<p>Thing is I only really have two. I’m a composer (ASCAP Mourton Gould Winner - if that means anything to you) and a mathematician (5x AIME, 3x USAMO). I also teach math pro bono in under-served school districts but not much else.</p>
<p>@ bamagirl95: You don’t belong in this thread. 
</p>
<p>My list of EC’s (most important to least):
-Foreign language learning and tutoring 9-12
-Piano 9-12
-Writing/literary magazine 10-12
-Forensics 11-12</p>
<p>The first two activities on this list have actually been ongoing since age 7 and represent some of my greatest passions/loves in life. I’ve also enjoyed writing as a hobby ever since I knew how to hold a pencil, but this took a dip in 9th grade when I got a horrible English teacher, as well as the fact that I didn’t know the high school literary magazine had student staff members. (My middle school literary magazine was really just a single teacher compiling a bunch of writings together.) But I quickly picked that back up in 10th grade. 
</p>
<p>And forensics… well, I’m at a new school this year, and this EC is pretty huge around here, so I figured, “Hey, why not?” :P</p>
<p>@ TheYankInLondon: Wow! Those are REALLY impressive. This is probably what the HYP adcoms mean when they say they look for “depth rather than breadth” - truth be told, if I was one, I wouldn’t hesitate admitting you over the stereotypical CC’er who’s in 20 different clubs and has an impressive looking resume, but no real passion.</p>
<p>^ Are you kidding Forensics sounds AWESOME!!! Then again I am a bit of a saddo who’s seen every episode of CSI, CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Mentalist etc.</p>
<p>^ Well, by forensics I meant public speaking, not criminal forensics, although the latter would also be REALLY cool! 
I’m in Oratory this year.</p>
<p>@pyroza</p>
<p>You said FEW ECs, not bad ECs. The two that I have are pretty good, but two isn’t five.</p>
<p>@ fledgling</p>
<p>Ha I wish you were the my Yale EA adcom, got deferred… no thanks in part to me accidentally writing as the final line of my Yale supplement essay “… I feel that Harvard/NEC can help me grow as better mathematician, composer and person.”</p>
<p>And a Criminal Forensics at school would be among the coolest things ever! Oratory sucks though, I hate public speaking, well unless it’s giving a math lecture then I’m happy :)</p>
<p>^ At least you weren’t flat-out rejected. 
And hey, if you applied to Harvard/NEC, there’s also a chance you’ll get in there if the Yale RD results don’t work out in your favor!</p>
<p>@ fledgling</p>
<p>I hope so Harvard/NEC is my first choice! Yale’s not all that good for math, about on par with Michigan (I don’t remember which Michigan is which but Wolverines not Spartans) in that respect. Fantastic of Humanities (and apparently languages too although I’m in the dark because I never to did any languages because I took AP Latin early on)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>UMich Ann Arbor. MSU sucks. :P</p>
<p>I think that if you have a few EC’s that you take really seriously and you pursue them further and can demonstrate that, it’s better than a whole laundry list of school clubs and random, incoherent activities. </p>
<p>Quality > Quantity :]</p>
<p>I quit a lot of clubs after freshman year to focus on the ECs that matter the most to me, so you’re not alone XD</p>