A few questions

Applying to College
1

<p>For those of you who are knowledgeable in the subjective areas (EC/Awards) of the college admissions process, I have a couple questions:</p>

<li><p>For the past two years, I have developed, maintained, and run a competitive gaming website for America’s Army (The Video Game). I oversee a team of about six and handle much of the day-to-day activities (conflict resolution, support, etc). My question is, would this be considered an extracurricular activity and if so, does my role count as leadership? I am not sure on this because of the unique nature of it and the fact that it is more of a hobby then a job.</p></li>
<li><p>How much influence does the awards section of the application hold? While my grades are excellent and my test scores are decent, I have never had the opportunities to receive any prestigious awards. Is this something I should pursue more adamantly or should I focus on improving other areas of my application?</p></li>
<li><p>On a completely separate note, what is the quality of the political science and economics departments at Cornell?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks,
Dabu</p>

2

<p>I just smiled when I read "staff of about six".</p>

3

<p>Did not think about that when I wrote it ;). Thanks for the laugh</p>

4

<p>In reference to the second question, I don't believe awards are an integral part of an application. Especially since a lot of ECs don't give awards (in my case, dance). I got into Princeton and did not list a single award.</p>

5

<ol>
<li><p>It definitely counts. If you get paid it's a job, if not then it's an EC. Either way, you can list under "job description" or in the description field of the EC that you took a leadership role. </p></li>
<li><p>You definitely don't need awards. They're more like icing on the cake than an integral part of an application.</p></li>
</ol>

6

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

7

<h1>1. Add it all -- the more unique you are (or appear ha) the better.</h1>

<h1>2. They don't hurt.</h1>

<h1>3. Good enough.</h1>

<p>Good luck to you, sir.</p>