<p>I have a couple ECs that I started after freshman year (freshman year was more of a transitioning period for me) but one of them I started Junior year...I was wondering if it would look bad just because I started in 11th grade...I did get 2nd at districts and finals at regionals...will they be able to see the commitment that I put into it?</p>
<p>Obviously, it looks better the earlier you started an EC. Doesn’t mean that starting in junior year looks BAD…</p>
<p>An EC does not look bad <em>just</em> because one starts it in junior year, and earning recognitions in the activity certainly helps, but a lot would depend on what one did before junior year. If one had been doing other ECs before junior year and decided to make a switch because one got interested in something or a new club became available at school, that’s fine. What does not look so good is if one does virtually nothing in ECs in freshman and sophomore years and suddenly starts to do ECs as the time arrives to apply to colleges.</p>
<p>Oh dear! I moved schools after sophmore year and hence I had a lot more opportunities in junior year compared to freshman and sophmore year. Will the admissions officers recognize that I moved countries and hence my opportunities increased and that not doing much in my 1st two years was because of where I lived?</p>
<p>Oh, yes, it definitely is a factor in your favor that you moved after sophomore year from a place where you had few EC opportunities to a place rich in EC opportunities. In some countries or cultures, students do not have the EC opportunities that we are used to in the US, and admissions committees recognize that. Whenever I interview a student who has a dearth of ECs at some point in his high school career, I try to find out whether he moved schools, countries, etc.</p>
<p>my S started an EC in senior year and put it on his application. he didn’t do it to pad his resume, but because it was something he was interested in. we decided not to second guess how admissions committees would view this activity but to put it down because it was an accurate reflection of him and his life.</p>
<p>^^ditto SDonCC: my daughter is a rising senior and has already decided that she wants to be involved in a couple of things at school that were not really open to underclassmen at her HS>…hopefully, it is interpreted as a better understanding of her growth as she is maturing rather than an attempt to “pump up her resume”…</p>
<p>Eh, I hope the adcoms don’t take this too seriously. I’m the yearbook editor, but I’ve only been participating in yearbook this year (I made a spread last year, but I don’t count that). In my school, only the seniors are allowed in yearbook, but this isn’t stated anywhere. :|</p>
<p>If you get an interview, the interview is a good place to mention that yearbook is not available except to seniors. If there’s no interview, perhaps the GC can mention it somewhere in the school report.</p>