<p>I have some questions about what can be counted as an extracurricular. I didn't go to a traditional high school so there weren't any extracurricular activities offered at the school, however I did things such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>ran a popular website by myself for all 4 years of high school</li>
<li>went on a trip to Japan with People to People</li>
<li>ran 3x a week as a hobby and completed a half marathon</li>
<li>taught myself languages</li>
<li>held a job for 3 years</li>
</ul>
<p>I graduated in 2010 and some of these things were after high school. Which of them, if any, counts as an extracurricular that I could list on an application?</p>
<p>All things are possible, but not all things are profitable.</p>
<p>Start with EC’s that you have most invested in. Job for 3 years is good, even if is just to show that you held down a job to earn money.</p>
<p>When choosing what to list an EC, ask yourself “what’s the long-term significance to you?” If the p2p trip prompted you to learn Japanese on your own, and now you are conversant in Japanese, then that combination is worth talking about. If you ran 3x per week, and did a 1/2 marathon, and numerous 5k and 10k runs, then talk about that.</p>
<p>It is not just “what you did”, but “what did you do with it”.</p>
<p>They are all ECs - and none of them have to have a result. If running daily is an important part of your life, it’s an EC, whether or not you do marathons or other races. If you have mastered a language, that’s impressive (and ideally, but not necessarily, evidenced by your SAT II score in that area). If you are an artist, repair cars in your free time, are an avid gardener, take care of siblings after school while parents work - these are all ECs and they tell the adcoms who you are and what you bring to your community. That’s what they want to know. If you are applying to the most selective schools, they will also want to see evidence of achievement and impact, but most schools just want to know that you are engaged productively outside of school.</p>
<p>The only one that gives me pause is the trip to Japan. Trips are generally not ECs, but I don’t know enough about People to People to comment on whether that was some kind of achievement or significantly long term enough to warrant consideration. The question is, what if anything does it say about you to admissions? (What most trips say is “my family has money and free time.” Not an important message.)</p>
<p>Yes, they are technically activities- but I agree with OD: what do they add up to, what do they show about you that the college wants, how do they reflect the contributions you will make to the campus community? It may not matter, depending on the colleges you’ll apply to.</p>
<p>MM- is there a SAT II test in Russian? That is my primary language of study but the last time I checked, there wasn’t.</p>
<p>Generally I would agree with you that trips don’t count, but I feel like People to People is worth mentioning somewhere on my application. The students on the trips are student ambassadors who learn a lot about the importance of respect and understanding between all nations. The trips include many experiences that regular tourists don’t usually get. Maybe this is not fit for the EC section, but it would at least be worth talking about in the writing section, right?</p>
<p>HS kids do include P2P in ECs. Not sure I’d make it the main essay, though- adcoms will know what the program is. And, they’ll be looking for some sense of your current strengths, who you are now, your recent growth. The trip must have been about 3 years ago, right? Unless that trip in hs directly influenced what you have done since, what you have accomplished and your college goals.</p>
<p>Yeah, the trip was actually 4 years ago and wasn’t a direct influence on my current activities or interests. So I guess I will list it as an EC and write about something else Thanks again!</p>
Thanks again!</p>