<p>Hi,
I'm wondering if I have a good amount of extracurricular activities. I'm a junior in high school and plan to apply some ivies and UCs. Of course, I am planning some activities over the summer, including volunteering at a camp, publishing a science article on heart disease, etc. </p>
<p>Math Honors Society (tutoring students from 10-12)
Science Honors Society (tutoring students from 11-12)
Language Honors Society (tutoring students in 11)
Basketball leagues (Throughout childhood, continues till high school)
Vice president of club that fundraises money for heart disease)
Tennis (Junior Year JV)
Bookends service (packaging books which were donated to libraries of local schools)
CSF
50+ hours at local hospital</p>
<p>I plan to apply as a biological sciences major. Please provide your comments and suggestions on how I can improve my ECs. What other types of ECs do I need </p>
<p>What EC’s? Honor societys are a given with high gpa’s.
What comes out, why did you play tennis for only 1 yr? why start as junior.
Then, if you played in basketball leagues all your life, why didn’t you play in HS.
There are many geeks that apply to ivy’s and get reject.</p>
<p>At this point, it’s too late to add any ECs. Nothing on your list jumps out as special or unique but it doesn’t seem like you slacked off. I don’t know about the UCs but the Ivies will have many kids with EC lists just like yours. Make sure you make your essay stand out.</p>
<p>The question is not do you have enough EC, the question is “where is your passion?”
Having a long list of EC would not help if they are all over the places. Think about what activity you want to invest more time on it and go deeper in. On the application, there is only limited slots for EC anyway. One would list the most important one on top. Think about what can make you stand out from the crowd. Most important, it should show where your passion is.</p>
<p>I’m in agreement with @billcsho. You don’t need more EC’s, you need to show more commitment and depth – colleges are looking for quality, not quantity. In addition, please understand that one reason students with high GPA’s and test scores are rejected from selective colleges is that they look too similar to other equally qualified applicants. Currently there’s nothing on your EC list that makes you stand out from the crowd – your EC list looks like thousands of other students . . . and that’s not going to help you get noticed. It’s easier for an admission committee to admit a student who ran the Boston Marathon backwards while juggling 3 balls in the air than admit yet another student who belongs to the Math, Science and Language honors society. </p>
<p>As you will see from that link, at the most selective colleges they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says
</p>
<p>If you are entering your senior year it is going to be hard to find anything at this point that you will have time to start and get this kind of depth.</p>
<p>^ If one is entering senior year, it would be hard to change cumulative GPA, past course rigor level that associated with the GPA, and test scores too. In general, it would be too late to have a good plan for college application. ;)</p>
<p>Is it only good if I’m in charge of a club? Or can I hold a significant position in the club and do something big? Not referring to a club with many members by the way</p>
<p>@TomsRiverParent You can’t just question why I did my volunteering or extracurricular activities. That way, you can question any sort of activity. And btw I wasn’t asking what is considered an EC, so you dont need to ask
“what EC’s”</p>
<p>I guess you didn’t get it.
Your EC’s are weak/non-existent. What does standout is quitting tennis after 1 year. Weak attempt at adding sports to your resume. You alleged rec basketball stands out as another weak attempt to add sports because it will question why you didn’t play in MS or HS.
Admissions officers will see through it.</p>
<p>Im a junior right now so I didn’t “quit” after one year. And I don’t think officers will disregard basketball if I played for 8 years. Not everyone who plays a sport plays for their high school team. And I don’t need to play sports to add stuff to my app.</p>
<p>^^ The Common Application has check boxes for EC’s, asking you
There is no option for listing any activity below 9th grade. In addition, the Common Application asks
There are also additional questions for each activity with a text box to specify
– As you played tennis for one year (junior year), you’ll check the 11th grade box, unless you are also planning on playing tennis your senior year, in which case you’ll check 11th and 12th grade boxes.</p>
<p>– If you diid not play recreational basketball during high school, there isn’t a box for you to indicate participation in elementary or middle school, as colleges are not interested in anything below 9th grade.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there is a box for additional information after the essay that you can put anything that would not fit in the other part of the application. If you think that is an important thing, you may mention there. They may or may not consider that is another story.</p>
I agree. Using the “Additional Information” section to list honors or awards for an activity that you did while in elementary and middle school is helpful if you have continued that activity during high school. Something along the lines of
That kind of statement shows devotion and commitment over time to an activity. But, listing activities like (and these are things my kids did in elementary and middle school but DID NOT list on their college application) </p>
<ul>
<li>Baseball: West Side Little league, ages 8-12. Played in the Little League Tournament in Bristol, CT</li>
<li>American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC: ages 10-12, Summer drama program for pre-teens</li>
</ul>
<p>^^^ IMHO: That kind of stuff is meaningless to colleges unless the student continued their interests in high school – and, in all likelihood, will be met with an eye roll from a College Admissions Director.</p>