<p>I have about 6 months until I would have to send in college applications, I will be mainly applying to UCs as my match schools with UC Berkeley as my reach school. My GPA and test scores are solid but my ECs are lacking and I would like some advice on improving them. I currently have done sports, a decent amount of volunteering, and worked an intermittent job. I have about 40 hours of community service and I'm wondering if getting my hours to 100 will help in admissions? Or if not, what would be a better way of improving my ECs?</p>
<p>If you only have 6 months, doing a new activity probably won’t help much. I would think that most colleges want to see commitment rather than junior suddenly joining a bunch of clubs to get into college. Is there any way that you could build off of what you’ve already done? If you’ve volunteered in one specific area, you could continue volunteering there and get another 60 hours. That would show that you’ve dedicated a lot of time to one specific activity. The job and sports will also help, and you could try to accomplish more in those areas. Try to think about the characteristics of yourself that you want to show colleges. If you are a leader, do you hold any leadership positions? Do you have plans for the summer? You could do something that’s related to the ECs you enjoy. If you want to show that you’re the kind of person who takes action and makes changes, you could try to find a way to add to your sports program or try to implement something new in your place of work or volunteering. Of course, try to do the activities that you truly enjoy, and don’t stress too much about your resume.</p>