<p>I did not read judgement in Fencersmother comment. I read it as a question -"how do you spend your non-study time’? This is what will need to be answered in interviews, either job or college. The typical activities can include sports or church groups, so fencersmother was listing some to help Hillsdalelewis think along those lines. Applicants may overlook some EC’s when completing their applications.
There are many fine ECs that can be listed that do not include group activites, that are not meaningless and would not contribute to “self-esteem” issues. I know students who became involved with advanced horse training, sent birthday cards to missionary kids living overseas, sent cards to military personnel, translate bios from South America for children in sponsorship programs, wrote book reviews, selected books for the church library… There are many more activites that are NOT superficial and that serve to take our minds off ourselves while serving others inside and outside the community. While these may not be typical, I have to believe they would be better than listing nothing on an application. I did not list these to say anyone is terrible if they don’t participate in these activities, but to help the non-sports student to think outside the box for EC’s and to help them realize that some activities they may already be involved with are important enough to include on applications. These activities give life to an applicant and can be used a conversation starters.</p>