Lacking in ECs?

Applying to College
1

<p>Looking back at what I’ve done the past three years in high school, I realized that my I have this horrible gap in my application: that page that you fill up with all your ECs.</p>

<p>Basically, at this point, I have nothing except track, which doesn’t exactly cover a huge span of time (I started in sophomore year). My freshman year was a huge failure, I basically hopped between some clubs and stuck with none of them to the end of sophomore year. Then, in November 2009, I joined track, fell in love with it, and didn’t really realize that I didn’t have anything else until recently.</p>

<p>I’d like to think that track is the reason why I didn’t join anything else. Practice everyday afterschool, and a huge commute between home, school, and practice give me almost no time left for anything else (I leave at 6AM and get home at 8PM on a regular day). Then on Saturday, I have meets. </p>

<p>How big of an effect will this “hole” in my application have? I’m looking to apply to Cornell Engineering, but Cornell, being Cornell (an Ivy), looks for that long list of wonderful ECs right?</p>

2

<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with comments by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Sad to say, simply racking up a bunch of hours is not what top colleges look for. It does show focus, but the bar is higher than that at the most selective schools. They are flooded with apps from strong students, and simply winnowing it by those that show they’ve taken part in an EC doesn’t get them much farther in deciding who to admit. They can afford to look for those that show leadership and achievement, because they have plenty left to choose among even after applying those criteria. As Stanford says in its FAQ

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