<p>Obviously you're not "allowed" to falsify information on your activity sheet. But what if i do? I have literally no activities or awards or community related stuff besides getting honor roll all 3 years. I was thinking it would be of no harm just to add things like "diabetes walk at ..."or "volunteer at ..." etc. Nothing that my school would have record of wheter or not i actually participated in those activites.</p>
<p>Are you serious?!</p>
<p>First of all, if the activity is so insignificant that no records exist then it will likely have no impact on your application. In addition, colleges do occasionally call high schools to audit information on applications and you never know who at your high school will answer the phone (it just might be the organizer of the diabetes walk).</p>
<p>Finally, a word about integrity. If you are accepted after lying, you will never know if your admission resulted from a lie. Some people would not have a problem with this manner of acceptance. I hope you are not this type of person - there are already too many of them in the world.</p>
<p>So is it better that i hand in a blank activity sheet?</p>
<p>If all you did after school was homework and hang out with friends, then hand in a blank activity sheet.</p>
<p>How did you spend your weekends and school breaks? Did you have unusual family responsibilities during the school year? Did you organize informal activities among your friends? Have you developed any specialized skill (musical instrument, odd jobs, other passions)?</p>
<p>Adcoms simply want to know who you are and what motivates you. Usually these things are reflected in how you spend your time, even if it isn’t a highly structured, formal organization.</p>
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<p>Yes . . it’s better to leave it blank rather than be caught in a lie.</p>
<p>FWIW: Colleges look to your teachers to detail your scholastic abilities AND to confirm the activities that you have participated in at your high school. One of my son’s teachers gave him a copy of his recommendation letter and nearly a third of letter detailed his participation in various school activities. You don’t want to have your teachers say one thing about you while you are blowing smoke all over the place.</p>
<p>Along the same inquiry as rmldad made: Even if you went home and played video games all day at your computer . . . you could turn that into some activity about on-line participation in video gaming. I’m sure if you think about it, you have extracurricular activities, or a job, or helping out with your family that you could put down, so as to not leave it blank.</p>
<p>Don’t sweat it… a lot of high school ECs are overrated. What does Key Club do that is really meaningful?</p>
<p>So what do you do after school? Let us help you spin this without lying. Do you take care of younger siblings? A grandparent? Do you cut lawns? Tutor? Play D&D or Settlers? Have you watched every D. W. Griffith film or read every Louis L’Amour book?</p>
<p>I agree – starting off intentionally lying on your application is not ideal and might say a great deal about your character. What do you do with your free time? Do what cbrand says and take a spin on what you do. Even if what you do is play video games – maybe there is a certain game that you are at some high level on? (I don’t know video games, sorry).</p>
<p>Lying isn’t a good idea at all. You are probably going to get confused during an interview and trip yourself up anyway. Never a good idea to lie on any application…college, job etc.</p>
<p>Is it too late to join anything?
Do you have a job?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s any different from falsifying grades or scores. It’s not a misrepresentation, it’s a lie. I imagine an acceptance could and would be rescinded for falsifying any information on which your application is being evaluated. I think it would be far more prudent - although the ethics are still questionable - to spin some aspects of your real life to make them more substantial or meaningful. But don’t invent. And don’t say you were somewhere you weren’t. There’s nothing you could lie about that substantial enough to influence your admissions chances anyway. </p>
<p>You could be honest and use this as an opportunity. In an essay or the additional info section, describe how you didn’t know what to do because you were afraid to turn in a blank activity sheet, and you debated how to handle it … but you were brave enough to do the right thing. If you craft a good narrative about a moral dilemma it could be impressive. I’m assuming the rest of your application is good of course.</p>
<p>My last thought is that you’re entering into a contractual relationship with the college you attend. I would not engage in any kind of deceitful behavior that you wouldn’t find acceptable from the college. How would you respond if they invented a bunch of opportunities, a curriculum or a faculty roster and you chose the school believing these lies? This goes for all our relationships, whether with individuals, colleges, employers, etc. It’s the basis of a functional society.
Don’t do it.</p>
<p>A lot of great ideas, thanks guys. Basically half my day consists of me taking care odd my two year old sister and playing COD. That is all i do l, i know its sad</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put COD on but caring for a very young sibling is something to include. It takes responsibility and patience. It helps support your family which is a worthy activity. </p>
<p>I agree with the others. Don’t lie. The world is not as big as you think.</p>
<p>Hi, while on this topic of false information I have a problem that has really been bugging me for the past few days. On the position field for one of my activities I put co-president instead of vice-president and I don’t know what I should do about it.</p>
<p>tenmore- don’t do it again and learn from your mistake.
The title will make no difference in admissions.
Kudos for being concerned about the inaccurate information and seeking advice on how to correct it.</p>
<p>Caring for a sibling for that many hours will go a long way to explaining why you don’t have any EC’s. Make sure that is listed in your activities, with all the hours that it entailed. You might make a note of this in the additional information section, why you had to help your parents. It does seem like you should have had time for some contribution or self improvement though.</p>
<p>I completely agree with BrownParent. Make sure that is listed in your activities, with all the hours that it entailed.</p>
<p>And don’t take our word for it; listen to the man who has been dean of Admissions at Harvard for the past 40 years:
<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/harvarddean-part3/[/url]”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/harvarddean-part3/</a></p>
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<p>If caring for your sibling counts as an extracurricular activity for Harvard, it’s good enough for any college!</p>
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<p>I think this was an incredibly unkind thing to say. Not everyone comes from a privileged family where they have the luxury of whittling away their time playing lacrosse. Many students have obligation to their families and it sounds like the OP is one of them.</p>
<p>It has been a while, but I remember all too well how time consuming it was to take care of a baby/toddler. OP, you are not pathetic. You just have to realize that the work you did has value. Personally, I can’t imagine going to school all day, coming home to care for a child and then having to do homework. That is a lot to ask of a teenager.</p>
<p>Don’t lie OP. You mentioned you cared for your younger sibling. Put that as an extracurricular/volunteer work. </p>
<p>Look and see if you can still join a club or organization. Maybe you can build up some volunteer hours at a local church, animal shelter or food bank. Maybe you can find a job.</p>
<p>It was rough for me also with EC’s but I had a couple of jobs(1 on campus), I joined a club, and have some volunteer work including babysitting, and assisting teachers.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot cbrand, i appreciate your support</p>