<p>Any input? </p>
<p>I don't plan on ignoring EC's completely, it's just that I want time to study so that I can earn a great GPA.</p>
<p>Depending on where you apply, ECs determine quite a bit. Most competitive transfers will have solid grades and scores, but it's the ECs that win the tie-breakers spots in top schools. Are your high school ECs strong? If so, just focus on those more.</p>
<p>ecs are practically pointless. I didnt list that many at all, just HS ones.</p>
<p>Judging from your name, I can see why they come off as a problem :-p</p>
<p>Ehh...I've always though the idea behind ECs is how much you can manage. For example whether or not you can take hard courses and be president of some club and go to work and do your homework for the night. </p>
<p>List them. No problem if you don't. Just don't show the admission specialist that you didn't do anything after school. A job related to your major is the best e.c. IMO</p>
<p>THey are pointless and not helpful</p>
<p>Nothing could be further from the truth. ECs are what make you different from the other applicants and are often tiebreakers on admissions committies. I of course refer to real ECs, not school clubs or fluff, as almost everyone puts that they were president of club x and saved the world through community service while maintaining an impeccable record. That said, if you have nothing strong now, don't bother trying to fake one. Admissions committies are more aware than we know and can see through fluff ECs. Focus on grades et al.</p>
<p>Just concentrate on one... and really show a passion for it.</p>
<p>wayward_trojan: what would you consider a real EC then (besides internships of course)</p>
<p>Many things. Being an exceptional athlete, artist, or musician qualify. Also, doing meaningful and legitimate community service on a personal level (e.g. mentoring, tutoring.) I simply meant to express my disdain for people who puff up their records by saying that their attendance at AIDS Walk changed their lives yadda yadda yadda. If something does not require a special skill or talent, it is a meaningless EC and adcoms will see through it.</p>
<p>'EC's' aren't necessarily limited to only school-related activities /work done pro-bono. From what I recall, employment is considered equal to extracurriculars in the admission part (at least for the UC's). Also, you usually get bonus points for having a job related to your major.</p>
<p>LazyLazyLazy,</p>
<p>I am a newly admitted transfer student.</p>
<p>I believe that the admissions committee has a holistic approach to reviewing applicants. Of course, some factors might be weighed more than the others, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to the fact that the AdComs tend to favor well-rounded people.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, if you have a competitive cumulative GPA (or a positive trend in GPA for those of you late-starters) and competitive standardized scores under your belt, you wouldn't worry too much about it.</p>
<p>I have decent standardized scores coupled with an above the average GPA. But when I look back to my transfer process and put myself in the shoes of AdComs, I think my ECs played a significant role in the decision making process.</p>
<p>I started a new successful & popular departmental club and I already had 3 internships under my belt at the time.</p>
<p>Why do I think those activities might have helped me out? I thought about the sheer number of people who have the same GPA and standardized scores, if not above.</p>
<p>Differentiate yourself.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Look at it this way. Universities want you to have EC's because they want to see that you can function in society, are altruistic, and aren't a coddled brat in which mommy and daddy pay for everything. In other words they want to see that you're a "down to earth" person. </p>
<p>But I'm somewhat bitter about this. Because I seen a few people who got into elite universities after they took academic shortcuts, exaggerated their personal hardships, employment history, etc. Universities don't require you to produce documents to prove this. </p>
<p>Since we live in a "dog eat dog" world, you might as well play "politician" when stating your EC's.</p>