Sheed30

Trust me.. a Division 1 athlete is the BEST extra curricular you can possibly have out of high school... Even science or Math Olympiads do not compare to that..

neutron

I think the best ECs are the ones that relate to one's major. For example, if your major is in Chemistry, have some ECs that show that you are passionate about chemistry.

shazzy44

I'm not sure if my interests/EC's have been too random for an admissions counsellor to follow. I'm most likely interested in History or English..but there aren't too many ec's for that!

Here's my preliminary list (spring of Junior year):

President, Drawing Club
Art Club
Student Government
Concerned Citizen's Committee
Key Club
Earth Club
Culture Club
Social Action Committee

(reason why they are varied is b/c I switched schools earlier this year.)

Don't know quite how/if to list these activities:

Competitive figure skating
YMCA Learn to Skate instructor
Habitat for Humanity
Relay for Life
Nominee: Global Young Leaders Conference
Internship with a NYS Member of Assembly

Pending:
Research at local laboratory (cancer, otherwise)
Historical research paper published in a highly regarded publication that publishes high schooler's research papers
Hospital volunteering
Crew or Volleyball or Fencing, maybe soccer (I'll have at least one school sport..not sure which one to do yet)

In regards to Crew, the college counselour at my school mentioned to us today that we should try to join crew if we can, and are interested, because it could be a real edge in the admissions process for highly selective schools. Any thoughts on this sport in particular?

chaotic

"Nominee: Global Young Leaders Conference"
^ Don't list that.

Remember, long-term and time-intensive activities are the most impressive. Looking at your list, you seem to hold membership in a lot of clubs. But how can the admissions officer be sure that you've contributed significantly to these activities?

Crew shows dedication, like any other sport, but it won't be a "hook" unless you are recruited.

debate_addict

I agree with the passion thing only. As long as you pursue womehting that you are really passionate about, then you can excel.

And now the true question. I have been trying to figure out how to do this for ages, albeit unsuccessfully, so how do you give a title to your post??

mj93

Could losing a significant amount of weight (30 pounds+) be listed as an EC, or an award, or in an essay? How would I put that on an ap, if at all?

fhimas88888888

Unfortunately, I don't think that will be a valuable part of the app.... unless, however, losing those pounds provided some kind of great life experience for you. If that's true, then that could potentially be something for the essay.

Sheed30

mj93...i'm sure you can spin that out to be a great essay.. (as long as you connect it to other important things in your life).

Ririka

Will admissions officers take into account the fact that I reside in a rural area that doesn't offer much for high school kids to do? (It is only in the past year that my school has added clubs that I would be remotely interested in, and there is almost NOTHING to do outside of the schools.)

debate_addict

Yes, they would Ririka. And that could even work to your advantage. In A is for Admission an admissions officer states that the most important thing that affects how an application is viewed is the background of the student, namely his/her family's education, his/her parents' fiscal status, his/her environment and how the student adapts to it in order to get as much as they can from it. So if you live in a ridiculously small rural area, it would be great if you could show that through your essays and show as well how you personally tried and managed to overcome that.

cookiemon90

in regards to the sports vs. intellectual sport thing, both require a lot of dedication, and I don't think that one is necessarily more important or more impressive than the other, even though I fall on the side of the more academic bunch. Unlike athletes, academic team players stay up all night and day and (may even) have to sacrifice social interaction, and devoiding yourself of talking to others or even isolating yourself when you're friends get to do whatever is mentally taxing. At least in sports, one gets to stay physically active and socialize with others as a requirement for their sport.

fhimas88888888

The problem with sports though, is that in order to actually benefit from the participation in college admissions, you need to be the top of the top, and even then aren't always close to gaining a spot to top schools. If athletics is really your thing, then to develop your talent, you've got to put a lot of time in, which usually takes away from time you could put into school. That said, it's likely your grades will be lower than those who choose to work at something else. So, using athletics as the means of getting in is very much a gamble because if you don't end up on top, then all you'll have is mediocre to not very good grades and a seemingly empty EC resume.

cookiemon90

good point fhimas

JackLancewell

Hmm, sorry if this has been asked (Holy moly, 19 pages of searching?) but would doing a sport outside of the school matter? Like, let's say a 3 year practioner of Muay Thai. Would that count as an EC?

liangshengtm

yes it would