A Question about extracurriculars

International Students
1

<p>How are extracurricular activities judged in applications? How involved you are, or how much time you spend, or the quantity, or the quality? I ask because I’m an admin on Wikipedia and that takes a large chunk of my free time (about 20-25 hours per week) and I have only a limited amount of time to do other work. So would you recommend I cut back on my Wiki time and concentrate on other stuff?</p>

<p>And another question; I don’t want to create a new post. I got 2170 in the SAT I (2 tries + with super scoring). Should I retake? I’m trying for the elite colleges, but maybe retaking would look a bit desperate. What do you think?</p>

2

<p>Quality is the most important. They also want to see passion and dedication. </p>

<p>It doesn’t matter if you are an administrator on Wikipedia (and I know it is a very tiring job =p) or president of your student council. Write an good essay about your experiences (at mediating disputes, fending off vandals, enforcing 3RR etc…) as an admin in Wikipedia and I am sure it will be all good.</p>

3

<p>It really depends on what country your from. Admission counselors have different expectations depending on the opportunities available to students - which as stated, is dependent on your country</p>

4

<p>in general, ECs are good if you show passion, commitment, and leadership. anything could theoretically work.</p>

<p>for the SAT, I would take it again. 3 times isn’t excessive. depends on what schools you’re aiming for anyways.</p>

5

<p>Okay, thanks for the advice guys. I think I will take the SAT again, once I’ve given all the Subject Tests.</p>

<p>As for my extracurriculars, that’s still a tough one. =(</p>

6

<p>Erm one small thing… Is there a way to prove you were an active wikipedia admin? I mean do they give you a certificate or something? Just asking out of curiosity :D</p>

7

<p>yeah, do you work as an official Wiki admin member or just in a voluntary position? I think elite schools definitely care alot about the quality of ECs, like how you’ve taken advantage of your time and skills.
in any case, your Wiki job sounds quite cool :P</p>

8

<p>You could write to the Wikimedia Foundation for an “authentication” letter of sorts I think.</p>

9

<p>It’s voluntary, certainly. I don’t get paid for it. But you’ve got to go through this vote thing that’s not really a vote. Its relatively easy to prove who I am on Wikipedia. There are ways to authenticate identities through SHA encryptions, but if the admissions guys don’t believe me, I’ll follow frankchn’s advice.</p>

<p>Being an admin is no big deal anyway. There are quite a lot of us. =)</p>