<p>I feel somewhat foolish posting this, having sent three kids off to college already but here goes. My youngest is a freshman and he's starting to worry about having strong ECs. I gave him the speech about following your passion, etc. His two big passions are piano and reading. He is incredibly well read and it's all self-motivated. In middle school he read The Brothers Karamazov on his own. This year he's read Joyce, Kafka, Plato, Shakespeare, Woolf, Ibsen, Sophocles and Homer among many, many things. That's his passion. He spent most of the weekend reading. And he understands what he reads at a very sophisticated level. Left to really follow his passions, this is what he'll do. But...he worries (and the college counselor at his school confirmed) that this isn't something that translates well into an EC on a college application which I find somewhat ironic. It's not the kind of thing you can squeeze into those boxes, etc. So I'm wondering how to link up this passion to something more quantifiable and I can't really come up with anything. He'd be out of place in an adult book club. I encouraged him to maybe look at writing for the school paper or writing for contests (he writes well.) But I'm feeling stuck and I hate the idea that he feels he has to find something that will look good when he applies to college when what he is doing seems like the best preparation for college. I was thinking of looking at extension courses at the local university but that will just look like he took more classes, etc. Any ideas would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Does the school have a tutoring club or a writing assistance club? Our school has both - both founded by students looking for service opportunities - the tutoring club pairs HS students with MS and ES students who need tutors and the writing club offers proof-reading and writing tips for students (we have a heavy ESOL population at the school).<br>
These are both volunteer tutoring but working is also an EC so if your son wants to make money tutoring that could be an option.</p>
<p>Could he start and run a teen book club? Write book reviews for the school or local paper?
volunteer at the library? or better yet try something else-student gov, athletics, etc. to complement his strong interest in literature?</p>
<p>One of my DS's spends hours and hours reading so I asked the same question of his counselor. She said they would buy it straight on in light of his very high CR score.</p>
<p>My d read weekly for a radio reading program for the blind. It was a great way for her to share her love of reading with others, and the scheduling was flexible.</p>
<p>D listed reading as an ec; mentioned on her various apps that she volunteered at the local library in part to expand her list of books to read. Made a perfect score on SAT CR and W, which supported her love of reading.</p>
<p>I think that a well-written essay about a love of reading with books highlighted would emphasize the point also. Just don't try to pick books to impress the reader, but rather ones truly enjoyed.</p>
<p>The love of reading is far better than an EC. It will show up just about everywhere in his testing and his application.
And beyond that, it is a joy in itself. Just don't let school get in the way of his reading, even to the point of dropping out of school. I'm not kidding.</p>
<p>on the common app it says list all hobbies i think? i put playing the drums which i do about 20 hrs/week on my own...seems pretty similar</p>
<p>I know the school lets students tutor in math but I haven't heard of tutoring in English which is odd as the need is definitely there. Maybe we can look into that. I've encouraged him to write for the school paper (in fact from time to time he expresses a desire to eventually become the editor because he gets irritated with all the mistakes he sees in the paper and I think his language skills would dovetail well in that area). I think a teen book club would be great and/or even trying to start a book club on campus with a faculty sponsor. The library is also a good suggestion. Hmom5, I remember the Harvard supplement asking applicants to list the books they had read in the last year outside of school -- it was the only application I've seen that did that but it's good to hear what your counselor said. shyparentalunit, was there a specific organization your daughter volunteered for? Thanks for all the suggestions.</p>
<p>I also have a child that reads voraciously. She has found an EC that translates well as a passion: theater. She has a strong literary bent, she has read all of Shakespeare's plays on her own for fun. In her theater activities she gets to express her literary self by reading, performing and producing plays. She has gotten totally involved in every theatrical production at her HS, she has made many great new friends, and she has gotten to exercise leadership abilities by being chosen as stage manager for several productions. I totally agree that kids should not feel pressured to "look good" for a college resume by adding on ECs that they're not really interested in. I never thought of reading as an EC before - it does indeed seem strange that reading is not considered the number one most important EC to demonstrate kids' interest in learning!</p>
<p>"Just don't let school get in the way of his reading, even to the point of dropping out of school. I'm not kidding."</p>
<p>I hear you. My husband and I often feel he is learning more on his own than he is at his public school, even in the strong magnet he is in. He takes his books with him and reads during dead time (when he isn't socializing.) He's pretty competitive though and very social so I'm not too worried. His other passion that I forgot to mention is art history. He is loving AP Art History this year and it's his favorite hour of the school day and I'm wondering if art museums let kids volunteer -- I guess I wonder if they let minors near priceless art! He's the kind of kid who loves museums and will wander around for hours completely focused. Again, not the kind of thing that is easily quantified.</p>
<p>She read for Audio Information Network of Colorado. Google radio reading and your state--I think most states have a program.</p>
<p>I think many colleges would like to see your son share his passion with others. Reading for the blind is a great idea... and if your son wouldn't mind "gearing down," many public libraries love getting volunteers for children's story hours -- especially male readers.</p>
<p>My reader son tutored reading at his local Southside Chicago elementary. Who would have guessed that this would be the school where a few years later his parents and the Obamas voted for President? Still kids a few years below grade level.</p>
<p>I have two readers in my life. They became involved in activities that brought their love for reading to life (e.g. book club, book drives, newspaper). Their applications left no doubt that they are voracious readers. In fact, their main essays, although very different in outlook and tone, were about reading. They both have been pretty successful with their applications. One caveat, though. I cant be 100% sure, but I think part of the reason for that success was that reading for them became more than just a solitary activity or hobby.</p>
<p>I believe it can help if the reading is evidenced by objective performance. My older son, now at a top national LAC, spent much of his free time in middle and high school reading history books. The last high school history course he took was in 10th grade (non-AP in which I recall he got a B or B+). He took all three history SAT IIs and got two 800s and a 790. I suspect the admissions people noticed this when they figured out how to get past his 3.6 high school GPA.</p>
<p>All the kids I know who got the elusive 800CR are life long readers. Colleges know this. The funny thing about my own DS if that for a very long time he was not exactly reading classics. He was into science fiction and sports biographies, but it didn't seem to matter.</p>
<p>I believe in allowing our kids to be who they are. If your child spends his spare time reading, that's what he does. Encourage him to find a way to highlight his hobby on his app. </p>
<p>My S spends his time doing non traditional musical things (playing guitar in a metal band, composing music, recording music for himself & others, mixing sound for recording, etc.). This is what he does - who he is, as he says - and he will have to figure out a way to convey that when it comes time to apply to colleges (he's not going to study music). If it's not "good enough," so be it. He is who & what he is. I don't think he'd be happy at a school where he had to do things just for the sake of getting accepted. Not that I think there is anything bad about encouraging our kids to do other things (D is an overachiever, so I have plenty of experience with the typical CC kid) - just that I don't think all our kids need to follow a certain formula. And yes, it may mean certain missed opportunities. But all choices in life come with opportunity costs - if the child is happy with his hobbies, the balance is on the positive side.</p>
<p>hmom5...
My kids stated off reading Bradbury and Asimov. More than good enough.
If you have a smart 11 to 13 year old, what to read? Not yet interested in "adult themes", but adult intelligence none the less. I have a 13 year old now reading Sherlock Holmes. I would be interested in other folks' ideas.</p>
<p>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a lovely book -- DS read it last summer and begged me to read it which I did. A lot of kids read Frankenstein and To Kill a Mockingbird around 9th grade. Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, The Good Earth and Greek Mythology are nice at this age. I loved reading mythology as a kid -- just loved it.</p>