Waste of a Summer(?) - How rigorous does my grade 12 year have to be to prepare for uni?
first post on reddit, but I highkey need answers and people who have already gotten past this stage and are in uni probably.
im going into gr12 this september
so summer is almost over (3 weeks), and I do feel like its been wasted (as in no job, I haven't done any EC related activities and only volunteered a bit, but I've finished my hours). I'm still very confused on how important ECs are in uni applications. I've seen people go crazy with them but I don't got that much honestly. Are they as important here as in America or everyone seems to think? I'm "thinking" of going into engineering (prolly mechatronics, biomedical, or anything that looks to have stability?). Do I have to 100% know what I want to go into?? I enjoy STEM for sure, but I haven't done much to show for it. Only meaningful thing I have done in the summer is go through a lot of the gr12 calculus course.
im not worried about my grades at all though, I know I can achieve 93+ in almost all my classes (is it enough?). My parents have been saying I'm gonna be a "failure" because I don't study my ass off all day and enjoy my days🤦♂️
has anyone been in a situation like this? I see others my age, even at my school with a lot of high value ECs, while I have basically none..
extra note: my local uni is UWindsor, I might go there (other options: western, mcmaster, Uoft, waterloo if it's even viable)
main questions:
what can I do to "salvage" my summer to prepare for uni? (has it really been a waste if I've had fun...)
what should I be looking to do during my grade 12 year to be prepared for university?
how important are ECs ACTUALLY in Ontario university applications?????