Does Maintaining A Website Count As An EC?

genevieve961 · June 2009

I mean it's annoying in a way when hopefuls post their website or blog on one of the chance threads. I mean everyone can get a free blog or website. If no one reads you site, in a way, it doesn't really matter, but hey, that's just my opinion. I have no website or blog, and I wonder why kids want to put their website on their resume.

monstor344 · June 2009

Everyone can join a club.
Everyone can join a sport.
Everyone can pack soup cans for a homeless shelter.

What matters is the experience, the passion, and the dedication. I would say that maintaining a website is as good as most other ECs; it's something that can be listed but its true weight depends on how much an applicant can elaborate upon it and show how it is important to his growth as a person.

apple1984 · June 2009

I wouldn't put this on my applications, but I designed the website for my school's MUN club; a lot of students have probably had similar experiences as part of their other EC's. By the way, designing a website with CSS and XHTML is not a piece of cake.

Harambee · June 2009

^I agree. I'm doing the same thing for my school's chess club and it's not easy mixing CSS, XHTML & JavaScript not to mention photoshop.

@apple1984 Steve Jobs is back!

HiPeople · June 2009

Everyone can join a sport.

Actually that statement is very untrue for our school.

To answer the OP's question, yes and if you like computer science, its a very good EC.

vasudevank · June 2009

Making a website can be down right horrid and difficult when trying to mix xhtml, css, javascript, but it blows up when you throw in AJAX to have realtime updates. It took a whole summer working 8-9 hrs a day to fully get the site functional and bug free.

monstor344 · June 2009

I also have a question, sort of relating to the OP's topic. People here say that maintaining a website is a legitimate EC because it involves knowledge in various computer languages; I certainly do not disagree. But what about keeping a blog that does not require advanced knowledge of programming? And no, not a daily blog used essentially as a journal/personal profile, but rather a website filled with thought-out articles displaying one's interests? Would this adequately act as an EC, or would this only truly count if it was on an independent website that requires the ability to self-design a website?

jackbenimble4 · June 2009

I sure hope it counts because really, my website has been the center of my extracurricular life for the past four years.

I run a Xbox 360 website called XboxAmerica.com. We have 13,000+ members and almost 150,000 posts.

I wrote the entire website myself, including the forum software using PHP any MySQL. I'm also a member of the restricted Xbox Community Developer Program which allows web developers access to XML feeds from Microsoft providing data about Xbox Live gamertags and Xbox 360 games.

Let's just say if all those years I put into it don't count, I'm screwed.

vasudevank · July 2009

^It will count. I have a friend whose only EC was maintaining website. He got into MIT (not great SAT on the old scale 1400, and was not in top 20). He was able to pay for college through his website and now works at M$. win!

NealJ2K · July 2009

I used website administration as an EC (along with other ECs)--this site happened to be my high school's. So, I think your using this as an EC is very acceptable.

Harambee · July 2009

How did ya'll convey it on your college app? Did you write essays about it or what?

@jackbenimble4 - I understand how you feel, a lot of people think that building a site is simple when it's actually a lot more complicated than most people realize. Mastering coding languages like XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript isn't easy, especially when there's so many bugs across browsers and platforms.

@monstor344 - I would think that it depends on the site, the amount of readers, and your daily involvement in it not to mention how you convey it on your college app.

genevieve961 · July 2009

bump please.

lolcats4 · July 2009

I used website administration as an EC (along with other ECs)

I went further than NealJ2K and made website administration my PRIMARY EC (as in, I submitted a recommendation from the owner of the website, wrote my main common app essay on it). In addition, this website was devoted to video games. Didn't keep me out of the Ivy League or any of the other schools I applied to.

Of course, if website administration is your only EC then it probably won't do much good for you.

noimagination · July 2009

By the way, designing a website with CSS and XHTML is not a piece of cake.

It's not rocket science either...

jackbenimble4 · July 2009

It still requires a lot more intellectual thought than most extracurriculars, especially when you get into programming and go beyond simple markup languages.

Plecostomus · July 2009

@jack -- Nice site! I know that wasn't easy. If you wrote that entire site before graduating high school... HOLY $#&!

But back to the thread topic, I think using a website as an ec depends on how well you can justify it to an admissions counselor. A personal blog (unless it's making you money) isn't justifiable as an ec. But a complex interactive site with many viewers/users or that runs a businesses is no easy feat. Coding and managing that kind of site is more than comparable to being a team captain, club president, etc.

noimagination · July 2009

It still requires a lot more intellectual thought than most extracurriculars, especially when you get into programming and go beyond simple markup languages.

I definitely won't deny the complexity of managing a major website like yours. Having written the forum software yourself is just icing on the cake.

jumpcondition · July 2009

yeah, nice work. if it's something you're passionate about, put it on your app of course!

for all you webdevs, developing in firefox+addons is BOMB!
i use firefox 3.5 with

Firebug (best add-on EVER, it let's you browse html and css in the bottom third of your screen, you can actively change it and see real-time changes in the page you're viewing, SOOO much better than changing your code and figuring out it doesn't work. it also includes a javascript debugger!)

Web Developer (toolbar with tons of options, most important is ability to disable cache)

MeasureIt (measure any pixel length or box size on your webpage)

Colorzilla (advanced eyedropper, colorpicker, page zoomer tool)

FireGestures (executes various commands with mouse gestures, handy if you refresh often)

let me know what you think. these are all free, btw

Computerized · July 2009

So how does one convey website development/management as an EC?

jumpcondition · July 2009

I would say activities sheet or essay. The point is to communicate your passion and competence.

Forgot to mention Run IE8/IE7/IE6, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera from the web
Extremely nifty plugin that allows you to test your site in IE 6,7,8, FF2,3 and opera, safari, and chrome, all from your current browser.

jackbenimble4 · July 2009

@jumpcondition

I don't know if I could live without Firebug. I actually just yesterday used it when filling out the Common App. My dad's position / title wouldn't fit in 40 characters so I popped up firebug, inspected the text element, changed the maxlength and bam, it fit. I was half-expecting the excess to be truncated by the server-side script but it wasn't.

Does Maintaining A Website Count As An EC?

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