<p>@cheekybrah I have your same concern. I am north African and I agree with who said we don’t have ECs at school .
I am studying for the French Baccalaureate and my average is around 16/20 (thought to be a 4.00 GPA)
I did once the SAT and got a 1850 (I’m wondering whether they put in consideration that since i was 4, I’ve been taught in French)
my ECs are really nothing: school cultural committee ( student union as well) + some volleyball/basketball + piano till 9th grade + youth organization called MEJ where I used to be a member for 8 years then a volunteer for 1 year and right now I only help in bigger events because of my schedule + 1 job in the summer after grade 9</p>
<p>What I was told during my MIT Interview last month is that if you have no EC’s at all, they don’t want anything to do with you. If all you do is school all the time, then you will not have the social skills it takes to excel in a college environment. SAT ACT scores can only hurt, not help an applicant, and also don’t count your chickens before they hatch. You may get into a State college with no EC’s but I’d be surprised if you get any more than that.</p>
<p>You are confused about what constitutes an EC - it’s not just school-related or organized activities. Working, volunteering, attending church, hobbies, and any talents you have developed independently count as ECs. If you have to take care of younger siblings while parents work, that counts too. I interviewed an interesting candidate for a top school who was an avid gardener who canned his own produce, did a lot of cooking, liked to photograph nature and was taking painting classes in which he was painting still lifes. All ECs and all interesting given his in-depth knowledge of his own back yard.</p>
<p>Again, I don’t believe people on this site can understand how difficult it is to do anything in certain countries. Seriously, there are no volunteering opportunities where I live. Moreover, church/monastery/equivalent don’t want any “hindrances” here- at least that’s the reception I got. The only thing I could have done beside studying was going to a local martial arts club (I’m sure I spent over 2500 hours on this). Oh, and it’s impossible to plant anything in the middle of the desert- unless you want to have a miserable time in the 110+ weather. What do you expect me to do? Play an instrument? Can’t for religious reasons. Paint? Can’t also for religious reasons. I assembled computers and did a lot of math and science- there was simply nothing else to do unless you count playing video games excessively. Guess what? I got accepted at an Ivy, so don’t tell me that he can’t.</p>
<p>I agree with Cardgames that in some countries it is significantly more difficult to do ECs than in the US. I am from a wealthy country (the Netherlands) and live close to the capital, so you’d say there would be plenty opportunities… but no. Most Dutch kids participate in a sport, or practice an instrument when they’re younger, as their parents want them to have something to do. But internships, school clubs of any kind, national competitions, college classes etc are in no way open to or present for high school students. The opportunities for ECs start to become open to you as soon as you become a college student here, other than that there is little chance it’ll work. </p>
<p>I am participating in ECs though, since I found it would give me more experience and make me more well-rounded, however I have found it to be incredibly hard to combine with my studies for it’s all based on the more relaxed university schedules here.</p>
<p>But yeah, what I have found is that every college will take this into consideration, because they know the difference between the US opportunities and opportunities elsewhere.</p>
<p>@AveryAnderson But (I assume) you are from America. The OP lives in Africa, in an area in which he says there are no ECs apart from various sports which he participates in. Schools in other countries aren’t all like schools here in the US. In fact, most other countries value academic stats much more than ECs. Some schools in other countries literally do not care one bit about ECs, so they do not bother to put emphasis on their students participating in them, and don’t even provide the opportunities to do so in many cases.</p>
<p>This isn’t going to be a valid excuse, as ECs are also out-of-school activities. They don’t have to have anything to do with your school. I think the lack of ECs is going to have a negative impact on your application.</p>
<p>If you’re applying for need-based financial aid, I think you’re going to have an extremely hard time in admissions, as applying for financial aid as an international student already makes it extremely difficult to get in, which will be compounded by the likelihood of having competitors with much stronger ECs (who are also not very likely to get in).</p>
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<p>But plenty of applicants have ECs that aren’t school-sponsored. ECs don’t have to be at school.</p>
<p>@RedSeven That is true, but in some areas there aren’t any opportunities. I have no idea where the OP lives, but I do know in some countries or regions in Africa, there isn’t much in terms of out-of-school ECs available, either (though usually there is limited internet access in those regions as well, so that may not be the case her). However, maybe the OP lives in an area where there are ECs, but s/he didn’t take advantage of them. So it certainly depends.</p>
<p>You have a good chance I think. Can you not start a club of your own though? I don’t know, but being from Africa helps a lot. Try to sometime soon. It might help. Dude and card games I think two of those people are pretty amazing. International Informatics Olympiad. IMO, national math olympiad, Science Olympiads. The fourth guy seems exactly what MIT wants. Thse people are really amazing without ec’s. Two and three seem to back up our point more .</p>
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