ReInventor

Easy? It took me more than 8 years to get my first degree black belt in karate. Personally, I'd put my experience in karate on par with being on a varsity sports team. It is hours of practice every week, just like a sports team--not to mention the mental effort, like memorizing various forms and katas, learning a bit of Japanese, stuff like that. I also think it's a bit different than team sports because it is very individual and you control your own motivation. I could've quit at any time, it's not like I'd be letting a team down, it was my personal motivation and perseverance that earned me a black belt, not like I could've relied on better players or something like that. I'm hoping that my black belt combined with my accomplishments in playing the bassoon will be a good hook.

shortiegirl9

Hi! Well, this thread is making me....nervous, to say the least. I'm only a lowly freshman, so I have plenty of time to join clubs and stuff (In fact, I'm pretty overwhelmed at all the clubs I CAN join right now). My question is, what is everyone meaning when they say "unique" ECs? Is starting a club unique? Is owning a business? Could someone give some examples?

fs08

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...=news-col-blog

"Colleges want to see two activities to which you have applied much energy and passion. They don't want to see a lot of little stuff. "

really you don't want a HUGE list of extra curriculars that you so obviously did just to fill out your resume. as stated above its most desirable to colleges when you have like 2 or 3 really strong ecs that you put a lot of time and effort into. they honestly do not care about a club you were in for one year. that doesn't show any passion or dedication. i wouldn't even bother putting that on your resume.

Sheed30

l .

AGdaKid

why does every1 here act like all of the students want to go to an ivy league. While some of these activities may help...how many students in the USA can possibly do all or even some of this by the time they apply. There are many other good schools out there, sometimes i feel that people only think about ivy league and not the othre thousands of schools. If you are actually qualified (grade-wise or activitys) go for an ivy league. But dont assume that every1 looking for chances is looking at an ivy league school, and that they should give up on applying since they havent just dominated their school in athletics or grades or activities.

prospectiveMD

Just my 2 cents:

I know plenty of people who have not dedicated themselves to an instrument or a sport, just tons of other things, who have gotten into great schools. As for me, I spent a great amount of my summers researching at a microbiology lab. During the year, I'm involved heavily in JSA, volunteering, and academic competitions. I'm riding on the fact that everyone defines him or herself in a different way. I'm not amazingly athletic (although, I love tennis and am not too bad at it) and I'm not musically-inclined, but I don't feel like that's going to limit me because I have managed to be involved and unique in other ways. Don't kill yourself if you haven't chosen to do something just because it is suggested on these forums. Dedication is trivial term. I'm Asian and I for one will not slaughter myself if I don't make the Ivy League.

philoglossia

policy is less a good ec by itself than an ec which builds skills useful in other ecs. i don't think i could write a 10+ page original research paper for the concord review etc. had i not stayed up for an absurd number of hours cutting cards.

Olive_Tree

All right, I know this probably has been talked about in this thread, but I'm a junior interested in starting a non-profit organization for teens. How would I go about doing this? What advice can anyone give me?

Thanks!

Lugburz

wow i wish i had ec's... i've just worked at my parent's store my entire life, and i play some instruments

Olive_Tree

Can anyone help me with my non-profit question?

Sheed30

yo should probably ask people at your school...or make your own thread....

Olive_Tree

I did make a thread, but no one has answered yet. I don't really think my school would offer much advice.

Northstarmom

"wow i wish i had ec's... i've just worked at my parent's store my entire life, and i play some instruments"

Working is considered a strong EC particularly if you're helping contribute to your family's support. Taking instrument lessons, participating in musical groups are ECs.

Unoriginal

This thread makes me sad, as I have no real ECs. I've done a bunch of things for a small amount of time(drum and guitar lessons for a few months, martial arts for a few months, 1 year of lacrsse), but nothing very plausible. However, I'm an avid seller on ebBay for many years, would that count as an EC? Probably just wishful thinking, but I just thought I'd write it down here. It's become a sort of passion, and is something that I've always taken interest in.

I don't particularly like any clubs offered by my school except one, and I think it may be too late to join it, but I'll see if I can still join. I'm not smart enough to join the math or science team, or good enough at an instrument to join any of the music clubs. I'm sad, but I really don't want to join a club if I don't have an interest in it.

Echelon32

Out of curiosity, where do you think a 3-sport varsity athlete would fall in the hierarchy of things? Although not ranked at a state or national level (maybe 125th at state xc...)

Is this something that truly "boosts" your application in terms of ECs? or would someone with one sport, ranked and/or captain be better?