<p>will schools still accept me? It's really worrying me. I would have joined the soccer team this year but with my ap classes, I don't have time. What do I do? Should I find a volunteer opportunity so I can add it to my application? :(</p>
<p>For the majority of colleges it doesn’t matter at all.</p>
<p>It could be a problem only if you apply to very selective schools. Adding a volunteer activity NOW will smell of insincerity and may even hurt your application – but again, only to a school that cares about these things.</p>
<p>What are some of the schools on your list?</p>
<p>Joining two months before most of your applications are due isn’t going to cause a ripple. Just put it out of your mind and focus on a good set of colleges to target. It’s out of your hands, you’ve prepared academically. That’ll be fine. In the USA, 90% of college students’ ECs in HS have no bearing on what they are doing in college, I’d hazard to guess.</p>
<p>ECs do not have to be done at school; they are activities that interest you outside of the classroom. Do you do activities through your church? Do you have hobbies? And so on. These count and can be of more significance than being treasurer of a random club.</p>
<p>As snarlatron said, the ECs don’t have to be affiliated with the school. You probably have some activities that you don’t know could be counted. What do you do in your free time? Do you have a job? Sing in choir? Participate in poetry slams? Even activities like these can be counted!
Although its true that the quality of your extracurriculars only matters for top tier schools, all colleges are looking for some sort of engagement outside of school (even if its as minor as helping run your kid brother’s soccer practice). They want to accept a student with interests, not just a transcript and standardized test scores. </p>
<p>You have nothing? Do you work? What do you do with your free time?</p>
<p>I paint and I help out at a local church. Is that alright? Does any volunteer work have to be something i do regularly or can it be something I did once? </p>
<p>^those are EC’s list em</p>
<p>Those are ECs. Volunteer can be anything. But on the application it usually ask for the number of hours. You average out.</p>