Consistent Ec's?

Applying to College
1

<p>ummm</p>

<p>so what if i do consistent EC's, but i'm not devoted to them? do u think that it will show through in my college application?</p>

<p>because i do drama, but i'm not a big player in it.</p>

<p>i did drama freshman year... and i did only one production, and in that one, i was an extra.</p>

<p>i did it sophomore year, and i got a medium sized role, but i only did it for one year.</p>

<p>i did it junior year and i got two medium sized roles</p>

<p>i did it senior year but i only got an extra for one play.</p>

<p>do i still seem "passionate" and "devoted" about drama since i did it for all four years?</p>

<p>that shows consistency, right? i mean, i stiffed all the extra stuff. i showed up to rehearsals only when necessary, but i never helped after school with setting up the stage, or helping to build the set. and i skipped the drama fundraisers and stuff. but colleges don't see that! they only see that i participated all four years, right?</p>

<p>i mean, the rest of my ec's are like this.... i never do much in them, but i'm CONSISTENT, so that it will look good when i apply, right? i never have to mention that i don't do anything extra for the EC's, right?</p>

<p>sorry about this thread:
i just was told off the other day by one of my friends-- about how i never helped out with the play, and how i didn't care if we won the competitions or not. but i told him that it didn't matter because colleges don't even see past the consistency of it. and he just flipped me off, ... did he flip me off because i was being an obnoxious college-seeker, or because i was right and he didn't want to admit it?</p>

2

<p>He probably flipped you off because you're an obnoxious college seeker.</p>

<p>I'm sorry you wasted so much of your time during your high school years. You should have done something you really enjoyed.</p>

3

<p>I agree with Tarhunt.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
just was told off the other day by one of my friends-- about how i never helped out with the play, and how i didn't care if we won the competitions or not. but i told him that it didn't matter because colleges don't even see past the consistency of it.

[/quote]
It all depends on how selective the schools are you're hoping to get into. 90+% of the colleges in this country admit the majority of their applicants. A decent student will have many options among these schools. So if you're applying to one of these, having minimal ECs is enough.</p>

<p>If, however, you're aiming at the top 100 or so highly-selective schools, you basically have little chance. They care a lot about your ECs, and merely being a consistent "participant" is not nearly enough. A typical sentiment is expressed by Stanford in its FAQ
[quote]
In addition to academic excellence and intellectual vitality, we are interested in students who have made significant contributions to the life of their school or community. We do not favor one type of activity over another; nor is it necessary to participate in a large number of activities. An exceptional experience in one or two activities demonstrates your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. We want to see the impact your participation has had on that club, in your school, or in the larger community. With extracurricular activities, a sustained depth of commitment is more important than a long list of clubs you have joined.

[/quote]
</p>

5

<p>well, how are they even going to see the impact of my participation? its not like im going to write about it. its not like they are going to call up my skool and ask all about it, right?</p>

<p>"With extracurricular activities, a sustained depth of commitment is more important than a long list of clubs you have joined."</p>

<p>^ doesn't sustained depth just mean the same thing as "consistency". consistent is deep.</p>

6

<p>you should only post in one subforum</p>

7

<p>^ sorry... how do i detele the other one?</p>

8

<p>The fact that you won't write about your EC will send a signal to colleges. If your teachers and guidance counselor don't talk about it (or even write in your recommendations that you're not devoted to this EC and in fact treat it just as a resume builder), sends the same signal. If it comes out in your interview, too, when there is silence when the interviewer asks you multiple questions about your ECs ... the point is, colleges get a lot of information about you from a variety of sources. For 90% of the colleges out there it won't make a difference. If your goal is to get into the most selective, then it might.</p>

9

<p>As annoying as your phrasing is, I will still tell you what I have been told by practically every ad. officer at highly selective schools I have ever talked to. They look for how WELL you did any particular EC. If you had been president of the Thespian Club, that would be an indicator of leadership. If you had done multiple lead roles, that would be impressive. If you had professional credit, it would do you good.</p>

10

<p>Wow... I mean.. based on what you say here, I hope you can do fine in interviews. Nobody, especially Admissions Officers, likes people that do things just to have it a part of their resume.</p>

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<p>The majority of colleges do not include ECs among the factors that they use for making admissions decisiions. This especially is true of public universities, which seem to all make decisions primarily on stats and state of residence.</p>

<p>The few colleges that use ECs as part of their decisions are the colleges at the top of the heap, which have an overabundance of high stat applicants.</p>

<p>For such colleges, your theater ECs would not stand out at all. You have not made the kind of theatrical achievements that would stand out in such a pool, which includes professional actors as well as students who have written and directed production. You aslo come across as someone who has been doing activities to try to impress colleges, not because you're interested in those activities.</p>

<p>You'd invest your time far better if you took the time to pursue creatively and in depth activities that you care about. That actually is what the colleges that care about ECs look for. It's also a very productive way to spend your high school free time, which is one of the last very open-ended opportunities in your life for you to explore to find your bliss and to be welcomed because high school students aren't expected to be highly skilled or sophisticated when they do that kind of exploration.</p>