.

[MisterBastahrd]

No, not remotely. Your experience is hilariously atypical of public school experiences.