<p>So, I'm going to be a junior next year (I saw a thread like this a couple minutes ago, but I didn't want to hijack it), and my ECs are pretty much terrible. I have some ECs here and there, but it still doesn't look too great. And on top of that, our school is practically in the hole financially, so starting a club is basically a no go.</p>
<p>I have a passion in the sciences (and music). So far, I've played piano for ~10 years and I'm a member of NHS (ran for vice but lost... :( Running for Sec. next year), and a member of Spanish/Multicultural Club. I'm planning on also joining Key Club next year and also signed up/am going through the process of applying to volunteer in a local hospital.</p>
<p>I don't have a job... parents won't let me get one. So there goes work experience.</p>
<p>bump.
I don’t know how good my advice will be but I heard that a lot of times, it will look better to put most of your time into something (like your 10 years of piano) instead of an overwhelming load of everything. However, according to what you’re saying I’d say it sounds pretty good.
I’m in a really similar situation. I’m also a rising junior, my ec’s aren’t terrible but I dabble in a lot of things instead of having a major passion. Key Club is great volunteer hours, I’m in it, and it’s not too hard to be an officer (at least not at my school)</p>
<p>Im not saying that you should lie… but if you did lie:</p>
<p>You will never get caught because your college has no way of checking up on your activities, first of all you were a minor at the time and your participation and membership in clubs would not be disclosed. Even as an adult, a persons participation and membership in an organization is rarely disclosed by the organization for legal reasons (its the same reason that when a prospective employer calls your former employer, your former employer will usually not even say that you did or did not work there or whether you are available for rehire or not)</p>
<p>If you do choose to lie: pick your EC’s as clubs that your school does not have if you are applying to a school where there is a likelyhood that someone on your admissions committee had a child that went to your school. If not you can choose to pick a club that your school has and just say you were "President, Grand Poobah, or whatever…</p>
<p>Only make up one club and put yourself in a high organization. Dont say that you were head of the club starting your sophomore year, but show that there was a definite progress in your leadership.</p>
<p>BTW these schools are looking for active participation, not popularity contests, so they would like to know more about how you saved the whales or served soup to bums than how you beat your arch enemy for the coveted Presidents position.</p>
<p>They can audit applications, however I highly doubt they will ever prove that you are not in a club. It would be too hard to do. I know of quite a few people that have done this and got away with it. That being said I never tried as my school did not care about EC’s</p>
<p>Don’t outright lie about ECs but you can fudge it around a little bit I have the exact same problem as you but I’m trying to make up for it with really a really good GPA and test scores.</p>
<p>My sister got into places like Notre Dame and Carnegie Mellon with only 2 ECs. :)</p>
<p>Lying won’t help you. Because when you write about what you’ve learned/gained by holding these “positions” that you allegedly held, it’ll be obvious that you actually didn’t learn anything. Admissions officers are not stupid. They read tens of thousands of applications. And even if you could fabricate a story about gaining something from it, it still wouldn’t convey the emotion and aura that a legitimate essay would.</p>
<p>Yes, you can put down that you were a member of 20 school clubs, but that doesn’t mean anything without a decent essay describing how you’ve gained from it.</p>
<p>Try and get a leadership role in there… an officer position of a known club or something, maybe join a few more clubs that do different activities throughout the year and exert some passion into them.</p>
<p>Have you been in any piano competitions or anything like that? See if you can manage to get a decent award (or multiple) with that, in order to substantiate your interest and passion in that EC. Colleges like to see passion and commitment in things, especially long-term. You have the time invested (10 years), so now go further with it.</p>
<p>Please don’t lie think about all the people who actually put time into activities only to be rejected by someone who lied about theirs but youre cool cause you have a conscience and btw your EC’s aren’t that bad! Ive seen people who thought all they needed were tests and grades completely neglect their ec’s</p>
<p>@ OP, it’s never about breath, but always about depth at top Ivy league schools. You could be a member of two clubs and stand out more than someone who is a member of 20. Run for officer positions and introduce something new to the clubs-now that’s great praticipation. You have plenty of time, by the way.</p>
<p>You could try Cal Newport’s blog (the guy who wrote how to be a High School Superstar). It’s at calnewport.com
He has really good tips about developing meaninful EC’s, and really good examples of success. One of my friends bought the book, and she really liked it.</p>
I have the exact same problem as you but I’m trying to make up for it with really a really good GPA and test scores.</p>
but youre cool cause you have a conscience and btw your EC’s aren’t that bad! Ive seen people who thought all they needed were tests and grades completely neglect their ec’s</p>