<p>For those of you lucky people that got accepted to Cornell as an undergrad student... What EC's did you have that you think set you apart? Also, could you please state the school you attended/currently belong to? </p>
<p>My dream is to go to Cornell A&S. My grades are fine, but my EC's seem a bit weak, and I am just wondering how to improve on them.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I can’t provide much input, but I’ll try to help. I was accepted to engineering last year, and my ecs were JV cross country, NHS, a couple of contests, etc. Nothing spectacular. I applied ED though, and my test scores and grades were nearly perfect. I tried to focus on outside studies centered on computers and my own personal coding projects, and that seemed to work. I guess the lesson is that less-impressive and maybe even informal achievements can be better than the standard leadership and ecs if you can tie them in through your essays and show how you were following your passion by participating in them. Certainly not an expert though. Good luck!</p>
<p>I was accepted to A&S this year. </p>
<p>I remember reading somewhere that colleges want a well-rounded CLASS, not necessarily well-rounded students. In other words, you need to find something that you enjoy, then stick to it. I can almost guarantee that if you just volunteer at a food bank, then a homeless shelter, then nursing home, you will be rejected (assuming those are the only activities in which you’ve participated). Why? Because they show you care only about building a resume, not that you have a passion or any uniqueness.</p>
<p>Early on I enjoyed math. I had a few perfect scores on math (SATII Math 2C, ACT Math). I had a job creating computer programs. I volunteered with local government using my programming abilities. I tutored math. In other words, ALL my activities (ECs, jobs, community service, etc.) revolved around math. Cornell’s adcoms saw me as a math guy, not just an prestige-thirsty admissions manipulator boosting my resume. </p>
<p>Find what you enjoy… then get a job revolving around it, tutor it, volunteer with it, write your essays about it, develop a future career around it.</p>
<p>Alright… my interests are economics and political science. I am in the school’s Students for Political Activism club and am thinking about joining Model Congress next year, but what could I do to show additional interest in economics?</p>
<p>Hey, I had similar interests in high school as well. My major is Econ.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure about the Justin314 says about Cornell wanting a well rounded class rather than a well rounded student. I’m sure I count as a well rounded kid than some sort of protegee. The ECs that demonstrated my interest in Economics were my interships, volunteer work and research work. However, I didn’t list my ECs hoping it would showcase my intellectual promise as an economist. I wanted it to come across as promising campus citizen. Do not pursue extra curricular activities to make yourself look a certain way, it’ll exhaust you. Do what’s fun for you and be committed to it. If you have good grades in Economics and Political Science that should automatically reflect your proclivity for those fields. I took a lot of initiative in my Economics lessons with my classmates. I think she must’ve noticed and given me a good recommendation. :)</p>
<p>As for my other ECs; I play the piano (informal training), I debate, I work with an environmental organization and I work with two other school clubs- archeology and community service. I’m really all over the place in school, if you are too, try and urge your recommender to mention that. I also had a leadership role in a club where students were selected for demonstrating leadership qualities</p>
<p>Leadership , excellence, and some diversity in your EC’s are more important than what they specifically are. My D’s had nothing to do with her intended major.</p>
<p>GoofyPluto: thanks so much for your encouraging feedback! If you don’t mind me asking, how did you go about securing an internship? </p>
<p>I go to an international school, so I don’t think I have the same opportunity for research assistance, interning, etc. I would really like to do it, but the nationality thing is a bit of a barrier. My school’s clubs, both general and service, are kind of limited, and GPA’s tend to be higher than in American public schools. I am not a very charismatic person, so leadership and clubs like debate are going to come by and for me to do well in. Will all this hurt my chances of getting in? If so, what could I do to improve my chances?</p>