Extracurriculars- are they good enough?

Applying to College
1

<p>Like most CC-ers, I'm applying to many of the top schools in the country. I understand that it is a combination of personality, academics, and extracurricular activities that secures your admission at a college. But if we just look at the extracurricular part- what's good enough?</p>

<p>Here's my resume-</p>

<p>-9 years in a regional choir (we travel throughout the world)
-Chorus and Orchestra, 4 yrs
-Head of Science Olympiad, Creative Writing club
-Cardio, Aerobics, Pilates programs after school
-Volunteered at Camp Invention 2 summers
-Volunteered with church, various venues
-Volunteered at many of the arts festivals in my city</p>

<p>-Summer 2010- Internship at the Institute for Autism Research as a research assistant
-tasks: scoring psych profiles, testing, observing classrooms</p>

<p>Jobs- 2007-present: Office Assistant at a physical therapy/primary care office
- Summer 2010-present: Cashier at Wegmans</p>

<p>So, as you can see, I play no sports. Will that kill my application, or are my activities good enough for those top schools?</p>

2

<p>No reason to panic.</p>

3

<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly. There is a thread with comments by NSM, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [How</a> Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]How”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) I don’t agree with everything in those articles, but take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some ideas.</p>

4

<p>Take a good look at the common app to understand how little space there is for ECs. In the end the most selective colleges are looking for students with a passion who used that passion to do something exceptional. If you can convey that you have, all the other ECs are unimportant.</p>

<p>And once you ave the stats it’s actually many things other than the three you list that play a large role-where you’re from, who else applies from your school and region to name 2.</p>