<p>How bad is it really if you lack ECs?</p>
<p>If you go to SWRHS, send a private message.</p>
<p>Depends on how your grades are, I'd guess. And the reasons you lack ECs.</p>
<p>Unless your free time has been occupied by a part time job, I'd say don't bother.</p>
<p>there has to be something...some volunteer work, or if you were in care of a person or something...is there really "nothing?"</p>
<p>There is something, but where can you possibly fit that into your application. My best guess is the part where you have additional place in your essays section to explain more about yourself, but I feel like this would take away much from that space. I think I can really use that area effectively and mentioning a reason why I lacked ECs would just mistify the admissions officer because the tone would be drastically different.</p>
<p>not for nothing cbomo, but who are you to be telling anyone not to bother applying?
if you're interested in brown, apply and try to sell who you are. people with laundary lists of activities regularly get rejected in favor of people who've developed genuine passionate interests. emphasize the things that are most important to you. as long as you have someting to say, even the mundane can be made interesting and that honesty will really go a long way.</p>
<p>I had nothing. I sort of fudged 3 years in Amnesty International, but I wasn't even in the NHS. I did track for one single semester. No volunteer work or anything. Just not a club guy, really. But I thought I made a decent case that my personal time was not wasted (spent on personal projects, et cetera).</p>
<p>I was waitlisted, but did not get in. I went to my safety school. I still didn't join any clubs. A year later, I applied to transfer, and got in.</p>
<p>What was your safety school?</p>
<p>Who are you to be encouraging anyone to apply, dcircle?</p>
<p>My safety school was Rutgers (state university of my home state, New Jersey).</p>
<p>someone who has served on a brown admissions committee (plme)</p>
<p>Personal projects??? That is perfect. Talk about your personal projects, not all EC's have to be school related.</p>
<p>first of all, shoreham wasn't the one with the personal projects...</p>
<p>cbomo's point was that if you haven't spent your free time doing something substantial....then dont bother applying...and its pretty realistic</p>
<p>"honesty will really go a long way"......hmmmm...okayyy...honesty is essential but many honest applicants get rejected..honesty wont by itself get you into university</p>
<p>so apply if you think the rest of your application is strong and if you want to be at brown....but extracurriculars are a really important part of the admission decision (as testified by the adcoms) so i think it is bad if you've got nothing to put down</p>
<p>Damn right. You just got shat on, dcircle.</p>
<p>oops, i didn't read anything. you really didn't do anything worth writing about? hmmmm.</p>
<p>the point really is that no one factor makes or breaks you (assuming that you have at least average grades because this is foremost)</p>
<p>without any context or knowledge about the rest of shoreham's strengths, none of you have the right to say "don't bother". i've seen all kinds at brown.</p>
<p>i've also personally witnessed students with long lists of activities get rejected because it was plainly obvious that the person was racking up titles without substance. </p>
<p>on the otherhand, i've seen people be admitted without traditional e.c.'s, but who've compellingly written about how they honestly spend their time--taking care of younger siblings because they have a single parent, working a job, having to spend enormous amounts of extra-time on schoolwork because of a learning disability, etc.</p>
<p>if you're the president of your school's key club more power to you but you don't have to be</p>
<p>in cbomo's case, for example, he may have written about how his anger management classes took up most of his time</p>
<p>That's hilarious, asshat.</p>
<p>do what everyone does...lie and exaggerate about your activities...no one will ever know.</p>
<p>
[quote]
do what everyone does...lie and exaggerate about your activities...no one will ever know.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>lying will probably get you in touble, and exaggeration won't necessarily get you in. but, sadly, everyone (many people) is doing it and it has worked before.</p>