How important are extracurricular activities?

<p>I'm a little worried about my lack of EC activities. My school is a specialist sports college and because of that all our school-run clubs are sporting ones, which due to a sports injury last year, I can't participate in. </p>

<p>I also live in a fairly rural area with very little in the way of activities for youths in this area, so I'm not sure what I'm going to write about for my EC activities.</p>

<p>How important are EC activities in an application? And do they have to be strictly organised activities or can I talk about things I do in my spare time?</p>

<p>Not necessarily. I'm involved in a lot of school-sponsored extracurriculars, but I don't plan on writing about them in my college essay. I instead hope to describe my experience volunteering for a special project.</p>

<p>Also, you could write about a product you invented or a company you created. Or, if you maintain an online blog, maybe you could somehow express individuality and talent through your writing.</p>

<p>ECs are just one of many important factors that colleges will look at in considering your application. Not having any will hurt you, just as having an SAT score 20 or 30 points lower might, but it's not the end of the world. I like perfectionist's suggestion, that is, to write about some out-of-school activity you're devoted to.</p>