I just moved to the US( although im a citizen its weird but its true), I’m currently a high school sophomore and I have less than 20 friends at school. Everyone seems to be in a club or in a sport team except for me. Do ECs have to be in school? (clubs etc.) can they be activities like playing instruments and uploading them on youtube or working at a restaurant? Does anyone have to verify my ECs? Can I lie about them? Do they really matter if I have a good gpa with decent IBs and a good sat score? Thank you for your help!
They don’t have to be at school or be verified.
If you lie about ECs you don’t deserve whatever benefits that gets you, such as admission, and can have them taken away anytime.
They don’t have to be in school, but why not join a club or two? The restaurant job can definitely be listed – the music videos can be listed, but won’t likely carry much weight as an EC. Don’t lie about them – if they catch you, they can rescind your admission.
They do not need to be in school, but lying about them is probably a bad idea. I believe that you can be admitted, start attending school, and then be kicked out because admissions was tipped off and investigated. Keep in mind that many extracurriculars can be easily confirmed via internet or the various GC/CC networks which colleges have at their fingertips. Also, extracurriculars have significant weight in most selective US College Admissions, often also being the topic of admissions essays, which themselves have varying levels of weight in a college application.