<p>Here are some examples of outstanding ECs:</p>
<p>RSI
TASP
State or nationally- ranked athlete
Professional musician who plays solo concerts at places like Carnegie Hall
National president of a student organization
Member of the local school board (such as being the only student on the school board)
The top individual scorer in the nation in an activity like Junior Classical League or Mu Alpha Theta
Research has been published in a professional journal</p>
<p>Has gotten paid for articles written for major publications such as national magazines or major newspapers (This doesn't include columns unless one was the winner of teen columnist scholarship that is awarded by something like Newsweek or Time)</p>
<p>Has created and organized a major service project such as getting a Habitat house built ,raising at least $10,000 or starting a nonprofit that clearly was started by the student, not their parents
Professional actor who has appeared in movies, big city theater or TV
Has done an out of state paid internship with a corporation
Spent a semester or year abroad in a select program like Rotary's program (The travel abroad programs that are based on ability to pay do not count as "excellent" ECs."</p>
<p>Created and runs their own business that makes thousands of dollars a year. (N.B. The business can't be really run by or created by their parents or other adults)</p>
<p>Excellent ECs (e.g. ECs that are of the caliber that many accepted students to HPY have) include having 2 of the following, preferably from very different
fields:</p>
<p>Eagle Scout or comparable Girl Scout
SGA president
Varsity team captain
Regional or national ranking in an activity like Mu Alpha Theta
First place citywide award for something like leadership, service, public speaking, arts
President of a major citywide or regional organization (such as being president of a regional religious youth organization)
Spent the summer working abroad or doing community service abroad in a program that the student found themselves and funded themselves or was paid for participating in</p>
<p>Works a job doing work that normally an adult would do. This could range from being the night manager at a fast food place to designing web pages for neighborhood organizations.</p>
<p>Created any type of local community service program that had impact such as getting one's school or church involved in serving monthly meals to the homeless; starting a once a week tutoring program for low income kids; raising a couple of hundred dollars to give to a charity.... </p>
<p>Anyway, those are just some examples.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most colleges accept the majority of students who apply whether or not those students have any ECs. Most colleges make admission decisions overwhelmingly on grades, scores and possibly class rank. This also is true of even top flagship universities when it comes to in-state applicants.</p>
<p>It's only the very top universities --places like HPYS -- that heavily weigh ECs when they are making admission decisions. That's because such universities have an overabundance of applicants with stellar stats.</p>