<p>If you have an extracurricular that's just like "calligraphy" or "linguistics" or something without a club, award, competition, research, or even any sort of community involvement, is it still a valid EC, so long as you explain your interest and pursuits adequately? Because for me, most of my ECs are just like studying subjects or practicing things that are interesting - is this okay?</p>
<p>If yes, how will they know what I'm capable of if my only proof is a description, and who says I'm not lying?</p>
<p>Same here, more or less.
My EC’s include languages too. If they need proof, you can provide them with a certificate which assesses your level in that language. Or are you autodidact? If so, you should take the appropriate examinations to have certificates that substantiate your claims.</p>
<p>Any extracurricular activity in which you’ve participated is a “valid EC.” You don’t need to have won awards in your extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>However, to the extent that you can, it’s always a good idea to have the individuals who write your letters of recommendation address some of your interests and activities. For instance, your school counselor should be able to talk about your participation in school-based extra-curricular activities. If you have substantial interests outside of school, you might consider asking for a supplementary letter from someone who can write about the depth of those interests. </p>
<p>Another way to document your EC is to provide a portfolio or an internet link that provides evidence of your work. Take the OP’s example of calligraphy: If this is your area of interest, it would make sense to create a website displaying an electronic portfolio of your work. In that case, you could easily insert the html address in your application.</p>
<p>I agree with Ayouchi that whenever possible, you should try to document the claims you make in the application.</p>
<p>^ Don’t send in copies of awards, certificates, etc. Sit down with the individuals who will write your letters of recommendation, and ask them to address your strengths in their letters.</p>
<p>Oh oooh…too late! I already have my recommendations from the teachers but they don’t know of my language or activity curriculum outside the school so they wrote nothing about that…Is this too bad?>.<
[furthermore i will not be in my home country, until the end of this year so i cannot ask them for new ones]</p>
<p>^ No, you’ll be fine. There are other ways for you to discuss your extracurricular activities:</p>
<ul>
<li>Talk with your MIT interviewer about them</li>
<li>Add some information to the MIT application about them, if you like (there should be a section for extra bits you’d like to add)</li>
</ul>
<p>And even this is probably not necessary unless your ECs are really noteworthy. For example, you certainly don’t need to provide evidence that you enjoy reading science fiction, or that you love to cook and invent your own recipes, or that you participate in a model airplane club, or that you like to knit clothing.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you claim to have achieved something really noteworthy in your ECs, it’s helpful to support the claim. For example, you don’t need to document knitting as a hobby unless you have taken knitting to some unusual level. Let’s say you claim to have established a non-profit venture, recruited volunteers, purchased a bunch of knitting machines and have knitted hundreds of warm sweaters and blankets for the Red Cross or some other charitable group. This is the sort of claim that might need some documentation, like a link or a supporting letter.</p>
<p>What about achieving a B2 level (upper intermediate-expert) in a couple of languages or participating in organizations like the Red Cross of other local ones…does this need documentation? (at least for the language level…i see it as a bold claim)</p>
<p>Btw thank you CalAlum for your answers (for a moment i panicked there >.<)</p>
<p>^ Wouldn’t the language level be evident on your transcript? That also seems like the sort of thing the school counselor would address in his/her recommendation.</p>
<p>If not, and if proficiency in languages is one of your strongest skills and something you want to highlight in the application, then you could either take the AP tests in those languages and submit the scores or just ask for a supplemental letter of recommendation from one of your language instructors. And as noted above, you could also just talk with your MIT interviewer about languages.</p>
<p>Nope it isn’t. In my transcript I have only french but I have also learned by private means italian and german and i have taken proper examinations to prove my level in those languages.
And my instructors are not high school teachers. I only did 3 months with a private italian teacher before I entered the examination (since i am autodidact i was quiet advanced myself, i just needed to polish a little) Whereas german, i am learning it in a course, and let’s just say my teachers change every month so i suspect they wouldn’t be appropriate. Plus I am an international so I can’t do the AP’s. (i hope i can get an interview though)</p>
<p>So all I’m left to do is just stressing about them on the essays…although if they do not accept documents for proof, it may look suspicious or they simply will not empower my app.</p>