Try these two books for awards. They’re full of lists, though might be getting dated:
What High Schools Don’t Tell You (And Other Parents Don’t Want You to Know): Create a Long-Term Plan for Your 7th to 10th Grader for Getting into the Top Colleges / by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
What Colleges Don’t Tell You (And Other Parents Don’t Want You to Know): 272 Secrets for Getting Your Kid into the Top Schools / by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
From what I’ve seen, especially at HY long lists of impressive (leadership) EC’s get yju in. More stem schools place more importance on accomplishment and depth rather than variety and leadership, and some Ivies seem not to care too much about leadership like cornell and brown. Princeton seems to have the oddest admission, I feel like it favors privilege and I couldn’t get a feel for what EC’s it liked.
I’ve always heard that instead of a long list of random ECs (like president of Italian club and president of robotics club on top of a member of French club etc etc) colleges want to see ECs that are all connected. They all fall under an umbrella of some sort. For example, a friend of mine who got into USC didn’t have a TON of ECs, but she had commitment. She worked as a basketball referee and camp coach, she played varsity basketball, and she volunteered at her local gym. It shows her passion growing up as well as her wanting to focus solely on what makes her happy.
@riar2496
Which schools require a resume?
I’m a little confused- Are sports and hobbies, such as cross country and reading, count as EC’s? Or are clubs and awards considered to be EC’s?
If I have a few activities I have really committed to and dedicated myself to and a few others that I’ve tried and not particularly liked, is it worth listing the ones I’m not particularly passionate about in the Common App? Would that detract from the ‘quality’ ECs, or would listing them show both ‘quality’ and ‘quantity’? Thanks x
:(( I think what they’re saying boils down to;
Commitment
Depth
Breadth
Passion.
Case to point: Jill loves writing and wishes to pursue a stem major. She says so in her essay. Her Ecs all revolve around publications, internships at medical institutions and hospitals, with a couple of leadership “staples”: community work/leader of charity club, MUN, religious participation. For all four years of high school
Vs
Jen who is undecided but kinda loves science and literature. She says so in her essay. She on several sports teams, but only for one year at a time, leadership “staples” for her senior and junior year, and basically no ex that proves her interest in either science of literature.
It’s important to optimize your application for all areas, but colleges and scholarships look to your extracurriculars to confirm that you’re a well-rounded student
I put on my extracurriculars “Nominated WFUNA Young Leader of the Year (2016)” on my list as I was still in the selection process and had only been nominated by the college application deadline date. However, I later found out (after I submitted the application) that I had not won the award.
Will colleges say think I am lying when they see my extracurriculars? Or will they know that I was only nominated?
PS: WFUNA stands for World Federations of United Nations Associations
You were nominated so what you wrote was fully factual. Schools will assume you were either nominated but did not win or that the award winners have not yet been announced. Either way I would leave things as they are.
Excellent post. That’s why it’s called your Personal Statement. What do you want the Admissions Committee to really know about you?