<p>About the books changing your life thing, I know someone who wrote their essay for Tufts on how “Confessions of a Shopaholic” changed her life.</p>
<p>She got waitlisted @ Tufts and is now going to Northwestern…</p>
<p>"I strongly doubt that there are “hidden” extracurriculars that matter to selective colleges.</p>
<p>It’s amusing reading the posts on this topic, and I hope that those looking for ideas of how to strengthen their college applications play it safe and focus on real extracurriculars. And what are those real extracurriculars? I’m sure everyone knows."</p>
<p>Well aren’t you up on your high horse. It seems your wrong as well as self-absorbed and stuck up - seeing at the person who posted this seems to know what they’re talking about. Why don’t you go back to editing your newspaper and running for president of the asian awareness club and all the rest of your ‘real’ ECs.</p>
<p>can starcraft II count? i put in hours and hours of practice, watching replays and studying strategy.</p>
<p>I learn Russian and Hebrew in my spare time.</p>
<p>I used to be a prominent and veteran member on this online community (Whyville, if anyone’s ever heard of it or played it). I stopped playing back in freshman year, but back when I was a member, I had articles written for their newsletters and worked as a newbie helper 
I wish I stuck with it, that sounds like something that would be one of these hidden ECs. The site was full of educational games and stuff too, so I wasn’t just “wasting” my time :D</p>
<p>Anyway, in my spare time, I love to play typing games. I spend a lot of my time on play.typeracer.com and I average about 110 words per minute and my fastest is 138wpm. Is this something that’s worth listing as a “hidden” EC? I’m only doubting it, because I believe there are a lot of people who could type just as fast and even faster than me. Plus, how impressive can typing be? lol</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I am going to be a senior,</p>
<p>I have 10 -12 AP and Honors classes,</p>
<p>I have been doing track and field for all 3 years. I have A’s and B’s. But I got 1 c in pascal junior year. I got B’s and one c junior year because I got a seizure in the middle of the year. I am in Physics and Chem club. Math team. National French Honors Society. I am really into Architecture. My dad works for a French Bank. BNP Paribas so He goes around the world. He gets me pictures of various buildings and monuments. I have traveled in India and America and Ive been to France and seen the monuments and buildings and there. My Dad got me pictures and buildings from Taiwan, Australia, singapore. Ive Benn drawing buildings and been makking models since I was 5. Do I have a chance at MIT or Princeton or Other good universities? I also have participated in lot of soup kitchens. I helped lead a food drive and cloth drive at my church iv taught catholic education. Ive volunteered at my church. Ive volunteered at the library at the hospital. I have over 130 hours volunteer work. Do I have a shot at mit or princeotn or other good colleges? I also have been playing violin since I was 8.</p>
<p>I people-watch. That’s definitely a “hidden” extracurricular. I’m sure I could whip up a detailed report on my findings from the past couple of years to make it a legitimate EC, especially if I plan to study sociology, anthropology, or psychology. :D</p>
<p>Basketball at a park…Been 36-0 since I entered high school. Write NBA articles on Bleacher reports analyzing players, creating trade scenarios, etc…Funny thing is that my ideas would pop onto ESPN in a couple of days…</p>
<p>Ummmm does xbox count?</p>
<p>Running. I have ran a couple 10 mile competitions, about four half-marathons and one marathon last year (placed 3rd in my Age ). I hope this helps on my college admissions…any essay suggestions? I’m debating on whether to write about running the marathon or the process it took (training, etc)</p>
<p>I can name every weed in your garden. Blindfolded. =P Though I doubt that I should include that on any application. I also edit videos and websites on occasion for fun. I’m editing a soon-to-be published book. That’s about it.</p>
<p>I wrote my entire essay on the nerdy things that I do, like Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, and video games. I thought I put a nice spin on it.</p>
<p>I had felt that the rest of the application wasn’t enough about me and more the things I had done and achieved. I decided they would either accept me or reject me for who I was, with a full picture.</p>
<p>I’m a private pilot who flies small Cessna 152s.
Would this be something worth mentioning or does it just look like a “fancy driving license”?</p>
<p>I am passionate about it and plan on going into Aeronautical engineering. Not sure how i can tie these two together though :)</p>
<p>How about Journalling? DD has kept journals since seventh grade, starting handwritten and now typed/printed/pasted into spiral notebooks totalling over 2000 pages. She can tell you who was going out and when, what was her swim workout, and how she felt about the important things. She is a keen and insightful observer of social behavior (and her own), and an excellent writer. I’m thinking yes on the EC’s.</p>
<p>How about hosting a foreign exchange student and helping him learn English and adjust to the US? I started a thread to ask this, but this might be a better place. Short of writing an essay about it, is there any way to include it in an application?</p>
<p>Oh, and I would definitely put in the pilot thing, CanadianAviator. It really helps you stand out. A few years ago, several very similar kids applied to the same HYPSM school from our high school. All of them were stellar students, athletes and all around championship kids. The only one who was accepted was the one with the pilot’s license.</p>
<p>I helped out quite extensively with a family friend with a child with Down Syndrome (the kid’s aunt was dating my father.) I babysat at a reduced rate, visited frequently, mentored the kid teaching him some basic functioning skills like how to play with others (helping out at his birthday parties was a BLAST), teaching him how to read, ect. Unfortunately the whole relationship came to an end about a year ago when my father and his aunt had a very nasty break-up. I’m not sure how to approach this in my app-- I want to mention it because I spent about 60 hours a year mentoring the kid, would love to put it down for community service because it prevented me from doing other activities–but it was such a weird relationship that I’m not sure how to explain it, there’s almost no verification, and it ended so abruptly (we tried for about a month after the breakup, and then my father forbade me from ever seeing the family/communicating with them again.) How should I word this?</p>
<p>I’m thinking of putting it in my app as Mentor to Special Needs Family Friend (Grades 9, 10, 11)
Assisted with daily life activities, taught to read, babysat at reduced rate for five-year old family friend with Down Syndrome.</p>
<p>Should I put the kid’s name or a reference number to make it seem more legitimate?</p>
<p>I spent about 2-3 years dancing hip hop with a local Chinese school and we always performed for all local charity events. I probably have hundreds of hours of practice and performances throughout the year. It was mostly a hobby and something I did with my friends. I never really thought of it as a college-worthy E.C.</p>
<p>Would this be a “hidden” EC? My mom has had back, knee, and other health problems since I was in 9th grade. I’ve had to pretty much run the house throughout high school because of it. Is this something I could mention somewhere? It does take a lot of time, and it’s a main reason why I’m not in more club activities (most of my ECs are done on my own).</p>
<p>I also basically planned my family’s vacation to Ireland. I picked out where we would go, booked hotels, etc. I was the only one who had been overseas before so they let me do it all, haha.</p>
<p>Would this help at all or will it look somewhat bad?</p>
<p>Created/founded 2 high school clubs, but they had to be closed because everyone wanted to usurp my position as president.</p>
<p>This is actually serious though. Should add that i made several attempts to start a club? Or will it look bad that everyone who wanted to join wanted to become an officer or the president and tried to steal away my club?</p>
<p>(yes, my HS is like that…)</p>