Advice

[johnapple]

I genuinely hate science Olympiad. It makes me miserable. Should I quit? The only reason I’m staying on is because it might look good on colleges.

[vehicleguy]

There's so many other things you can do for college besides scioly so just quit if you hate it. If you want some ideas just pm me.
Also keep in mind this isn't a normal year. In person comps are so much more enjoyable, but if you truly hate scioly, again just quit.

[CookiePie1]

I genuinely hate science Olympiad. It makes me miserable. Should I quit? The only reason I’m staying on is because it might look good on colleges.

Hm. Tell us more. It's sad to see people not enjoying their extracurriculars. What exactly about scioly do you not like? Is it your teammates? Coaches? Captains? Events?

Did you do scioly when it was in person? Did you like it then? Do you think you would like it again when it returns to in person?

[MorningCoffee]

If you really aren't enjoying Science Olympiad at all (first, evaluate if you really are enjoying it, except ___, then maybe try to change what is making you dislike it), I would recommend that you pursue something else. Here are a few reasons why I say this:

By saying "yes" to Science Olympiad (which is something you really don't want to do), what are you saying "no" to? A chance to go do something fun that you can't do because you have practice after school? The other extracurricular that suddenly pops up that is perfect, but you have already made the commitment to this one? Or even the free time you could use to do something you like more? I would encourage you to consider this, as you never know what may come along, and do you want Science Olympiad to be a barrier between you and it?

Doing something you really enjoy is much more fulfilling than doing something you dislike. Find something that you really enjoy doing, and do that instead. If you think you'd do better with writing--see about joining the school newspaper (or creating it, if it isn't active). If you have an interest in a sport, do that instead. For now, I would not focus on what colleges want to see and make the best of your time now. Getting involved in something you want to do will be much easier to write about in a college essay, rather than working with an extracurricular you don't want to do. I would encourage you to look and see what motivates you, something that aligns with your interests and goals in life, and go after that.

Here's a true story: There was a person once who went to engineering school for computer science. He had his mind set on getting a steady job in Microsoft, because that was the big company of the day. During college, however, he found that he really had no interests in his computer science classes, and had very little motivation to do them. Instead, he found that he was always the first one in the classroom for his drama and literary classes. When he later went on and managed to get a job at Microsoft, he found that he really didn't enjoy it at all. He hated it, and it wasn't fulfilling. Eventually, he intentionally got himself fired. He went on to be an entrepreneur, and started his own company. After several failures, he eventually managed to build up an online platform that has lots of lessons on almost any skill in life. This was built on his love on being onstage, rather than his desire to be in the best company there is. (I think I may have messed some of the details up, but the overall idea is the same).

The lesson here is to listen to what you are finding joy in. Maybe it won't take you to the job in the statistically best company to work for. But maybe it will take you somewhere better.

[MorningCoffee]

I genuinely hate science Olympiad. It makes me miserable. Should I quit? The only reason I’m staying on is because it might look good on colleges.

Do not do something you hate just for college apps. Don't waste your high school years; for one, there is no magic secret for getting into a college you like, and for another, hard work does not always translate to personally desirable results when it comes to colleges. Do things that make you satisfied with your high school years no matter where you go to college.

I agree with RiverWalker; if it's just a few aspects holding you back from enjoying it, there may be ways to salvage SciOly or science in general for you. If science fills you with misery to your core, do not force yourself into for prestige or clout or achievements or whatnot.
If you enjoy science but there is something specific about SciOly or your team you dislike, there are other competitions like Science Bowl, as well as individual olympiads.

It's okay if your interests do not pay well. When you have a job, you will have a life beyond that job. As long as you are doing something you don't hate, it will work out.

You only get to be a high schooler once; spend it on things that make you fulfilled.