I’m planning on applying to top-tier universities for the fall of 2007 (I’m an incoming junior this year) and I was checking up on my extracurriculars, which seem sort of little compared to everyone else on CC. I was wondering if anybody had some ideas about places I could improve in the next two years to make it into some of those top-tier schools (my dream school would be Stanford).
Lacrosse 10-12, JV 10th grade, JV captain or Varsity 11th, Varsity 12th
Breaking Down the Walls leader 10-12
KEY Club 9-12, volunteer project chair 11, hopefully president 12 (for the first two years, i have about 100 hours of service)
Teens over Coffee Club President + Founder 11-12 (discuss current events)
Mu Alpha Theta member 9-12 (though not an active member in the club, I am technically IN the club)
CSF 10-12 (again, not an active member)
Mars Hill Club 10-12, founding member (Christian club)
Interact Club 9-12, about 25 hours of service in past 2 years
Volunteer at the Art & Wind Festival each year 9-12 (15 hrs total first two yrs)
Work Experience 10th grade (whole year) as tutor at tutoring center (Kumon)
Volunteer at Primo’s Run for Education Carboload every year 9-12 (20 hrs total)
City Teen Council hopefully 11-12
Citylights volunteer 9-12 (30 hrs first two years)
Volunteer tutor for English in China 10 (2 weeks)
As you can see, the majority of my ECs are community service/academic related, with only one sport. Any ideas for what else I should do? I do have a piano but I’m not very musical and haven’t played since about the 4th grade. I’m also not that athletic, though I can play lacrosse pretty well (although not well enough to get noticed by any colleges). I figure that I have the academics to be competitive for the top-tier universities and I should be able to get the recommendations as well as do well in the interviews, but my ECs don’t stand out as well as they should.
<p>I'm confused on extracurriculars too. I feel like my list is really small because I don't know what all qualifies... These are mine:
Community theatre (9, 10, 12?)
School shows (11, 12?)
Marching band (9-12) I am probably back field conductor this year
Wind Ensemble (10-12) solo E-flat clarinet
Concert Band (9) 1st chair clarinet
Concert Choir (10, 12)
Madrigals (12?)
Drama Club (9-12) vice pres/secretary (11), president (12)
Key Club (9-10)
CSF (9-12)
Game Club (10-12)</p>
<p>Do taking lessons outside of school count for ec's? Because if so I also have:
clarinet lessons (9-12)
voice lessons (10-12)
and dance lessons (jazz, tap, ballet) (11-12)
and I have given clarinet lessons (10-12)</p>
<p>How does it work with stuff that you expect to do in the coming year, but are not positive? For example, I am auditioning in August for a choral group, and later in the year for plays outside and in school. I don't know if I will get in. What do I put? I'm pretty confused on all of this...</p>
<p>I have no idea how it works... I really hope they do count it though because some of the stuff I am sure that I'm going to do my senior year (such as lacrosse), but it's in the spring which is way after I turn in applications. I know for Stanford, you put what you've done, but maybe somewhere you can add that you intend to continue with it?</p>
<p>Kriegz, thank you. So then do the lessons count? And since there are more than fit in the little "fill-in-the-blanks" area on the apps, should I put more in the "anything else you'd like to tell us" part? And what about the stuff I intend to do?</p>
<p>Here's what im doing (although my ECs are a tad weak):
I put my main ECs down of course, not any filler. My main EC is piano, so i wrote that down and used up more than one line in the honors or whatever column. Same for next EC, same for next (use lines as needed). I used the entire area, but took up the space describing my ECs. If you have alot of good ECs with awards and such (more than me obviously) then attach a resume. Stuff you intend to do can be included in the resume, otherwise i'd just avoid it.</p>
<p>Oh, and regarding the lessons: again, you can explain more thoroughly with a resume, but if you dont submit one, just write in "lessons in_________"</p>
<p>If I have some ECs that I only did for one year, should I put them down or leave them out? Would it make me look undedicated since I only did them for one year? Or do colleges prefer quantity of ECs?</p>
<p>depends. if you have nothing else...put them on. but colleges want to see committment (hours, grades participated in, accomplishments), not laundry lists...</p>
<p>your ECs look like a laundry list of cliched activities that everyone does simply for the sake of trying to impress an adcom. don't mean to be harsh or anything but they only seem impressive to your state school. find a theme and get the "wow factor." cure cancer if you have to. but there's nothing outstanding that makes you different from the other 20 thousand applicants with the same credentials. do something unusual that you have a passion for and dedicate yourself to it. 4 really good activities look better than 15 meaningless ones. so don't be concerned if your list is "small" or "little."</p>
<p>i hope i wasn't harsh i just don't know how else to say it.</p>
<p>Lacrosse (JV 10, JV captain--elected position or Varsity 11, Varsity 12)
KEY Club (9-10, Volunteer Project Chair -- elected position 11, President 12)
TOC Club (President + Founder 11-12, discuss current events, fundraise for needy)
Mars Hill Club (10-12, founding member, Christian club)
City Teen Council (11-12)
City Volunteer (9-12)</p>
<p>Total Volunteer Hours grades 9-10: 175</p>
<p>I don't know -- is there anything else I should get rid of? I had work experience and volunteering in a foreign country, but the work experience was only a year long and the volunteering in China thing was only half of a month.</p>
<p>The stuff that I do have left are things that I feel really passionate about. I love lacrosse - I spend roughly 14 hours a week on it during the season and roughly 7 hours a week on it during the off season. Also, I love volunteering, even though my hours are nowhere near that of some of my friends. I truly believe in making a difference through community service and I'm really involved in my city. I'm also a proud Christian and I believe that people should be more aware of the world they live in through current events, which is why I started the club in the first place.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help -- anything else I should add/delete/improve?</p>
<p>Oops I realized that I left out one of my most important ECs.</p>
<p>Breaking Down the Walls Leader (10-12, presentations in-class, lead the week-long program to help promote school unity and prevent things such as Columbine)</p>
<p>Bottom line is for Stanford and other top 5 schools, great ECs are going to be national level or highly unusual. A sport, unless you're recruitable, is just a nice, normal EC. The top schools look at acceptance to highly competitive, free summer programs (ala RSI), Seimens and Intel winners, national debate champions, raising significant money for a charity or starting one that has grown beyond your school, having a best selling book (2 current H students), being a movie star......</p>