<p>I'm sort of worried, how much will having virtually no ECs hurt me in college/scholarship acceptance? I have strong grades, 14 APs and 2340 SAT but have moved alot and while i'm not socially retarded I just never felt the desire to get involved outside of school(partly because I always expect to move the next year). I did join NHS because my counselor told me it would be a good idea but thats about it.</p>
<p>In particular I'm looking at Emory and the Emory scholars program.</p>
<p>It might depend on what you mean by "no ECs." Do you mean merely that you were not involved in formal school clubs & sports, or that you don't have any activities or interests at all outside of school? Remember that hobbies and personal interests are also considered ECs, not just membership in school organizations.</p>
<p>agree with mary. did you do ANYTHING in your life other than study? anything done on a regular basis that is not studying is an EC. but from what you describe, probably top schools might wonder about your lack of Ecs.</p>
<p>Will it matter? Um, not to be rude or anything, but is the sky blue? Aside from grades and SATs--in the departments of which nearly all students here are stellar--colleges are looking for a whole person. Though perhaps less true in the case of larger schools than smaller, they're looking at what you'll add to their freshman class. I'm not trying to be pessimistic or anything, and you'll probably be able to play up some passion you have, but colleges really are going to view those high numbers quite differently if that's all you've got.</p>
<p>You may be able to get in. I had a friend who had absolutely no ecs, but graduated second in his class and still got into Boston University with a decent scholarship.</p>
<p>I'm sure if he/she writes an essay about his/her frequent moves and includes some commentary about why he/she didn't really get involved in many ECs, adcoms will understand. I'm not saying that this won't look good, but it will explain it at least. Hopefully the OP can come up with some solid interests and passions that will make up for lack of organized involvement.</p>
<p>Yes I did more than study, though I'm not sure how much it will help me, if you count non-organized stuff this is what I do:
jog(about 20 miles a week)
play ping pong
play computer games
read (grisham, clancy, card)
started a small discussion board with about 100 active members
spend about 20 hours a week helping my dad build an airplane (an RV-8), more his hobby than mine</p>
<p>Again I emphasize that I'm not one of those social retards that can barely talk. I have friends, its just for the most part I entertain myself.</p>
<p>Building the airplane, starting the discussion board, and ping pong certainly seem like appropriate ECs, possibly jogging as well.</p>
<p>Reading and playing computer games probably have less value. I'm hoping that most people read, so it seems like it should fall more into the category of standard, everyday life than an extracurricular activity, in the same way that doing household chores for your parents or walking to school probably couldn't be considered ECs. However, if reading is a major part of your life, you might focus one of your essays on the activity; I'd avoid listing it in the EC box, though.</p>
<p>when you build the airplane, are you just building according to what your dad tells you to? do you feel anything towards building the airplane? or is it just another "dad asked me so i'm just helping" thing? answering these will help you decide whether to list it as EC</p>
<p>I think the airplane thing could turn itself into a really cool and interesting essay, provided you are interested in it. You could also explain in it why you don't actively participate in organized ECs.</p>