<p>This is an exceptionally tough year, but IME the only time EC's made a material difference is that kids who achieve some sort of award beyond standard high school accolades AND had the same excellent grades and stats got noticed.</p>
<p>Example: kid in D's high school rows for a team that won some sort of national regatta. Accepted at MIT with the same scores and GPA as everybody else who had standard school level achievements (team captain, newspaper editor, etc.) who were all REJECTED from their HYPS schools.</p>
<p>YOu have to have some EC's, but whether you have one or fifty won't matter unless you show you can compete in the wider world--at the state or national level.</p>