<p>What I mean by this question is that for EC what would be an ideal years for it. So like for example, I was in debate and model united nation for 2 years, but I was in varsity swimming for only one year. I heard that colleges want to see at least 2+ years of commitment, but would they even bother to see anything that is 1 year?</p>
<p>Everything you do outside of the classroom is relevant – even if it’s done for just a semester. Colleges look at your extra curricular activities to determine: </p>
<p>(1) what you’ve done with your time outside of the classroom,
(2) how well you have used the resources available to you
(3) whether you have made a commitment to your activities or whether you’re a dabbler </p>
<p>To quote one college about EC’s
So, yes colleges will “pay attention” to the swimming you did for one year. </p>
<p>FWIW: Colleges understand that students taking a rigorous course schedule must spend 3 to 4 hours a night on homework. That leaves about 20 hours a week to devote to extracurricular activities. When you complete your EC list, college’s ask you to list your EC’s in order of importance to you – and they seem to prefer students who have a commitment to an activity and spend 3-6 hours each week on several activities, rather than students who have a laundry list of activities that they spend one or two hours a week on. </p>
<p>The Bathroom test: Spend a week adding up the time you spend in the bathroom, including showering and using the toilet. I guarantee it adds up to more than one hour a week. Bottom line: you should not list an EC that takes up less time than using the bathroom! Anything that requires more time though is fair game.</p>
<p>@gibby Damn I have no valid ECs then since my Bathroom test is about 6 hours a week</p>
<p>@Kreig01 That sucks</p>
<p>Is this for real? I dont know whether this is a joke or not,… sorry</p>
<p>^^ Yes, I was (partially) kidding with the bathroom test. But . . . consider this: many students try to pad their extracurriculars by listing an activity that they’ve spent one (1) hour per week participating in. By comparison, most kids spend an hour per week using the bathroom. So, in reality, if you spend one hour per week on an EC, what does that say about you to an Admissions Committee? To me, it says the activity is superficial and you probably shouldn’t bother listing it, as the time-commitment was so insignificant by comparison to other things in life you do – and an Admissions Committee will most likely see through your effort to pad your EC list.</p>
<p>gibby,
Most Clubs are less than 1 hr per week.
But you point is Colleges don’t want to see a long list of clubs, etc as they are not dumb.
They want to see that you are selective and actively participated in the club/activity. There is no hours/week rule. If you list a club that you participated for 4 years, they would expect to see a leadership position.</p>
<p>Basically, Less is More.</p>
<p>
True . . . but you don’t have to list everything you did in high school on your EC list. You want to highlight the important activities – activities that you spent significant time on. As you said “Less is more.”</p>
<p>
You understand that MOST (85%) colleges don’t even care at all, right?</p>
<p>few years later, even farting would be considered as ECA. </p>
<p>@T26E4 You do know that that is completely false, right?</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats: Please enlighten me as I’m not in the habit of spreading falsehoods. Certainly the world of CC-type colleges is not typical. </p>
<p>So does EC matter ? Im kinda confused</p>
<p>^^ Most public colleges do not look at EC’s, so for most public schools, EC’s do not matter. For private colleges, the more selective the college, the more your EC’s will come into play. How much they matter is a topic that can be debated. This article details the basics: <a href=“http://college.usatoday.com/2011/12/22/college-admissions-importance-of-extracurricular-activities-in-high-school”>http://college.usatoday.com/2011/12/22/college-admissions-importance-of-extracurricular-activities-in-high-school</a></p>
<p>thank you so much for the comment!</p>
<p>In the big picture, admissions for most top schools are, (in my opinion… and top school doesn’t include ivy’s or ivy-like)
40% is SAT score
40% is GPA and rigor
20% is other
So, EC don’t carry much weight.<br>
Regarding EC’s… Less is More.</p>
<p>Thank you for the comment… I know that compared to sat and gpa EC carries less of an importance but like does committment or year dedication or both matter?</p>
<p>@TomsRiverParent , May I point out this reply by @gibby ?</p>
<p><a href=“2400 SAT vs. 35 ACT - YALE - #8 by gibby - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>2400 SAT vs. 35 ACT - YALE - #8 by gibby - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums;
<p>@T26E4
That is Yale,
If you read my comment my % split have to do with top schools that are Non-ivy.
btw, I highly doubt what the Yale admin guy is saying because how does he account for 2100+ on SAT gets admitted or seriously looked at. Yale or ivy probably have a threshold of 2100 on SAT before they start looking at other things. </p>