<p>There's a lot of threads on this site, and others like it, about extra curricular activities and how it's important in admissions to make one stand out from all the other candidates with just as good (or better) grades, test scores, workload, etc. It seems like the typical ps kid has lists of organizations or charities they've done community service with, or clubs they were presidents of, or sports teams they were captains of. And then I also read a lot about having a passion for a specific kind of EC to show that you're just not involved but "passionate and real". I guess what I'm trying to get at is: do I need an EC that I have a particular passion for? I'm very different from regular public schooled kids and even a lot of homeschoolers. I travel extensively, and between school work, all things that it takes to research, plan and execute all things related to my education, chores, jobs, family, friends, and life in general, I hardly have enough time to do "regular" ECs like sports, music, clubs or long-standing community service for one particular organization. I do do community service but it's not something I do on a regular once-a-week basis kind of thing. I mostly just pitch in whenever I can; when there's some kind of event going on, in and around, where I live I usually help, or with church activities, or nieghborly duties, or if there's anything in general that pops up that I'm able to lend my time and help. My extracurriculars are so varied and sporadic that I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage for not having something consistent. I read somewhere that colleges like to look at consistency in one's EC and the only things I've got that's consistent is my traveling, pilates, yoga, running, and reading (although I don't think that counts as an extracurricular, but I think it should). Should I pick something up right now that I should do on a regular basis? To tell the truth, I don't know how I'll manage to do that unless I cut some of my more regular activities back. Most likely traveling since it's so demanding on time and energy. Although, I'm not sure I'm willing do that because I like too much. Anyone here have any suggestions, comments? I appreciate any. Thanks.</p>
<p>I wonder if your travel could be an EC? Why do you travel so much? Do you do research on the places you go, visit historical sites, do volunteer work there, expand your vision of the world? Perhaps you already have a passion and just haven't recognized it as such.</p>
<p>My family moved around quite a bit when I was little. I also have family living in various places abroad and around the country. It's just something I sort of grew up doing. I travel mostly to visit friends and family, and out of curiosity. When I go places I do go visit some historical sites (usually things Ive been reading about), but I mostly like to enjoy the local life and my acquaintances. I talk to the locals, eat with them, and if there's a festival or some kind of event I'm mostly likely to join in. I like seeing how other cultures see things; its really amusing for me. Sometimes when I visit my relatives or family friends in Guam or the Philippines it strikes me how different I am from them even though I come from the same stalk. It makes me think how I would have turned out had I spent the rest of my childhood there. I also like to eat, literally, into the heart of places. If there's one thing I wish I could do, it's eating everything in the world, TWICE. What would colleges think about my traveling? I sometimes wonder if I should have been doing something more to show leadership, though I hardly know what. What do you think?</p>
<p>If you like eating, perhaps you could work at a restaurant; or, prehaps you could volunteer at a food kitchen. </p>
<p>Yes, your traveling would look favorable upon your transcripts, IMO. Colleges like to see variety, and in your case, you seem to have much. No offense to the regular PS students here, but their ECs seem quite generic, ie: president of spanish club, NHS) College officers see that everyday. World traveling will look impressive to ADCOMS.</p>
<p>Do you speak multiple languages? If so, having the quality will be beneficial. Keep up the good work!</p>
<p>I agree. Sometimes the things we think are completly mundane are the things that make us stand out. Travel is a big deal for you, now how passionate about it are you, and how are you going to demonstrate that? Do you keep a journal of your travels? A food journal? Submit articles for publication? Make movies? Your traveling certainly is unique, so how can you make the most of that situation for yourself? As a homeschooler, you have a lot of freedom to be creative and make things happen.</p>
<p>If you're looking for things to enhance your applications, be sure to look for things that actually enhance your life. I think college admissions people have pretty good sniffers for what is genuine and what is not. </p>
<p>As far as reading goes, keep a reading list. You'll be glad you have it to supplement your homeschool transcript.</p>
<p>I agree that traveling can be an EC. It sounds like this would be something best turned into an essay.</p>
<p>What about the pilates, yoga, running -- Do you take or give classes, compete in races, etc.? This could be an EC, too.</p>
<p>My daughter didn't do any regular job or organized "community service" either. But in the introduction to the explanation of the home study program provided to colleges, we described what she did do. Usually on application forms there is a spot where you can explain anything else you want, too.</p>
