<p>^ I agree completely.</p>
<p>Great topic. I totally feel you as I’m currently at school in Taiwan.
Great quote, the one about Depth…</p>
<p>Any ideas on pursuing interests to depth?</p>
<p>
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<p>Yeah, I know exactly how it feels.</p>
<p>I think that in terms of ECs its important to show colleges that u tried a bunch of things but then streamlined into maybe one or two things in particular.
For eg. my ECs are:
- 3 years of MUN (in Paris, Athens, Dublin) - best delegate awards for each of them
- 3 years of being a peer tutor- award for being the best tutor.
- 1 year of forensics- winner of impromptu speaking and oral interpretation
- 1 year of coaching forensics impromptu speaking
- finalist in an independently run oral interp. competition
- 2 years of academic games - team captain and winner
- 1 year member of the conservation club
- co-editor of green-living magazine
- winner of business-leaders of Dubai competition</p>
<p>so like unis can tell that iv tried many different activities but decided not to pursue some of them like, #6 and 9. While they can also tell that activities such as #2,3,4,5 and #7,8 can be grouped together as the ones that i decided to pursue more actively.
Colleges like to see a trend in ECs while also seeing some diversity [i know how weird that sounds]. but like in my example, all of the ones i focus on the most have something to do with English or linguistics in general like tutoring it, public speaking, etc. But at the same time there is a lot of experienced diversity in each of them.</p>
<p>Hope that helped!</p>
<p>A college along with looking at your test scores and GPA is going to look for something extraordinary about you, something that separates you from a person who has the same grades as you or someone who has better scores than you. They are looking for someone who takes on extra roles that helps to build your personality and your character.</p>
<p>Sure a guy with a 4.6 GPA and a SAT score of 2200+ is great but that can only carry a distance till when they look at your extracurricular involvement and see that you have done only one activity for your whole high school years.</p>
<p>Hi!
I’m having the same problem.I did participate in ECs,but mine was a rural boarding school and there were no competitions as such.So,how are colleges gonna look a t my ECs.E.g. in my UIUC essay,I wrote about the plays we conducted in school.So,does that make the cut?</p>
<p>Well, there are EC’s in which accomplishments are soft i.e. you don’t have to win. 200 hours of community service at a temple can make both a good EC and a great leadership an teamworkessay, you don’t have to be a guru. </p>
<p>Positioning is key, whether you have an award or not, the why matters.</p>
<p>i also face the same problem.i am in india and my school is really focussed on academics.we have very few interschool competitions and almost no state or national level ones.so i have nothing to write in my ec list.</p>
<p>@karan In a highly academic school as ur’s, Science or maths Olympiads must be common rght?what abt them?</p>
<p>I am going to participate in the olympiads this year.The exam is in november. So how can I write that in my application without the results. Also the school doesn’t let 11th graders participate in olympiads. So I have nothing to show for the previous years.</p>
<p>Yup it’s the same with my school. But fortunately enough, although they do not encourage you profoundly, if you are keen on doing something good, they will not stop you. That’s mainly the reason why clubs and new ECs have thrived in our school in the last one year. And I still have a year in hand, so I have a hell lot of chance to actually do something.</p>
<p>The only drawback is mediocre infrastructure and limited facilities.</p>
<p>if at all we are mentioning olympiads as ec’s,what do u write in the time spent section?</p>
<p>You don’t list Olympiads in ECs but rather in Honors section. Because Olympiads is an test you sit for and not an activity that you spend time on daily/weekly/monthly basis. That is my understanding.</p>
<p>And how about accomplishments as in certificates awarded by government agencies appreciating your work in certain field? Don’t they look like smart ECs?</p>
<p>Plus, creating and selling off a website in lakhs of “rupees”?</p>
<p>Aren’t these good enough for a 17-year-old living in India? I know this is sort of common for guys there in US…</p>
<p>PS - I’m not bragging or anything, that’d be the last thing I’d do on so helpful a forum like this.</p>
<p>That is surely a gr8 EC if you intend to major in Computer engg or computer science.</p>
<p>There has been a prolong debate on whether the EC’s should be focused in one thing or little in every thing. Say hypothetically there is an applicant who is best( as in best in the whole country in 1 field) but doesn’t have anything else except that field and there is another guy who has awards( say state level) in 5 different fields. Which guy would have better chances( assuming all other parameters are equal)? </p>
<p>P.s Curious to know the name of the website thelazyprat?</p>
<p>Depth > Range. That’s what i’ve heard.</p>
<p>Straight from the MIT site: "Gleaned from countless sources now available, you realize we are seeking gifted students with both breadth and depth. "
[Thoughts</a> On The MIT Interview | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/thoughts_on_the_mit_interview]Thoughts”>Thoughts On The MIT Interview | MIT Admissions)</p>
<p>ECs:
- President prefectorial council(senior)
2.Chief Editor of the school magazine
3.Founder and chief editor of the science magazine
4.Director, Community Service Club - 5 years training in indian classical music with certified degree
6.International award for young people awarded by sheila dik****, chief minister of delhi - Research work in ‘economics of poverty alleviation’ in india
- Research work in’freen chemistry-benign by design’ presented in Venice, Italy at 7th international science conference.
9.volunteering at an ngo since 2 years. - Media head of the physics society as well as of Chemistry club.
- founder and chief editor of Yearbook </p>
<p>Are these ECs of mine sufficient?</p>
<p>@akap: your ECs suck at the most. I think you should apply to all community colleges. Who knows, maybe they’ll accept you.</p>