<p>My grades are within the average ranges of the schools I'm applying, but they're not anything to brag about. That being said, I need to stand out from other applicants somehow. Before I visited CC I thought I had a well rounded high school experience but seeing other people's stats and EC was a wake up call. Would my extracurriculars/work experience pop out to admission's officers?</p>
<p>-Feminist Club founder
-Co-president of Young Democrats Club
-Own an etsy shop w/ 70+ sales and promoted on buzzfeed.com twice
-4 years acting and singing in a paid show
-Academic Decathlon 1 year member w/ 5 awards at Districts
-Principle Oboe player for 3 years
-Drum line section leader for 3 years</p>
<p>These are not all of my EC, just the ones I've spent the most time on/most interesting!</p>
<p>Your ECs are great but they aren’t anything different, as you said (except maybe feminist club). You could do some community work or join the interact club, prom committee and all. Etsy and Buzzfeed are good, so they are slightly different, though you should probably have more if you’re aiming for ivies</p>
<p>Are they strong? Yes. Unique? No. However, if you are able to work one or more into your essays in a unique and creative way, it will only help.</p>
<p>@12345n What is the interact club? Also, my school has very weak programs. If I was on the prom committee I would have little to say about it because there would be nothing to do. It’s actually super annoying how uninvolved the students at my school are. That’s why I have to find things outside of school. Trust me, if the student council/class officers did actual work I would be all over that! I’m not sure if I need ‘more’ to impress ivies. IMO, quality over quantity.</p>
<p>@jomarch The interact club is a community service club that is a branch of the rotary club. If your school does not have it, it would be pretty impressive if you started it yourself as it is internationally renowned. Also, I know it sucks when schools have nothing to offer. You’ve done pretty well making do with it and doing stuff outside of school. Maybe you could start an online literary journal on wordpress or something and take in submissions? And by more, I mean if you look at 2018 admissions threads to ivies, they could give you an idea of a range of activities you could have. Otherwise, yours are pretty decent. Hope that helps :)</p>
<p>Your ECs are great, and it’s really good you have some outside of school as well as in school. What’s lacking is a focus. You didn’t state what major you were considering or type of university, and how any of your ECs might tie into those plans. A competitive college may look for a demonstrated record of interest and achievement in the area you plan to study, including awards and recognition at the state, national and international level where possible. However, having a more well-rounded background like you have is also desirable, especially if the university offers similar activities. You can search for “common data set” or just “data set” for each university you are applying to, and it will pull up college data including how important ECs are for admissions – whether they are very important, important, or not important at all. The data will specify the same for grades and test scores. Then you will know for the colleges you are applying to just how much they will weigh your grades and test scores versus ECs.</p>