<p>Over the summer I've thought of a few things to do. First, I'm doing online certificate courses on things like Justice, Mechanics, Solar Energy, etc. They do give certification for that but it's not exactly something that you would do at school as a regular high school course. Is this an extra curricular activity?
Also, I develop apps for BlackBerry smartphones and also publish them on BlackBerry's Appstore. Is this an extra curricular?
And Also, I will do some volunteer work, I know that counts. Question is, how do I actually prove that I've really done that much volunteer work?
This will be the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. Does it sound good? And also I'm doing a college bound class at High School during the summer, is that an extra curricular?
And some quick other questions,
none of these, except for college bound are related to my school, so the school has no idea I'm doing this. Does that matter?</p>
<p>you don’t have to provide proof for any of your ECs
it doesn’t matter whether or not your school knows about your ECs
yes, developing apps definitely counts as an EC</p>
<p>I don’t know about certification. I feel like it should definitely go somewhere on your app, but I don’t know if it belongs in the ECs section</p>
<p>Are those edX courses? I think you’ll be fine. Those count, if you do well. </p>
<p>Also, volunteer in something you are passionate in. That way you can write about it in some college essay.</p>
<p>Take up Clam Farting. The ec is known to get people into Yale</p>
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<p>My daughter took an online Udacity course that just had a certificate last summer. She put a sentence about it in the “additional information” section of the Common Application. It didn’t really fit anywhere else, since it was not for credit. FYI, they are reformatting the Common App this summer, so maybe there will be a spot for it by the time you are applying.</p>
<p>They don’t ask for proof of your volunteer hours. But keep track of all this stuff; you might want to start a little resume-type document where you list your activities, accomplishments, and any awards every year. Just update it a couple of times a year with the stuff you have done. That makes it MUCH easier to fill out applications when the time comes, and makes sure you don’t forget anything important.</p>
<p>I think the Blackberry apps should go on your college apps. Whether you list it as an extracurricular or in the additional info doesn’t matter too much as long as they see it. Any way you can quantify it (# of apps, if you know how many downloads there have been, etc.) would be helpful. Although if the numbers are very unimpressive, just leave the numeric part off. :)</p>
<p>Colleges don’t look for ECs. Whoever started this rumor is a liar.</p>
<p>Well, it certainly depends on the college. Some state universities do not care about ECs. But Ivies, top universities, and top LACs sure do. How do you think the top schools distinguish between all the applicants they get with great grades & test scores? ECs are a big factor in breaking that tie, especially if you do something out of the mainstream.</p>
<p>Read Cal Newport’s book: How to be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Into College By Standing Out (Without Burning Out). It can help give you some perspective on ECs and how to leverage what you are interested in to your full advantage.</p>
<p>what programming language do you need to know to make Android/apple apps? Java? Python?</p>
<p>Do you make money from the apps? If so this sounds like a part time job as an app designer.</p>