For EC’s I have played Piano for 9 years, I am the editor of a website that helps kids understand business, I am the founder and President of a STEM club (as I love math and engineering), I have volunteered over 250+ hours with 2 Presidential awards from them, I am part of the JV Clay Target Shooting Team and participate in Archery as well. I plan on going more into STEM as I will be able to be apart of my school’s robotics team next year which I am looking forward to. I don’t think there is any point in expanding the breadth of my EC’s but should I narrow down or cut some off? Any advice is appreciated!
Honestly, IMO, it’s not so much as what you did, but what you gained and learned from it. You could be nationally recognized for something, but learn absolutely nothing from the experience. I think that it’s all about learning from experiences and being able to apply those lessons learned. Schools aren’t just looking for gifted students, they’re looking for lifelong learners who will always try to better themselves, and apply that to bettering society. That’s my opinion, at least. No offense at all to anyone who may have a differing POV. 
Some of it is what you gained, but it’s also what you really gave. Some of this is about how you stretched. Other things may be about your impact. And some show your willingness to try something new. Some is about the teamwork and some is about the individual. It’s not just about what your hs offers at 3pm. Leadership is more than a title.
But can you seriously expect every student to accomplish that? What about kids who try their best, but will never be a nationally ranked athlete (i.e. me). I agree with yahooo; we need to reward kids for giving back to their communities, and being overall good citizens, not competitive machines only focused on their rankings.
So i am a freshamn in high school. So heres my plans. Also tell me if i had a chance hypothectically speaking.
I am a african american girl
My aunt does not have a job,
She is single(single parent home)
I do not live with my mother or father. They were never married. My mother had me at 18, and my father went to prison for 10 years. I only have talked to him for 4 weeks.
I go to a public high school, where last year only 17 students went to college. So here are here you go:
Freshman Year Extracirriculars: During the summer: Summer job for tech corps
Computing Career Corps Program
Cosi Medical Program
Sparks Leadership Training Program
Volunteer at nursing home 2nd and 4th saturdays(for 1 hour)
Sophmore year extracirriuclars:
Cosi medical program
Peer educator
Model Un
Nursing Home
During the summer:
OSU MD Program, and Volunteer at Wexner Medical Center
Junior Extracirriculars:
Cosi medical program
Peer educator
Model Un
Nursing Home
During the summer:
Joyce scholar for Harvard summer school
Stats
Unweighted gpa: 3.8-3.9
Test score: 33 or higher
Freshamn year had a’s and b’s,
But sophmore,junior, and senior gets straight a’s
In honors classes: 9-10
College classes: 11-12
This post seriously makes me feel like I’ve done nothing with my life. You guys are all so talented, passionate, and motivated! Hope it rubs off on me soon. Haha.
Something unique that makes you stand out is best!!
However if you don’t know what your passion is yet, just stick with being a very active member of your school and community (ie. join student government and a few clubs, try to get a leadership position in them)! If you don’t get a leadership position at a club, try to get an internship outside of school or contribute to a community project.
It’s honestly amazing that some people think EVERYONE accepted to an ivy league school that done something super crazy and rare. You can have good EC’s without writing the next great american novel by 18.
A community service project that you’re passionate about and put a lot of effort into will suffice.
Seeing some of these “good EC” lists, I have to say some of us regular people are at a huge disadvantage. What if you can’t afford to go abroad, or you don’t have connections to start your own foundation?
Let’s not forget that application essays are also really important for getting into top tier schools ^.^
How good does having a job look to top colleges? I may become a math tutor for K-12 students at a professional tutoring company.
I believe a good EC is something that shows your growth and commitment. Having multiple random ECs such as just being in 10 clubs will not show commitment, that just shows that you are only in the club to “look good” for an admissions board. Having 3 outstanding ECs such as varsity sport, President of a club and being a Boy Scout will look better than an endless list of clubs. Lately, colleges have been also leaning more towards performing arts ECs such as drama and choir. These two examples are unique, and require a large time commitment. Basically, when choosing ECs to put on an application, only put stuff that defines you and that you excel at. Good luck 
for UCs if I have a 3.96 UC GPA but a 2370 SAT and have stellar ECs like research internships, paper publications, and submitting projects to Intel STS, etc, do I stand a good chance for SD and LA?
@kobe24mamba …I think you do.
@rainshadow56 will my gpa not result in my rejection since its so low compared to UCLA’s average?
Would you consider competitive chess a unique extracurricular? I’m a female and there are only 7,000 or so female chess players in the U.S., I’ve ben playing for 6 years, I’m in the 97 percentile for female chess players, #7 in my state, and I qualified for the World Youth Chess Championships this year. I’m also a part of a non-school chess club where I coach students ( over 200+ hours of volunteering) and I have some one-on-one students as well.
Chance me please http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18673653#Comment_18673653 and grade my ECs too
@ch1maera ,
I think chess is a great EC!