<p>i admit that i wasn't running around town doing things in my previous high school years like other competitive students with a strong passion.</p>
<p>i'll be a senior this year, applying to college. can I really make a difference in my EC's now, or what do you suggest I do otherwise?</p>
<p>thanks
-depressed, cathy,.</p>
<p>This is my son's problem, too. I still don't understand what EC's have to do with being a succesful college student. Probably 90% of volunteerism by HS students has nothing to do with volunteering, and is done only to pad the college application.</p>
<p>If it's any consolation, we are trying to do the senior year catch up too, just to play the game.</p>
<p>Do you really have nothing? You don't play an instrument (even for fun), do community theatre, tutor, yardwork for your neighbors, babysit, or anything? Almost anything you do besides going to school can qualify as an EC, it all depends on how you spin it. Also, where are you applying? If they aren't uber-competitive, you probably still have a chance!</p>
<p>I don't have many EC's at all, and I think that's mainly what's keeping me from getting into top colleges. I will be a senior this year as well. Does going to church and youth group count as an EC? I go to church two times a week and regularly play keyboard on the band. Can that count?</p>
<p>Yes, that counts as an EC.</p>
<p>don't kill your application before you even send it. this depressed attitude will give you a depressing rejection. </p>
<p>if you have siblings and have nothing else to put, count all of the times you took care of them when your parents left the house as "babysitting". Same thing, but maybe not as a "job-job", maybe they didn't give you money exactly after each job, but you could always say you babysat for free, or they compensated in other ways. even going to your friend's and looking after their little sis or bro could definetly count. </p>
<p>plus, the only reference number you have to put is your own home phone number, or a friend's number, which im sure will vouch for you. :)</p>
<p>sorta in the same boat, parents would not let me get a job NO MATTER WHAT, didn't let me continue varsity soccer in freshman year (even tho i was decent), or tennis, no instruments; they didn't allow me to participate in all the clubs or become a leader because to them that equals time that will equal time away from studying.</p>
<p>(roll your eyes)</p>
<p>Just think of ANYTHING useful you may have done (even random card collecting hobbies could count I suppose)...and remember that this will be the last time colleges will consider ECs as heavily, if you plan to go to grad school.</p>
<p>trust me, grad school is all about test scores and school scores, so basically the last time....and if you have my problem, you can easily sign up for activities in college since you'll be away from parents (hopefully).</p>
<p>(no offense to parents, just those that think sticking your head in a book 24/7 is the one thing that will guarantee a successful life)</p>
<p>Hmm...how about a hobby like aquarium-keeping? That's kind of a stretch I would think but I love researching stuff about aquariums and making habitats and biotopes for my fish. Meh.</p>
<p>Of course. Make it sound like you're passionate about fish. I'm trying to write an essay that describes me as a history fanatic.</p>
<p>Yeah! That would definently count. Quite interesting, and you know what ... before you send in your application, go to an elementary school or round up a crowd of kids and show them what you've learned about the aquarium, unless you're terribly shy or something.</p>
<p>Teaching kids = +++</p>
<p>In fact, looks like you went even farther to show your (possible) interest in biology, more specifically marine biology. You can expand on that and show how you've done other things to study your future possible major ... perhaps, swimming in the ocean? :)</p>
<p>You can expand it to say that you study fish and their environment so much on ___ basis (from so and so published books), and that you learn more about them by creating biotopes and studying effects .... dude you can totally make something out of that.</p>
<p>Not every teenage kid loves fish.</p>
<p>ECs mainly count for the very top private colleges, and for merit aid at some public and private colleges.</p>
<p>Most colleges in this country accept the majority of their applicants, and make their decisions based on stats. Public universities in particular make virtually all admissions decisions based on stats.</p>
<p>So, if you lack ECs, unless you plan to apply to places like HPY, Duke, etc., your lack of ECs won't hurt you. </p>
<p>The only reason that places like Harvard are able to emphasize ECs so much is because they get an overabundance of applicants with sky high stats. Harvard accepts only 1 in 10 applicants, and most of the accepted students gladly accept admission. Consequently, Harvard and similar schools have the luxury of using ECs to help select students who will create a well rounded student body. Most colleges don't have that luxury.</p>
<p>Remember, too, that doing things like working in a family business or farm counts as an EC as does babysitting for siblings while your parents work. Church activities, community activities, taking a musical instrument, starting a rock band all count as ECs, too.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. the comments you've left are overwhelmingly helpful :] no sarcasm, I promise.</p>
