bluesquaremoon

Can a low number of ECs be offset or explained by difficult situations overcome in high school? Like for example the loss of a loved one.

boho_girl

Yes, I think your ECs show that. When I started to read your post, I tried to see what would be the connecting thread of your activities, and I came up with interest in social studies and something verbal (when you mentioned you're dropping speech, then it came down to writing).
And I think your activism shows, too.
Just listen to what Northstarmom said and enjoy your activities


bluesquaremoon@
Anything that you think could use an explanation, explain it. I tend to think it's better to do the "overkill" than not say enough.
I don't know if that could be offset or not as everything is evaluated on individual cases, but nonetheless, you should explain that you tried your best in given circumstances.

shore

So you can only do like 4-5 things and get in? Like for example (not in priority):
1) Debating
2) Mock Trial
3) Model UN
4) Charity
5) Cadets (Australian version of scouts)
6) My big hitter - I write a column every single week for the biggest newspaper in PNG

And can that be all your ECs need to be for HYPSM?

mc1600

ive looked over some of the older posts and i was a little worried after reading about how ECs are encouraged to demonstrate a passion for something i would want to do later in life.

for example, im editor in chief of my school newspaper, but i wasnt planning on becoming a journalist. is it a bad thing if i havent found what i want to be yet and that my ECs dont really reflect on what i might study in college?

luzbrillante

If you choose to be an Undecided major upon entering college, I don't think it can hurt to have a variety of ECs with no particular path yet..If you haven't found your niche, I'd say just aim for success in the ECs you have now, or venture out and think about what you might wanna major in.

lackadaisy

mc1600, the short answer to your question is absolutely not. being a newspaper EIC proves your commitment to critical thinking, your talent for writing, and your ability to lead effectively. Don't stress.

spiralcloud

wow, I just looked at that and it was VERY long..sorry

spiralcloud

wow, I just looked at that...it was long--sorry

spiralcloud

Can anyone look over my EC's and answer my question please?
When I apply, I think I'm going to take some activities off my list...I do all my ECs for fun, NOT for college (because I started them all before I even began to think about college).
Still, I don't think they would all contribute to an Adcom's understanding of me, so which ones should I think of taking off my app?
1. Ton of work for community group...treasurer too (the only elected position)--this is my big extracurricular--I've been recognized quite a bit, and I spend about 4-6 hrs. on it each week and have been doing it since the 6th grade. This is going to be the "theme" of my application.
2. Speech and Debate--this is my main "school-sponsored" activity. I have a varsity letter, and I'll probably become academic all american soon. I've gone to state finals in all my speech events, and semis in debate. ~3 hrs a week
3. I sing quite a bit too...
a. Indian Classical singing since I was 10; performed at local music festivals ~4 hrs. a week
b. singing in my school's choral group since the 7th grade : I've performed at Carnegie Hall too. ~1 hr. a week
4. I play the piano, and I'm the graduate of an accredited music program ~4hrs. a week, been doing that since i was seven
5. I do kumon as well. I'm in the top 10% of my grade in Kumon--and I'll be a graduate of that by the middle of my senior year at least. ~3 hrs. a week
6. I also teach at my church's Sunday School. the only reason I'm a teacher there is because no parents would teach, and they were going to shut it down. so, I offered to teach there because I had gone to Sunday School before (when I was younger) ~1 hr a week (just the class that I teach)...but its important to me, so I think I'm going to include it on my application
7. I also do indian classical dance, but I'm not very serious about it...so I think its going to get chucked off my EC list along with kumon.
wow, that took a long time to type, and its probably equally boring to read.So, do you guys think that I should take any of my ECs off my list in order to make myself look better?...so it looks like I have a focus instead of dabbling in everything.

Thanks.

spiralcloud

I just looked at that...it was long--sorry

Poseur

Spiralcloud, your activities look great. And I like that you mentioned that you do them because you enjoy them, not for the sake of colleges.

I don't think that mentioning any of the activities would hurt. All of them are interesting and fairly unique.

Ambitiousteen

haha nice kumon.. i teach higher lvl math at kumon... congrats... hope u become a teacher... lol

george88b

You guys should check out this blog by a current college counselor, there is some great insider info.

Secrets of College Admissions from the Inside

Poseur

Triple cross-posted; any thoughts?:

What if your extracurriculars don't demonstrate passion in one area, just... dabbling in several areas of interest?

My ECs are all over the place and I haven't done anything extraordinary with any of them. I join clubs in my areas of interests and have very few "leadership" positions (none as of now, but a few potential ones have been offered to me senior year. I hate the idea of getting leadership positions just for the sake of having them, but especially as a senior, I'd love to be a part of keeping clubs organized and active.) I'm on Math Team and in Art Club; I participate in computer programming competitions and was a member of Photography Club and Literary Magazine for two years (until the meeting dates conflicted with other clubs); I'm part of a program that donates computers to needy students and helps them learn to use them; I'm in the French Honor Society, Art Honor Society, and NHS; I've taken classes over the summer in areas of interest; etc.

I know that colleges in general hate to see a "laundry list" of extracurricular activities, and at first I planned on focusing (in my applications) on one or two of my more important activities (PCs4Kids is very rewarding, Art Club is a fun way to practice my love of art and use it to help out in the community), as seems to be the preferred method according to the general consensus in this thread: elaborate upon one or two passions and what you've done with them. But then I decided that it would be more honest and representative of me to present myself as having used my spare time to participate in ECs in all sorts of areas of interest to me. I want to write my extracurricular essay about how participating in all sorts of activities, even though I didn't pour a bunch of time into any particular one, has been rewarding because I've used my HS time to explore my (multiple) passions.

My biggest passion relevant to my studies is cognitive neuroscience -- but as I just decided in the middle of last year (my junior year) that this was what I wanted to study, I haven't done anything in that field. This summer, I'm taking a two-week course at Summer@Brown on the nervous system; also, next school year I'm going to secure an internship (my school system has a great intern-mentor program) with a scientist who does at least somewhat-related work. But besides these two things, I'm not gonna have any activities that demonstrate my interest in the subject.

Anyways, I just want to know what you guys think about the whole not-doing-anything-big-but-having-lots-of-interests thing. :/ I hope I haven't screwed myself over for college admissions by, you know, spending my spare time doing things I like! -___-

dchow08

george88b, I highly doubt that that blog you posted is reliable.

1. If you look at the blog, you'll see that the blogger remains anonymous and shows nothing that proves that he is an admissions dean at all.

2. His email is george88ab@yahoo.com, which (1) isn't a legitimate college e-mail; e-mails from admissions deans, students, and professors end in .edu, and (2) is pretty much your screen name.

3. Google george88ab and this is what you get: a link to a YouTube page of a 19 year old who said that "Obama and Farrakhan are in bed together."

4. Google george88b and you get a Wikipedia page that says "George _______ is one of the greatest pimps to ever live."

I rest my case.