<p>I’m wondering how people dealt with this question- did you write a paragraph about each of your activities or simply list them? If you wrote something about each one, how long was it in the end? Thanks</p>
<p>I had a list that included all of my activities, awards, sports, special interest projects, and travel (the sections indicated by the application) in different sections. I included medium/long paragraphs for the things that were most meaningful to me or that best represented me. It turned out to be two pages and change.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks, I think that's how it will turn out for me as well.</p>
<p>This question has been asked several times in the last month -- I suggest you search this file to see other discussions.</p>
<p>I figured that they wanted to know about a few of the activities that mattered the most to me so I wrote about 4 of my activities, why it mattered, what it taught me outside of academia and what leadership roles I had. Since my guidance counselor suggested to take that route, I just attached a CV of my other activities separately. But that is just me</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Gah. Since it didn't tell us to explain or substantiate, I just straight-up put my ECs, awards, and achievements.</p>
<p>For me I'm not sure how much it matters; it was about half a page and ECs were certainly not my strong suit, so I felt trying to make it long and deep would be pretentious and insincere of me.</p>
<p>Pretentious? Hardly. Maybe insincere; but if you can't explain the importance and value behind the ECs you pursued, you may be in trouble anyway.</p>
<p>"Please tell us, roughly in order of their importance to you, those individual activities and awards which you believe best represent your greatest achievements and interests.</p>
<p>Tell us approximately how many hours per week each activity entails."</p>
<p>I pretty much told them what I did and didn't really go too much into it, I felt that my ECs were pretty decent and spoke for themselves. I don't know how much of a disadvantage that puts me in.</p>
<p>I pretty much was straight and to the point, going on that perspective on the question.</p>
<p>I think the key was that they said to talk about the activities that BEST represent what you have done and why they are important to you. I would assume that since most applicants will have a laundry list of activities, they wanted to be sure that the activities weren't pursued just to bolster your CV, but that it really meant something to you. I liked this question because the admissions board will be able to tell who was president of a club and really committed themselves to it and who just came in and left 10 minutes into the meeting.</p>
<p>I think I explained everything too much...especially when it came to community service....I basically listed everything in paragraph form:)
Anyways, I heard from an admissions officer elsewhere that they'll probably most appreciate something that is easy to see and read through</p>
<p>Technically it didn't stipulate anywhere that you had to explain.</p>
<p>I ran a search, and sure enough, it's open-ended. Resume-style seriousness and essay-like substantiation should both be fine.</p>