Extracurricular Activity Short Answer Opinion!

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>"Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum)."</p>

<p>Could someone rate this?</p>

<p>Marching Band: It’s more than just a passion.</p>

<p>Crack! Crack! Crack! Goes the cowbell. “Mark time, march!” screams the drum major. Swish, swish, swish goes our feet. “Forward, march!” My feet moved to the rhythmic sounds of the cowbell. People around me are repeating “Left, left, left, right, left” and then frantic thoughts enter my brain “Am I on the correct foot? Am I guiding right? Am I in line?” This is the life of the average marching band member. Starting freshman year I enrolled into the marching band program offered at our school. As a freshman things were confusing enough as it was, and band was no exception. There was a lot of music to memorize, scales to learn, and marching techniques that absolutely needed to be imprinted in our muscles. Hoping to receive the proper guidance any other freshman would receive, I tried the best that I could with what I had. Only, I didn’t have anything. Each section had a section leader, someone who would help ease the newcomers into the program with as little confusion as possible. I was not that lucky. The only guidance that I had was on the marching field and not the musical field. I was still the little eight grader that only knew how to play the simplest of scales and could not sub divide the rhythms. With that personal experience, I made sure that no other freshman in my section would go through the same experience. </p>

<p>Being a section leader is optional seeing it required much commitment from a group of people. However, the unspoken rule was that the only way you could be a section leader was when there was none. My opportunity came the summer of senior year. The duties consisted of attending before rehearsal and after rehearsal meetings that challenged our thinking. A before rehearsal question would be “What is the difference between eager and willing?” We would ponder that question and come up with answers from one end of the spectrum to the other. The final decision was that “eager” is when someone is looking forward to doing something where as “willing” is when someone is going to do the bare minimum required to finish the task at hand. We would then discuss how we could get the band from going to “willing” to “eager.” The solution was that we, the section leaders, needed to become involved and eager to start the day with marching band.
As a section leader I made sure that the group stayed on task and completed those tasks together. Just by being energetic, excited, and running to my drill set made an impact. In return people were running to their spots and being energetic as well. Therefore, the whole group was improving as a whole without getting behind in memorizing sets. For the musical aspect, I created folders with the music that needed to be memorized, scales that needed to be learned, and practicing techniques that were to be practiced outside of class. It was something that I wish my section leader had provided for me.</p>

<p>Band is more than just a class filled with notes and rhythms, it’s a family. It’s where I found my high school niche, somewhere I belong and can be myself. It’s full of people from every stereotype that like you for who you are and have a passion for music. Being able to help inspire others to go outside of the norm and be the best that they can be not only in marching band, but out in the real world, is the greatest honor of a section leader, however, the job as a section leader is never over. You can expect me to be at next year’s band camp helping the incoming freshman.</p>

<p>Word count: 629</p>

<p>Is this too long?</p>

2

<p>Without checking, pretty sure there is a 150 word count max in addition to the 1,000 character max. You’ve got 629 words and over 3,500 characters (spaces count). So yes, it is too long. You don’t upload this piece – you cut and paste into the CA. It will be cut off. Take your last paragraphs and work into these limits. </p>

<p>Also, if you start with “We need more cowbell!” you may get the admissions folks to laugh. Old SNL skit.</p>

3

<p>What Dukes21 said, I think you misread the 1000 CHARACTER limit. It means every letter, space, punctuation mark counts as 1. Not a word limit.</p>

4

<p>You have a lot of good material to work off of.</p>

<p>Just try to include your key points, and part of your intro. It’s a real grabber. : )</p>

5

<p>Thanks, i definitely missread the prompt. Fixing it asap! As for the cowbell, i’ll see if i can get it in there somehow. Thanks for your iputs!</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC App</p>

6

<p>Editing this was painful. Here’s the result:</p>

<p>Crack! Crack! Goes the cowbell. “Mark time, march!” screams the drum major. Swish, swish, swish goes our feet. Freshman year I enrolled into the marching band program offered at our school. There was a lot of music to memorize, scales to learn, and marching techniques that absolutely needed to be imprinted in our muscles. Because I went into the program blind, I decided that would never happen to incoming freshman during my senior year.</p>

<p>As section leader I attended before and after rehearsal meetings regarding the goal our group needed to accomplish. I made sure that the group stayed on task and completed those tasks together. Just by being energetic, eager, and active, fellow band mates were also acting the same. Those attitudes made us accomplish a lot in a small amount of time. For the musical aspect, I created folders with the music that needed to be memorized and scales that could be practiced outside of class. It was something that I wish my section leader had provided.</p>

7

<p>I admittedly know nothing about marching bands or section leaders but I tried to capture your thoughts…but not sure. You are wasting characters on your “sounds” at the start. You only have so very few words to tell the reader that you are a leader and passionate about this EC. I really liked your last paragraph so I kept it in!</p>

<p>"As a section leader of my school’s marching band, it was (or is??) my responsibility to make sure that the group stayed on task. Just by being energetic, excited, and running to my drill set, I was able to make a positive impact on the rest of the members. For the musical aspect, I was the first section leader (?) that created folders with the music that needed to be memorized, scales that needed to be learned, and practicing techniques that were to be practiced outside of class.</p>

<p>Band is more than just a class filled with notes and rhythms, it’s a family. It’s where I found my high school niche, somewhere I belong and can be myself. It’s full of people from every stereotype that like you for who you are and have a passion for music. Being able to help inspire others to go outside of the norm and be the best that they can be not only in marching band, but out in the real world, is the greatest honor of a section leader. You can expect me to be at next year’s band camp helping the incoming freshman."</p>

8

<p>So in this section we just elaborate on an extra curricular activity and tell its significance to us? For example could I talk about a work experience and explain all that it has taught me about the real world?</p>

9

<p>@hear Yup, that is exactly what the short answer is about. Remember the limit is only 1000 characters though, so use your words wisely!</p>

<p>@Oblivia Your new product is lacking something really important that your original essay had: what band meant to you and what it made you realize/learn from the experience. While your new product is ok, the second paragraph just lists what you did. You should still mention what you did, but add more you to it, something that reveals your personality or leadership abilities.</p>

10

<p>Just to point something out, I wouldn’t be too creative in this short of a prompt. Leave that for the main essay — in this one, develop the significance of an extra curricular and how it has shaped you as a student, thinker, and person.</p>

11

<p>Good points! I will revise it again.</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC App</p>

12

<p>:o I made the same mistake lol…started writing 1000 words, went halfway, then realized the mistake.</p>