<p>I was accepted quickly to Journalism with:
Co-editor of newspaper senior year
News editor junior year
Staff writer sophomore year
PALS (Peer Assistance & Leadership) - mentored junior high students 2 years
NHS - National Honor Society 2 years
Secretary - Speech & Debate Club
3rd chair clarinet/marching band 2 years
10-15 newspaper awards
3rd place State UIL Headline Writing
1st place Regional Editorial Writing
1 year working at movie theater
Vacation Bible School volunteer 4 years
Kids Music Camp volunteer 2 years</p>
<p>Is getting research published a good EC? I’m about to get my research published, but it wasn’t that hard…</p>
<p>What do you guys think of my ECs
- President of Tech Club
- Founder and President of Programming Club
- President of Mathletes
- Captain of Debate, won 2 tournaments last year and probably going to TOC this year
- Managed a hedge fund made 3.6% annual profit relative to market
- Varsity Tennis
- 200+ volunteer hours (mostly for scouts)
- Created a mobile app that made $10k </p>
<p>Yes, yes, there ARE enough students with these ECs to fill the classes of prestigious universities. </p>
<p>Your ECs need to show who your (interests, personality, success, character). They should also be a compelling case on why the college should select YOU. And yes, they should be ridiculously impressive. Most people at my Ivy League were nationally ranked competitors, run their own business, are successful campaign managers, run a non profit, etc., </p>
<p>An example of this for me was debate. I was a nationally ranked competitor, and this wove in with my interest in law and politics. I also had national awards for other political stuff (writing, arguing, etc.,). This showed I was the best of my peers on a state level and that I was one of the best in the nation. So, out of all the people in my state/field applying, I had a distinct advantage. Show you HAVE been successful. </p>
<p>Second, your ECs need to show initiative. This, if you go to a small/less privileged school, can replace your national prestige. For example, my high school was less competitive than many others. I started a club there and enriched the school. This shows I a. have leadership ability and, b. improved my community. Both of these are important to the top schools. </p>
<p>Finally, ECs can also show your personality. For example, I did a different sport (terribly) every year in high school. This showed my personality and dedication. I didn’t have to be the best; I’d still do what I loved. It also showed how I love variety, which is a big part of my personality. </p>
I went to a public high school with few clubs and extracurricular opportunities outside of athletics, drama, and student government - in other words, nothing for a wimpy nerd with stage fright and no friends. However, I had a strong interest in ornithology and birdwatching, which led me into research for local environmental advocacy organizations. No, I didn’t dabble in as many ECs as my friends did, but the ones I did pick were unique and showed genuine passion for the subject, not just a willingness to “check off the box” to make my application look better. If you have a unique hobby, try to spin it into an extracurricular activity. It will make your application stand out more than the typical “built soup kitchen for orphans with cancer in Uganda” sort of schtick admissions officers see all too often.
How would you know if people are faithful to their ECs? What if people do them for their own advantage just to get into college? What if they don’t really care and just want something to boost their application?
@Te4mVygrin I’m not an expert in this area but I’ll try to answer your question based on what I think. (I’m only a sophomore in high school so I have almost no clue of what to do regarding college applications.)
If one applicant only gives a list of his ECs, colleges most likely will not be able to tell if he actually enjoyed it or just participated for that app boost. However, I’m not sure if applicants give more than just a list–a brief description may be required, or stories regarding your ECs. Maybe an essay will ask about them.
But taking an EC for the sake of taking an EC is not worth it. It’s definitely better to take ECs you love and are passionate about than taking them to get into college. Universities are looking for your interests, not just your participation.
Hope this helps 
Every EC is a good EC! As long as you enjoy doing it, and it makes you part of who you are (makes an impact on your life in some positive way).
It depends for which school. For example, for tier one colleges good extracurriculars would be: internships, creating start-up companies, all-state for band/orchestra, varsity athletics, school clubs, etc.
Hi guys! I am currently the alternate for HOBY at my school. Is it worth the money to join the alternate student program? Or would it still look good on my college application to just be an alternate? Also, is it a good college credential? Thank you!
I think my ECs aren’t that good for community college, is there anything I could add to make me a better candidate for private universities? For two school years I was playing intercollegiate sports for fall, winter & spring seasons. As far as I know I’m the only one at my college to do so for as long as I’ve been there.
- Phi Theta Kappa Member.
- intercollegiate waterpolo (1 year)
- intercollegiate swim/dive (4 years total, 2 years competing due to cc rules. will win conference for the womens mile my last year)
- intercollegiate basketball (2 years)
- intercollegiate volleyball (2 years)
- Student Government (1 year senator, 2 years exec secretary)
- Student Government on a regional level (1 year, secretary)
All I really have is a ton of sports & student government. I feel like I should add something else. I could do debate for my last year but is there something else would make me a better applicant? I’m not that unique, I’m just heavily involved in my campus.
