<p>You can stand out for any EC by taking it to a level that most students don’t.</p>
<p>For instance, lots of applicants have played musical instruments for years, and have participated in a variety of musical groups. Not many applicants will have, for instance, written music that their high school or community orchestra or band has performed.</p>
<p>Many applicants have done hundreds of hours of community service. Not many applicants will have organized a citywide fundraiser that raised $10,000. Not many applicants will have recruited 10 people who each devoted 100 hours during a year mentoring prisoners’ kids.</p>
<p>Many applicants have been SGA presidents. Not many got every high school in their school district involved in raising the money and providing the labor to build a Habitat for Humanity house.</p>
<p>Many applicants will have done internships arranged with family friends. Not many applicants will have found an out of state newspaper internship on their own, and gotten paid for doing it while being by far the youngest intern on the staff.</p>
<p>Many applicants will have traveled abroad. Not many will be a first generation college student who raised the money for the trip by working a job, and then went to France completely on their own.</p>
<p>Many applicants will participate in school peer advising programs. Not many would get conflict resolution training, become certified in it, and then certify others including much older adults.</p>
<p>Many applicants will have participated in school and community theater. Not many would have been assistant stage manager for a community theater production, and would also have directed and produced a local show.</p>
<p>These are examples of the kind of ECs that I’ve heard about that stood out in admissions.</p>