<p>EC’s need to show
1). Passion
2). Commitment to your passion
3). Helping the community (volunteering)
4). Self improvement (creativity) beyond what is expected for school</p>
<p>They need to tell a story of who you are, what you like, how long you stick with what you like (walk your talk).</p>
<p>They need to show that you can do more than school work, and that you push yourself above and beyond what is expected.</p>
<p>What is not impressive is a huge number of listings of EC’s. More important is to show you have self-insight, have found something that you really enjoy and stick with it.</p>
<p>There are some that join every club out there and attend here and there; others that seek out to create or so something that looks good on their application.</p>
<p>When you come down to it, think of this as a job application. Typically one page, you would list the highlights, something you can really have a conversation about. The topic must ignite you, push you, not be a box to check off to show you were involved in many activities.</p>
<p>More activies do not help.</p>
<p>A few very intense activities with focus are much better. </p>
<p>When you think of listing an EC, think about having a long conversation, or interview with questions of why you chose that EC, what you learned, what kept you going, challenges faced, issues that you overcame, lessons learned.</p>
<p>If you have a bucket list of EC’s, it will be difficult to start a conversation regarding the above, as it shows you jumped from one to another to another, perhaps to make your college application look good.</p>
<p>What stands out is what can tell the story, and long term no matter how big or small is often better than 20 or more items that are small and not as intense.</p>