Hey everyone, I am a 26 year old current CC student and will applying to colleges this coming fall. After taking a glance at the common app I am beginning to wonder If I need to consider my EC’s (or lack thereof) during the application process. Is this something I need to consider brushing up before applying through community service/volunteer work or are schools going to focus more heavily on academics for non-traditionally aged students?
I appreciate the help.
To preface this, I don’t really have experience with admissions for students like you. However, I will say that if I were an admissions counsellor, volunteering may be nice to see. Also, ECs aren’t limited to student groups - what do you do in your spare time? If you participate in a sport, play an instrument, code, or anything like that, you can definitely list it. Or, if you have a job, you can list that as well. Don’t feel like you need to take up all 10 spaces for activities on the Common App.
I hope this helped a bit, and good luck!
Where exactly do I draw the line between hobby and EC? Should I include activities from High School as well despite being quite awhile ago?
Unless you really need to fill up spaces, I wouldn’t include stuff from high school. Basically, if you spend more than a couple hours a week doing it and you’re really passionate about it, you can put it on your app. It’s good if you have a goal for your EC, so “writing” may not be a great EC, but saying that you’re writing a novel is much stronger, I think.
Gotcha, thanks. I was torn on including EC’s from high school since they’re probably not too relevant now. I feel that some activities from those years could really enhance my application though…
Adcoms want to know what you do during your spare time. They are trying to get a total picture of who you are. If you are 26, maybe you are working full time with very little time for ECs. You maybe spending a lot of time reading science, finance, computer journals. A lot of people are reluctant to put down reading as an EC, but if you do a lot of reading on any particular topic then it can be an EC. Do you exercise, write, travel, photo shoot, write music? If any of your EC could show your academic interest then it’s all for the better, but it is not necessary.