EC Passion

Applying to College
1

<p>So everybody says that when it comes to extracurriculars, quality > quantity, time commitment > changing activities every year, leadership > membership, and passion > tepid interest. Right?</p>

<p>But where is the line between all of those drawn? In other words, at what point is something considered quality, time commitment, leadership, and passion, rather than the opposite? And what counts as an award to demonstrate your excellence at an extracurricular?</p>

<p>[Yes, I am talking about HYPS and other top colleges]</p>

<p>I personally love two very broad categories (if I tried to categorize) of extracurriculars: arts and communications. Arts includes painting/drawing (and other visual arts), performing arts, and instruments. Communications includes broadcasting (possible leadership), writing, newspaper (possible leadership), research papers, government (possible leadership), debate, etc. I also play three sports seasonally because I like them all and each one has its own good and bad things to offer.
And these are the extracurriculars I do, because I love them. By the time I'm a senior, I would have done all of them for 3+ years, and most of them for 6-10 years.</p>

<p>I don't think I can do anything about who thinks I'm committed to it by time or not, but what can I do to more tangibly show quality and passion for my ECs? What is considered quality and passion? Are there any "major" (whatever that means) awards or scholarships for the activities I do?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Bumpppppp.</p>

3

<p>How do you find time to do all those ECS and play a varsity sport year round?</p>

<p>Are you in all those clubs/activities at school?</p>

<p>What exactly is your question? Perhaps you need to re-phrase it…</p>

4

<p>Every time I ask about this, I’m told to rephrase it…ah.</p>

<p>Okay.
I’ll post a new topic about this again.</p>

5

<p>I really am trying to help…
all I am asking is how much time do you spend on your varsity sports daily/weekly
and how much time do you spend on all those activities…</p>

<p>Do you really do newspaper, debate, an instrument, research, broadcasting, performing and fine arts projects, etc etc…
and how much time in each area? </p>

<p>Can you demonstrate a significant passion for each one? How much time in prep etc?</p>

6

<p>Oh, I’m not a junior/senior yet, and I’m not a phenomenal athlete (late start), but I would be spending two and a half hours after school every day and a couple of hours on Saturday mornings if I played varsity (which I plan to do if possible).</p>

<p>I mostly only paint and draw when I’m in the studio, so that’s for an hour or two each week. I don’t act very often, because I pursue roles in school plays (no time to get lessons and parts outside of school), so that isn’t really a big time commitment if I’m not chosen…I’m in radio class for an hour almost every day, and I stay afterschool to broadcast for an additional two hours every week. Newspaper and research don’t have a set time frame, because that’s just how long it takes me to write an article or gather info. The government/debate activities also depend on a) tryouts [like for Model UN, you aren’t guaranteed a spot, and Student Council also is subject to what the other students decide] and b) elections [I might campaign if a candidate I strongly support comes up in the real world]. I play piano (45 minute lesson each week) and guitar (30 minute lesson each week), so I practice those almost daily for ~30 minutes I guess. But to make room for the painting, I might drop guitar lessons (and just continue playing in my free time) by junior year.</p>

<p>Yeah, I have way too much on my plate…but I like so much stuff.</p>

<p>I think I could demonstrate passion for broadcasting by just talking a lot on air (which I do like). And I’m trying to write a novel because I love creative writing. I do sports because I like them (if I didn’t, I really would just quit), so maybe that works. Same thing for government/debate stuff. I would not be willing to get myself involved in politics and endless arguments if I didn’t enjoy it or think that I could benefit others by representing them.
But for everything else…</p>

<p>When I major in college or even have a career, I don’t want to be a painter. But I can’t shake the desire to create things through art. The other problem is that I’m good at painting, designing, drawing, etc. But I’m not so fantastic that I’ve ever won one of the top three prizes in a competition. So I don’t know how I’m supposed to demonstrate a passion for this…I do love art, so I guess I have passion for it, but how do I show it? Can I just send colleges a bunch of my art supplements?</p>

<p>I don’t really have time to act because I do so much other stuff…so no, I can’t show passion for that.</p>

<p>There’s a similar situation with the instruments as with the paintings. I’m good at guitar and alright at piano, and I enjoy them, but I highly doubt that I will ever have any state or regional recognition. I’m bad at memorizing music, I will eventually mess up if I practice the song too many times, and I do not have the best sense for complicated rhythm patterns. But I don’t want to quit. :/</p>

<p>But I still don’t understand the difference between passion and lack thereof. What counts as passion? I don’t even see why we need to “show” passion, because I would not waste years of my life on something I dislike doing. But yeah. Sorry for the long post.</p>

7

<p>I don’t think in every situation it’s necessary for applicants to top schools to specialize in one or two ECs, but if you are going for the well-rounded approach, you still have to show that you are actively involved in each of your activities. My personal opinion is that you should only put down on apps the ECs that you’re most focused on, which, even though it means you fill up less blanks on the Common App, eliminates ECs that can become “clutter” by not helping adcoms to get a sense of your personality. For you, I’d only put down those ECs that you’ve won awards in or you spend more than five hours a week on.</p>

8

<p>

Here is a post from a Harvard alum interviewer outlining what counts as an excellent or outstanding EC – <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-whats-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-whats-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>Taking one or two of your ECs to the next level…that is what make it “quality” so that it stands out</p>

<p>For example…
broadcasting on your school’s radio station is a good EC. It tells potential colleges that your are articulate and collected. But it doesn’t tell potential colleges how you are any different or more special than any other student broadcasting on your school’s radio station, or any student broadcasting on their school’s radio station.</p>

<p>So the question becomes, how can you kick it up a notch?</p>

<p>For example, could you volunteer to broadcast a teen hour of some sort on a locl public radio station, or even do a report on air about what’s going on with teens in your area a couple of times a month? Or could you help a local youth center start a radio station in an afterschool program?</p>

<p>Could you organize a drive for art supplies for underprivileged children to take home with them? Or teach a drawing course at an afterschool program?</p>

<p>Just think about things a bit, and figure out how you can have your interests benefit someone else… that is what the colleges are looking for.</p>