<p>I only have 1 EC. But I've done it for a long time and it's become multi-faceted, within it I have leadership, work exp, community service, and awards. Filling out the commonapp I'm starting to feel like it's over the top though. My ECs section is filled with it, my short answer is about the community service part, "additional information" is filled with the awards, and my main essay is also about it.</p>
<p>So my question is, can being too focused hurt?</p>
<p>IMO, yes.</p>
<p>There’s more to you beyond grades, test scores and even ECs. What else makes you unique and interesting? </p>
<p>Sometimes I think students get too concerned with using their essay as a place to try and convince adcoms how ‘passionate’ and dedicated they are to an EC, when it’s already well demonstrated in other parts of their application. </p>
<p>It’s my personal bias that I think the essay is a great place to talk about something that isn’t addressed anywhere else on your application, something less tangible than grades or awards, something that shows how you think and see the world around you, something that only you can bring to the college.</p>
<p>Like I said, it’s just my opinion, no insider knowledge.</p>
<p>It really depends on the EC. It sounds like yours involves a lot of different things and that you were involved beyond the usual level. At this point, there’s not much you can do. If you’re happy that what your application conveys is who “you” are. Then you’ve shown yourself in the best light you can. The rest is out of your hands.</p>
<p>It may; if that EC is unrelated to your intended area of study, you need to show the college WHY they should accept you and believe you are passionate about your intended major as well as qualified for it.</p>
<p>That’s true qialah. For background, I’m the national champion and I also founded a club about it. Not a highschool club, a club for my city that has 200 members (with an average age of about 40). I don’t have anything else to write about, because it’s basically made my personality :S Anyway it’s too late to get into other ECs like you said so I’ll just have to go with it, I just hope it isn’t too much of a setback. Thanks.</p>
<p>and cortana, it is completely unrelated to academics, which makes it even worse I guess…</p>
<p>I think you are fine. It’s who you are. Be proud of that and go with it. Yes, it might be nice to show other facets of your personality, but if your essays do that, then don’t overthink it. I sincerely doubt that Olympic level athletes are lambasted because they didn’t spend time talking about their abiding interest in French culture. It’s understood that if you are at the national level of some activity, it’s probably all-consuming. </p>
<p>My suggestion would be to make sure that your rec letters from teachers and the gc don’t focus on your EC - let them show the other aspects of your personality and interests.</p>