Extracurricular Help

<p>On the common app, it asks for what the extracurricular is and when you participated in it, including school year/summer break.</p>

<p>For one of my ECs, I have done it year round since freshmen year. Sometimes not during summer break though.</p>

<p>9th: School Year
10th: School Year and Summer Break
11th: School Year
12th: School Year and Summer Break most likely.</p>

<p>How do I go about filling this EC out?</p>

<p>Would it be alright if I just say I worked during the school year and summer break? It technically asks when you participated so I did participate during those times at points.</p>

<p>I should just subtract from the weeks right? approximately?</p>

<p>Can someone please help me with this question?</p>

<p>I think you can just put an estimate of when you started the EC and then of how many hours you spend on it during an average week. I doubt most people actually take the time to acknowledge the lack of activity during summers in their ECs.</p>

<p>Yeah but if I just check off the summers, then it would conflict with what I’m actually doing this summer.</p>

<p>I don’t want them to think that I am lying you know? I work at this EC alot and if it doesn’t match up, they might think oh this kid is probably just lying…</p>

<p>Would it be smart to submit an additional “resume” that just clarifies my ECs?</p>

<p>magentaturtle, there’s no one right answer to your question. You need to do whatever you think conveys most clearly what you did. This can include (but doesn’t have to) adding a resume in the “additional info” section of the Common App. Another possibility is to average your participation out, as emberjed suggests. Some students who devote significantly more time to an activity during the summer than they do during the school year choose to list the activity twice, once as a school-year activity, and once as a summer activity. If you go that route, you will just check off the appropriate summers (10th and 12th grades) for the summer listing. For the academic year listing you would check off all four years. If you do that, however, you will be devoting two of your available lines on the Common App to this one activity, which can be a problem if you have many activities that you want to include.</p>

<p>Also, I notice that you mention “12th: School Year and Summer Break most likely.” Are you currently a rising senior? If so, your 12th grade summer is the one you are in the middle of right now. For application purposes, you are in your 12th grade summer the day after you graduate from 11th grade.</p>

<p>It’s wonderful that you have been seriously devoted to an activity for so many years. Good luck with your applications!</p>

<p>Ooh, interesting…</p>

<p>Would it be alright to add a resume to my additional info that only includes ECs? Or would that seem unprofessional as resumes tend to address other things as well (awards, etc.).</p>

<p>I don’t have many awards. Thus, I believe the space offered by the Common App is enough.</p>

<p>Also, by attaching the resume, would they be annoyed cause all I really want to do is clarify a situation. Would they find it annoying that I’m essentially repeating every single EC and only stating one additional thing?</p>

<p>I wouldn’t attach a resume if it’s not going to provide more detail in a significant way. Just clarifying one EC probably isn’t worth attaching a resume for. Just go for one of the Common App solutions mentioned.</p>

<p>You also have a short statement about 1 EC, why not use that one.</p>

<p>Cause that EC “essay” is not really supposed to be used to elaborate on a EC’s schedule haha.</p>