<p>I wish I could partake in these things like I used to, but here are/were some of mine:</p>
<ol>
<li>I post on a variety of problemsolving and philosophy forums for fun.</li>
<li>I could solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded under 1 minute (memorization and execution included) and could speedsolve one (sighted) in under fifteen seconds. Nowadays I am much slower because I “retired” from the hobby years ago.</li>
<li>I’m an avid gamer – you name it, I’ve played it and beaten it on the hardest modes (only exception: A game called “I Wanna Be The Guy,” which nobody has beaten on Impossible. I’ve beaten it on Very Hard, though)! I’ve entered and won a variety of tournaments for various games such as Smash Brothers, DDR/ITG, first-person-shooters, etc.</li>
<li>I dabble in programming languages/foreign languages in spare time. I’m also into hardware/overclocking.</li>
<li>I really, really enjoy cooking/baking even though I am not all that great at it.</li>
<li>Have beaten a variety of famous online computer/metariddle “challenge” sites (Notpron, Zest, etc) all the way through, in addition to finishing most of Project Euler (a programming/math challenge gauntlet).</li>
<li>I’m a very voracious reader and huge movie buff.</li>
<li>I am a tea and macaron fanatic and like to sample as many varieties as I can.</li>
<li>I am utterly obsessed with techno/trance/DnB music and have a collection that exceeds 1.5 TB.</li>
<li>I used to collect hot sauces when I was younger (the hottest I’ve ever tried was around 8 million Scoville units and wouldn’t dare touch anything over that).</li>
<li>At the beach, a big hobby of mine was making really large/intricate sandcastles.</li>
</ol>
<p>While some of my D’s pastimes may not make it onto her application, they will go onto the “Parents Brag Sheet” that will be sent to those writing recommendations for her. These include her learning to identify constellations, reading Arthur C. Clarke, and activities she does with her family such as Geocaching. She’ll be pursuing physics and astronomy, btw. (I wonder if there’s a thread on 'things to give to recommendation letter-writers.)</p>
<ol>
<li>Keep up with my long distance girlfriend of a year. </li>
<li>Game. Call of Duty or Halo </li>
<li>Cook</li>
<li>Catch up on classic/great movies</li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve never understood why people consider ECs to only be clubs/sports…</p>
<p>Among mine:
Webmaster & Forum Administrator of established LotR community
Computer & Web Programming
Music Recording
Reading… I’ve read hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds. Mostly classic literature</p>
<p>etc…</p>
<p>I was considering putting my fanaticism with Eric Clapton down, but I think I’m going to write my essay on that. :p</p>
<p>What’s so bad about Dungeons and Dragons in an adcom’s eyes? My son and his friends spend a lot of time playing, creating and balancing new character classes, etc. I think it’s very intellectual and creative work that they do, actually, and to me seems at least as “good” as reading every Agatha Christie novel in existence. Is this really a “poisonous” topic to avoid? Even if applying to “geek schools” (MIT, RPI, etc.)? My S was never planning to list it as an EC, but it might turn up in an essay, unless it’s something he should really avoid.</p>
<p>I’m probably putting this on my application, but I’d like some input.</p>
<p>Royal Canadian Air Cadets? I did it for 3-4 years actively, it involves fund-raising, flight instruction, debate, leadership opportunities, athletics.</p>
<p>I successfully co-piloted 3 flights as well. Just wondering if top tier (ie Ivys) colleges would find this interesting?</p>
<p>I doubt anyone else applying would have this on their app, because most kids who do Air Cadets apply to the Royal Canadian Military College.</p>
<ol>
<li>blogging about Chinese food (which may expand to just all cooking)</li>
<li>biking (I actually bike around 3 or 4 hours a week)</li>
<li>CC!!!</li>
</ol>
<p>Just kidding. But seriously, are the first two golden?</p>
<p>Hi there, I love this post; it’s really helpful, especially since I’ve been wondering what I can use as ECs.</p>
<p>So the three things I really, really like to do are:
-play the guitar. I’ve played for almost 6 years now, which includes lessons with guitar teachers, etc. However, I’m not in a band or anything - guitar is something I do just for plain old fun
-read classical books, especially Jane Austen (read all of her books), Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte (its so sad she only wrote one book), Harper Lee, and Mary Shelley.
-talk to people across the country. I speak to people my age in various parts of the world (like Italy, Greece, Russia, etc) via email and regular mail (penp pals!), which is a topic I’ll probably use for an essay lolz</p>
<p>So what do you think? Could I use those for ECs?</p>
<p>I was mostly just kidding when I said to be wary of D&D, but there actually was a time-- more than a couple decades ago–when D&D participation was probably at an all-time high on college campuses, and many professors and administrators were concerned about students who were obsessed with it and were thus neglecting studies and what they felt were more worthwhile pursuits. </p>
<p>My best guess is that, today, most admission committees wouldn’t be apt to view D&D truly negatively but few (perhaps only those who were once obsessed themselves in the 80’s ;)) would see it as a plus on an application.</p>
Thanks, that would have been my original intuition. I just wanted to make sure that if it happens to come up in some sideways manner it’s not going to be a major negative.</p>
<p>NBA playoffs Drive to the finals fantasy game?
4 years and counting
8th-finished in 75% percentile worldwide
9th-top ten finish in my league of 50 people and finished in 92% percentile worldwide
10th-rank 1 of 50 people in my league and finished in 97% percentile worldwide
11th-rank 5 of 70 in my league and finished in 95% percentile worldwide
So does this EC count???</p>
<p>I have done a lot of work with electric guitars. I have built my own custom ones, restored one from the 80’s, and done much other maintenance and upgrade work to other guitars including replacing the electronics multiple times. </p>
<p>I turned this hobby into a little business of mine and have started doing set ups, restringing, and electronics swaps for friends guitars. I think it is pretty unique.</p>
<p>I’m a master Oregon Trail player. I’ve read every Jodi Picoult book (heh). I spent several years writing parody and original plays. I’ve memorized the stage version of “The Phantom of the Opera.” </p>
<p>I didn’t put any of these on my application, but I like them because I am a nerd. :D</p>
</li>