<p>Hey all, the new school year has started at my little high school in California and I still am trying to grasp the whole jazz about being a senior. My school runs on the 4x4 schedule (two terms, 4 classes each term). It is fast paced and each class loses about 20% of class time compared to average high school schedules, which makes AP classes about 40% harder, especially if you have a class in the fall term since the Exam is in the spring. </p>
<p>Anyway, with all the APs I'm taking this year; Gov/Economics, Physics, Environmental Science, English, and Spanish (5/8 classes) I hardly have time to do ECs. The major reason? I am a member of the chamber choir (which is considered an EC). It is a high-caliber, selective group of students who compete on the national level against other choirs. In the course of the program, we have earned 16 gold rankings in a row, one gold for every year (3 judges score above an avg. of 90 on a scale of 1-100). It is also a "zero period" class at 6:50am, which is an hour before school starts for the day, and every Wednesday we meet after school as well for an extra rehearsal which is from 6:30-8:30pm. This class persists throughout the entire school year. In the spring I do track, and I have been running at the varsity level since freshman year, I consider myself pretty good, and most likely will end up being the team captain or co-captain this year. Hoping to reach states as well. ( and yes chamber choir runs when track is running. Every school day I lose an hour of sleep, time management is crucial)</p>
<p>Now... that's all my ECs. Sure, I do small school clubs on the side, like the bowling club and the service club, but none of which are major commitments, as I can not find the time to commit to a leadership position/other long term volunteer positions. I am guess-timating that I have around 160 hours of volunteer service on my resume (I'm too lazy to check). </p>
<p>So, in short, my question is this: what do colleges truly look for when applicants list ECs on the application? I know many people take a broad range of ECs, maybe a few leadership positions in small clubs, or one major leadership position... but if I justify the commitment it takes for my chamber choir EC and my dedication to track, would it still count against me if I go against an applicant with leadership positions in their ECs?</p>
<p>For those who are interested, my #1 school that I am looking at is UC Berkeley for Chemical Engineering. I believe I have a pretty good shot, I consider it a mid-high match school, I don't want to be too over-confident. I have well over a 4.0, on track for valedictorian, live in California... overall a well rounded student coming from a HS with 740 students.</p>