If it matters my major is computer science & my minor is political science.
I always wondered how important ECs are when colleges assess students from out of USA.(Not internationals who are already in US)
Let me give you an example; in Korea, it’s just barely impossible to do ECs Why? There are NONE or VERY FEW.
I think America is probably the only country that has abundant chances for doing something other than classwork, and I highly admire every bit of of it. On the other hand, in Korea, where an ossified educational system literally squeezed blood out of poor students, 99% students can do nothing more than sitting in classes, go to private academic institutes. come back at 1am, sleep, and do it all over again. Only ECs I can think of in Korea is probably athlete involvement and SGA…but we can’t all be athletes and student officers, can we?? Also, I saw some kids going to hospital or rehab center for the “volunteer” but it’s simply because of ‘mandatory’ volunteer hours.
@Northstarmom I am a college student so it’s 100% pointless but I am just curious to how strong my high schools ECs were for top tier schools.
I studied in Oregon, btw, and I am an international student.
Statewide writing competition-grand prize and free trip to Washington DC
Honors mention in USA Mathematical talent search
Questbridge PREP scholarship
All States band 2 years
Varsity of Wind Ensemble
Med. Internship program
AMC honors Team(is it even worth? 112.5 in AMC 10 and 78 in AMC 12)
1st place in regional chemistry competition held in community college
Working as a 1-to-1 tutor to help my mom pay bills.
“Outstanding Score” in local Chemistry Olympiad held by ACS.( I couldn’t take National one because I wasn’t a freaking green card holder or a citizen). Not to sound arrogant, but the coordinator of National Exam called me that he was sorry not to allow me in national chem olympiad because I had a “stellar” score. I think it was 54 or 56 out of 60.
2nd in state, 1st place in district speech and debate (It’s called LIBELL, literary interpretation for beginning English language learner. I was able to do it because I am not a native speaker)
Culinary/music volunteer at Rehab center for Alzheimer’s disease.
I have insomnia and I can’t believe I read through this entire thread. Obviously I can’t address every post, but as a whole I have a few comments. Many (most) of you have EC’s that are all over the place. Schools would rather see a smaller, cohesive set of EC’s than a huge laundry list of piddly things. Group together your EC’s, see which ones show them yourself and hopefully they will be long term things that you have leadership in. Cut out the bake sales, charity runs (unless you were the organizer) usher for the HS plays, etc. All of that is useless white noise. Put together a group of EC’s that let the Adcoms know you and your main interests.
nowadays nobody knows
Colleges want people who are going to contribute to the campus. Found a club, or be a leader. Show a pattern of interest in something you are passionate about
Anything that shows you are well-rounded and excel in them would be outstanding ECs. Like president of drama club, newspaper editor, captain of basketball team, math team member, DECA member. I don’t know if holding leadership positions in each EC is a good idea as it shows you aren’t completely dedicated to one thing.
Answer mine please!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1748756-what-are-my-chances-of-getting-into-uw-madison-any-input-is-welcome.html?new=1
I believe that sports only matter if you’re being recruited. Otherwise, being a nationally or state ranked athlete doesn’t really matter if you’re not going to the college for sports. I would say varsity is the same thing; it doesn’t really matter. However, I do think captaincy will help, because that shows that you have been placed into a leadership position.
Then again, varsity letters often lead to captaincy, etc.
Hey, this was an extreme eye opener for me, thanks so much! At my school the opportunities for extracurricular a are pretty small beyond the field of Athletics. (Small-town Texas schools, ugh) I don’t have a car this year, but I will next year so I will finally be able to do some EC’s. Can somebody tell me if these are strong enough EC’s for NYU? I would love to go to an Ivy League but it’s probably a pipe dream. Anyways, if you could tell me if they are good enough for the ivies that would be great too.
Community service- Helping kids who cannot afford art lessons to learn to paint and draw.
Art- school art class, private lessons outside of class. I always win local competitions and I have an extremely good shot at winning/placing in these competions. Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas/Ft. Worth stock show art competions. (Very prestigious western art competions for high schoolers)
Mock Trial- My school has a pretty decent mock trial team that I am going to join. I think I will do well at it.
Church- I am active in a church youth group, I do community service with them, go on mission trips, etc.
Swimming- okay I hate swimming. I am on the team and I am considered varsity. I am the best freshman on the team but that’s not saying much since there’s only 25 people on the entire team, and only 4 are freshmen. Should I keep on doing this? I’m really not very good, but I’m still counted as varsity.
I am also getting a summer job, and I plan on doing community service.
I am pretty certain that I will be successful at all of these, but I want to know if I should change my plans. My EC’s aren’t exactly the tradional ones, but my passion is art and I hear the best way to get into the ivies is to find your passion and follow it deeply!
Hi. I know that TASP has a lot of weight in admissions, but a I was just wondering if TASS had as much weight or any weight at all in admissions. Please be as specific as possible. Thanks!