<p>Ok so at first I though my brother didn't have many EC's, especially for someone who probably wants to go to Carnegie Mellon. His grades are on par with the school. But just today something clicked in my brain. He taught himself how to render animation on the computer, and he's getting better. He is only going into sophomore year. But would teaching yourself basic programming along with how to render digitally be considered an EC? He is also in the literary magazine and a community service organization. Next year he will probably do science Olympiad. If he does get good at rendering and programming, will that be a great EC for something like Carnegie Mellon or NYU? Be brutally honest. Thanks!</p>
<p>If he spends a significant amount of his weekly life doing it, then sure. It would look even better if he could list a specific project(s), and also throw in a mention about how he taught himself.</p>
<p>Hey thanks for responding. He actually is working on something specific over the summer. From what I’ve seen it looks pretty good. </p>
<p>Then sure, I think that would definitely be a good thing for him to list 
The Common App is going to ask how many weeks per year and how many hours per week he participates in this “activity,” so he just needs to make sure that his answers reflect a significant amount of time being spent on it. Best of luck to him in the future!</p>