<p>i feel like i spent so much time on my job and volunteering and such</p>
<p>and sometimes i feel like i shoulda just not wasted all that time and worked more on my grades/sat scores...i mean all these people are making up jobs and such because they know someone who owns a company or w.e. and i know everyone who did it in my school last year got away with it...and im beginning to sadly think they were the ones who were right...not morally but technically</p>
<p>nope, i do extra curriculars because I want to do them...if they look good on an application thats a side benefit.</p>
<p>yes i know what you mean...but sometimes i feel like im kinda wasting my time...maybe im just having a horrible day</p>
<p>just keep doing what youve been doing. Dont worry too much about colleges...its pointless.</p>
<p>If you are a senior, there isn't much you can do now, so you may as well stay in the ECs. Otherwise, I would agree with you. If you feel they are a waste of time, then they are. You should get involved in something that truly interests you, whether it looks good on a application or not-it's your life, your time. And yes, I believe that spending more time on your grades and SAT scores would be a better investment.</p>
<p>"If you feel they are a waste of time, then they are."</p>
<p>I agree. This also is what happens when instead of selecting ECs that interest themselves, students select ECs only to try to impress colleges.</p>
<p>The point of doing ECs is to check out activities and develop skills related to your interests. As long as your ECs don't involve pursuing interests like sex, booze, crime and drugs, colleges are likely to be interested. </p>
<p>Doing ECs only to interest colleges is likely to be a waste of time. You'll get little out of the process. You'll contribute little to the ECs. You won't develop talents, learn about potential careers, gain leadership or other skills. Colleges will not be impressed.</p>
<p>I know tons of kids at JHU that had fairly low GPAs and almost no ECs that got in with no problem just because of their natural intelligence and aptitude, I also know kids that studied hard for what they got in High School, did well on SATs with a lot of prep, and had tons of EC that are struggling like hell in competitive colleges</p>
<p>Yes extracurriculars are largely a waste of time for the performer unless they are passionate about it. However it is the price you have to pay if you want to go Ivy or need to compensate for lower SAT scores or GPA. In any case no matter where you go to college if you do well you should look forward to going to an elite graduate school if you plan on going - and if that is the case you should not kill yourself over where you go for undergrad as much as someone who is going straight into the workforce.</p>
<p>If the colleges ever ever find out that your friends made up their hours, they risk being expelled. I see where you're coming from, but I don't do a single extracurricular unless I enjoy it. As rockofeller said, resumes are just a side effect of something I enjoy. With any cool EC, you can prove that you're passionate about what you do. Here's what I'm trying to say. Lets say that I want to go to Harvard really really bad. I'm gonna write a great why harvard essay. Someone else who just wants to go to harvard probably won't have as great of an essay. In other words, here's what I'm hinting at. If you really like something and you really do do it, and you really can show it, you can prove that you're passionate about it. Most places don't look for laundry lists...they look for dedicaiton.</p>