<p>you really think that a 1-2 semester membership in a club that they’ll realize isn’t very hard to join (as you put it) will be significantly weighted in their evaluation, johnny445?</p>
<p>OP seems like a smart guy and pretty intense student with well-defined academic interests…</p>
<p>he might spend his free time reading about subjects relevant to his intended field of study, he might work an internship or a part-time job a couple of days week for hands-on exposure to that field, hell he might spend it playing chess online or socially (only without the formal affiliation you chose to obtain, presumably in part to impress an admissions committee, a common reality that may well be transparent to evaluators).</p>
<p>i’m not trying to debase your or anyone’s extracurricular pursuits, since they often are governed by sincere interest in the activity itself and its enjoyment in the context of a college atmosphere–and even when they aren’t, but are indeed more resume-oriented, I respect these motivations, too, since, hey, a lot of life is jumping through hoops, and who’s a rambling CC poster like me to judge?–but i just (and maybe i’m rationalizing my own lack of it to comfort myself…in fact i know that’s what i’m doing) simply do not want to believe that the columbia school of general studies factors participation in school organizations to the same extent that traditional schools factor the common app brag sheet geared towards high schoolers. their evaluation process is an expressly holistic one that defies the seeming “check off on the clipboard that he had a leadership position in a club” mentality that many perceive as defining the stereotypical admissions committee at ivy league x.</p>
<p>i’ve looked at a lot of the accepted students’ stats on here and most of them actually did have some impressive string of activities at their community college or prior school-- the sort of record that may well be, in general studies adcoms’ eyes, an indicator of a vibrant, intellectually and socially curious individual who will contribute to the campus–so there’s a solid chance i’m just blowing smoke out my rear here. </p>
<p>EDIT: and maybe the school wouldn’t like someone who basically makes schoolwork his singular focus and doesn’t participate in any correlated clubs. i really don’t know.</p>