<p>I'll be taking three AP classes next year. I can't decide whether I should take band again or another AP class as an elective. Taking AP will definitely boost my GPA but I wouldn't have any EC from school. I'll only have some community service outside of school. </p>
<p>Does anyone know whether having no EC from school looks bad or not on a college application? Does band look good on
I'm not so passionate about band; I don't have any leadership position there either. I just enjoy music and have fun in band. But, if taking another AP class gives me a better chance for college admission, I will switch it.</p>
<p>I don’t think that a band class is really an EC, per se. I think that you should pursue music if you enjoy it, but it doesn’t have to be in school. How about a regional youth symphony or wind ensemble? How about a garage band?</p>
<p>As for the extra AP, does the subject interest you? Do you really have to give up band to take it, or will doing so just leave you without study halls?</p>
<p>@consolation
Thanks for your input.
I’m not really talented with music. My skill is not good enough for a symphony or wind ensemble or even a garage band. I just enjoy listening to music; that’s about it. Honestly I’ll be taking band just to look good on a college application.</p>
<p>The extra AP class I am considering is Environmental Science. My interest in the subject is neutral. I heard that it is pretty easy so it might help with my GPA. I’m currently taking AP Bio, and next year I’ll take AP Phys B. </p>
<p>I’m just not sure which looks better. An extra AP or band with no achievement?</p>
<p>Band can be an EC. Marching Band, All-district, heritage festivals, Tri-M, etc…</p>
<p>You should either take band all 4 years for the continuity factor, or drop it and take more AP classes. But honestly, if you’re going to take AP classes like Environmental Science, Psych, human geo, and stuff for GPA boost, don’t bother - stick with band.</p>
<p>Band is not an EC? All the seniors I know put band as an EC in their college applications.
So, it looks like taking band doesn’t really help me much</p>
<p>you can count marching band and festivals that take place outside of school hours, but heres the basic rule of thumb; if you are getting rewarded it is not an EC.
As in, if you are receiving a grade, or money, or something like that, it is not an EC.
Band class can probably go on your transcript, and jobs can go under work experience, but “activities” are what you do for no benefit (other than happiness) in your own free time.</p>
<p>Explore, I said classes “like” environmental science taken “FOR” GPA boost and GPA boost alone is not worth it. If you are truly interested in the subject, then it can do a lot for you.</p>
<p>Thanks, powerbomb. Taking AP ES just for GPA boost is probably not worth it. Besides, I would get extremely bored with global ecosystem and resources stuff.</p>
I’m giving you my best and most honest advice, although I’d bet you’ll never take it and probably feel insulted to boot.</p>
<p>Forget about ECs; forget about an AP class. What you need is an English class. Your sentences, including the ones I quoted above, are grammatically incorrect. I’m not an English major so I can’t tell you if the trouble is pronouns, articles, subject-verb agreement, whatever. But what you’ve written are sentences no native English speaker would write (or say). They’re close, closer than many non-native speakers get, but still they grate on the ear.</p>
<p>The good news is that if you wanted, you could change that. Its a learnable skill. What you need to do is take a class with lots of writing assignments from the toughest teacher in your school, the one that returns papers and essays covered with red ink AND then demands you correct and resubmit them. It might not be fun, but its effective; you’ll learn how to write (and speak) better.</p>
<p>If you blow this off then it WILL hurt you; not only when you get into college and your papers earn lower grades than they deserve because they’re difficult to read, but during the admissions process. If you write your essays the way I suspect you will from what I’ve seen of your writing, then you’re not going to be a strong candidate at any competitive college. Deciding between another AP class or stronger ECs is the least of your worries at the moment; you need to be able convince the adcoms that you can handle reading and writing college-level English. Which, right now, you cannot.</p>
<p>I never feel insulted when someone picks on my English because Ive been in this country for three years and I never feel ashamed of my writing or speaking skills. Also, its because I know that if you stay in a foreign country for three years, say France, you would not be able to write or speak the language as well as I write English. Your level of writing will probably be of 5th grader. In that sense, I actually feel proud of myself. I just feel bad for you that you could not politely read this thread and leave. More than a hundred people stopped by to read this thread, but nobody left an irrelevant response to the topic (EC or AP) because everyone else has a manner.</p>
<p>You also mentioned, Forget about ECs; forget about an AP class. What you need is an English class. Yes, I need an English class. But that does not mean that I have to drop everything else and take only English class. I am a freshman and I am already taking 2 AP classes this year. My SAT I & II math scores are both 800. Ill be taking more APs and ECs along with my English class. Im sure my English will improve by the time I graduate, just like my music skills or athletic skills will improve. Therefore, I have to disagree with your comment, Deciding between another AP class or stronger ECs is the least of your worries at the moment. Just because you are terrible at math, it does not mean you have to study only math and nothing else.</p>
<p>As for the convincing the adcoms, I never worry about it. The adcoms will see my strengths and weaknesses as a whole when they see my transcript, which will be full of As from the most rigorous classes. If writing were the only thing that will convince adcoms, why not all the native English speakers are in Harvard? The admissions process at most colleges is holistic. Every part in the application will contribute in making final decisions.</p>
<p>that was quite the eloquent response, explore.</p>
<p>for having only spent 3 years in the states, your command of the written english language
is exceptional…and you express your thoughts in a clear, coherent manner.</p>
<p>“eloquent response”, jdjaguar? I guess so. But is this guy top college material? Don’t think so. At a top college they’ll expect students to be well past the stage of comprehending everything literally; after the elementary level, people use figurative speech for emphasis as I’m sure you understand. However Explore clearly misses the point, thinking that somehow I was actually advising him to “to drop everything else and take only (sic) English class”. Explore, take a look at [Literal</a> and figurative language - Wikipedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative_language]Literal”>Literal and figurative language - Wikipedia) and it might help make things a little clearer for you.</p>
Wrong again… Funny thing, but as one wag puts it “English is French spoken badly”. Had you studied Western History you’d know that after the Norman Conquest the French largely directed the evolution of English. Turns out that by many estimates 40% of the words in English are of French origin. Romance languages are relatively easy for English speakers to learn. Maybe China (your native country, perhaps?) was the country you had in mind?</p>