<p>If you do a lot of reading in a particular area outside of classes, even that could be turned into an EC. I remember that my daughter had one EC that was self-study of an area (music history). Basically, she had more than enough credits and what she did was largely listening and watching, so we didn't think it was really a "course."</p>
<p>Here's one of the advantages of homeschooling (sorry, traditional schoolers): everything is extra-curricular! So, traveling, running, pilate, yoga and reading can all be ECs. What type of books do you read? </p>
<p>Of course, all of these things can be part of your coursework, too. It's a pretty extensive list you have. </p>
<p>My only suggestion would be to start thinking about LEADERSHIP opportunities. It sounds as if you are already taking leadership in your home/family. Can you expand to a slightly larger population, such as other families? Leadership is one of those tag words college admissions officers look for now.</p>
<p>I think homeskulmom's is a great idea for you. Leadership would be a good thing for you to focus on, not just for your college applications, but for you as a person.</p>
<p>Could you organize some sort of trip for other students, and fundraise to make it happen? Maybe you could tie it to a cause you care about, or go somewhere you wouldn't otherwise go in order to learn about something you are all curious about.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. I have kept a journal of my travels but it's meshed in with my daily journal. Justinian I, Im not really into cooking, its the eating part Im crazy about. Although, I do have some dishes Im good at cooking. I do speak multiple languages though I understand more languages than I can speak fluently. I sort of take it for granted and think Ill never forget, especially since my family speaks it. Im wrong of course. Got to keep sharp ;) </p>
<p>Like what homeskulmom said, I know that leadership is a "tag word" colleges like. I have mixed feelings about the kind of leadership colleges want to see. I really don't necessarily feel that leadership outside my family, friends and myself isn't comparable to that of leading "a larger population," to quote homeskulmom. I've been in public school my whole life, until recently in my high school years, and have been involved in a number of generic (now Im quoting Justinian I, who, by the way, found the word I was looking for to describe what public school students count as their EC) extracurricular activities that included leadership. I compare my growth in those public school years to what homeschooling has afforded me and I see that I have matured much more on an intimate level with my family, friends, and especially me, than I did when I was herded with a lot of school kids my own age in some kind of activity or event that, most of the time, meant very little to me. </p>
<p>When I was in public school I never really gained anything meaningful. I had lots of friends, involved in activities, had good grades, great tests scores, and never really got into trouble, but somewhere along the line I knew it wasnt working for me. My friends started to consume my life, which I knew wasnt what I wanted, school was just a numbers game to me: turn in your homework, get 100% on exams, etc. and alls well, and my extracurricular activities were just mind numbing, and believe me Ive tried almost everything.</p>
<p>Homeschooling was a foreign thing to me then and I had all the weak generalizations other people do about it. But somehow, and I dont know what made me, I read lots of books on the subject and gradually, homeschooling became a more and more appealing and viable option. The majority of my family and friends were uninformed and resistant to the idea but I somehow convinced my parents to let me do it. I researched the homeschooling laws in CA, read what felt like tons of books on homeschooling approaches, and learned to budget the money my parents funded my homeschooling endeavor. Ive met with a lot of resistance, skepticism, and dismissals about what I was doing; most likely because of being uniformed on their part and of weak generalizations they were unknowingly guided by, as I was once too. </p>
<p>Its taken a lot of leadership on my part to convince not only parents, but myself as well, to go the homeschooling route. Since making that decision to homeschool all my activities have been non-traditional or, for lack of a better word, generic, i.e.: soccer captain or student body president, etc. I believe, once Ive really taken into account all Ive done to educate myself and pursue things Im interested in on my own accord no matter how fleeting (guitar, knitting, basket weaving, to name a few) or unusual (traveling, reading great books, festival hopping), Ive shown more leadership skills than I could have ever gained than if I had stayed in public school to do what everyone else was doing. Even if it only extended to my social circle, which really isnt small since I have friends and family around the world, I believe those skills Ive acquired can easily be applied to most situations that are more generic in college applications. </p>
<p>Although, I have been battling with the decision to do something that colleges will understand more and will probably accept as showing leadership skills, i.e.: being a camp coordinator or something, or just go on doing what Im doing, and very contentedly too, and just explain to them my stance on what I think leadership is. </p>
<p>As you can probably tell Im leaning towards the latter option since Im very happy doing what Im doing and dont really feel the need to be in any other activity right now, but I do have my doubts. What do you guys think? I know, this is really long. Sorry.</p>