<p>i guess i was also overwhelmed by how many students put in sky high stats and ec's and still! worry about gettting into their top choice, aka HYPS and other ivies.</p>
<p>the thing is, I fell in love with cornell. i know in the other post that i put on that asked for a SUNY with a good bio program, but instead i got some people commenting that i can also apply to cornell. that really got me.</p>
<p>i guess cornellians have to have up-there-stats and also-up-there ec's to get in. i'm just kinda depressed. looking at all those good stats makes me wonder "what the h*** did i do with myself all these years, while others were working their butts off trying to do everything?"</p>
<p>its not like i have zero ecs. i play flute in concert and marching band. i taught disadvantaged kids from frosh to soph year. i run. i play tennis. but these are the things i did to enjoy myself, not to bump up my ec credits. to look back, maybe i SHOULD have done things in regards to EC for colleges like cornell.</p>
<p>idk. i just have to figure this out. thanks again guys :] any addtional comments would be helpful too.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm in the situation. Cornell is my 2nd choice and my ECs are worse than yours. But since my test scores are well above average in Cornell I hope that they'll overlook my ECs slightly.</p>
<p>"its not like i have zero ecs. i play flute in concert and marching band. i taught disadvantaged kids from frosh to soph year. i run. i play tennis. but these are the things i did to enjoy myself, not to bump up my ec credits."</p>
<p>Students who have the most impressive ECS did them because they enjoyed those ECs, not because they wanted to impress colleges. They avidly pursued activities that they were interested in, and did them with creativity and passion, and what they did resulted in some kind of impact or recognition. They also stuck with the activities (because they enjoyed them) and consequently expended their work with those activities and expanded their leadership role.</p>
<p>For instance, I know a student who got into S who played, I think, the flute, and enjoyed marching band so much that she became the uniform coordinator -- the first student to take on that role. It required a major amount of organizational skills to keep 100 uninforms in order, clean and to transport them for away games. She took on that unpaid, relatively thankless important job and devised a new organizational system. She also used her position on the band's exec board to establish activities to make it easier for freshmen and new members to adjust to the band. Anyway, clearly she did more than played the flute (something that lots of aspirants to top colleges do). She did leadership, had an impact, and showed remarkable maturity, responsibility, compassion and organizational skills -- and she did these things because she loved band, not to impress colleges.</p>
<p>What she did was far more impressive than the many students who manage to get elected to a top office but do basically nothing in that position, using it only as resume decoration. Trust me: Top colleges can tell the difference between people who do activities to impress them and those who really take on responsibilities out of interest, and have an impact on the people or organizations that they work with. Recommendations also will reflect these things.</p>
<p>"They avidly pursued activities that they were interested in, and did them with creativity and passion, and what they did resulted in some kind of impact or recognition."</p>
<p>thats what i lack. recognition, leadership position. it's because i moved schools, so when i could have gotten leadership positions, i just bump down to the very bottom, and still work my way up top. or maybe this is all but just a lame excuse. but thanks for that reply, Northstarmom. :] your post was a more relieving and encouraging post that i read on CC</p>
<p>Northstarmom-that was really refreshing to hear. My ECs are all related to my passions. I love writing, and 90% of my ECs reflect that. In the common app section where you have to expand on one ECs, I described my theatre involvement and also worked in my love of stories. </p>
<p>I still worry about lacking "leadership" roles, but I'm hoping the recognition I've earned within my school for my talents, like awards and proclamations, will suffice. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone with ECs. Just show the college people what you love (and be honest).</p>
<p>Outstanding ECs are important mostly for getting into top top schools like HYPS (and others of that caliber) or getting into schools that would otherwise be above your range (due to worse than average GPA, SATs)</p>
<p>IF you're going to do an EC, don't do something boooring. Volunteering at the Library, even if you have 1000000000 hours is not the same as starting your own charity fundraiser or taking the initiative to teach children how to read at women's shelters.
If there is one advice I'd give to anyone about Volunteering/ECs, spend your time volunteering for things you really enjoy and want to pursue in the future. Don't volunteer shelving books if you really don't want to shelve books for five hrs every day.
And I don't think ECs matter as much as awards. Try to get some awards if you can. I was "most influential teen" in my city, because of my volunteer work, so I think that's a big plus. colleges look for drive, passion, initiative... i'm sure you've heard that enough times though on CC</p>