<p>I am going into 10th grade this year and I was just wondering if I had enough. I am not worried about grades because I have a 4.4 GPA and took the PSAT and did well enough on that (Not sure why they didn't tell me what I got). But anyways, here are my extra curriculars:
Choir (Plan for rest of HS)
Yearbook (Plan for rest of HS)
Math Tutoring (Plan for rest)
(Not sure if this counts) Made an android app.
Piano (Again rest of HS)</p>
<p>It isn’t the number of ECs that matter; it’s the depth.</p>
<p>You can only list 5 activities in the UC application, by the way, so don’t think about stacking on extra EC’s unless they’re meaningful to you. And yes, colleges prefer quality over quantity!</p>
<p>Less is More.
Admissions officers don’t want to see you in 10 clubs as they are NOT dummies and know that game.
Choir is not EC as it is a class.
Piano is not EC.
Yearbook is good and tutoring is good.
So, you don’t have enough and you need leadership positions. You also need volunteer time.
But then again, it depends upon what colleges you are targeting. </p>
<p>Exactly 14 EC’s. No more, no less.</p>
<p>If you do more, you earn yourself a cozy spot on the dreaded 'Urkeley Waitlist.</p>
<p>@TomsRiverParent Um, choir could but an EC. As could be band. A position within the group would definitely warrant a place on the ec list-- what are you talking about?</p>
<p>Not sure how piano isn’t an EC. It isn’t a class. It is definitely out of school hours. Choir, I would think, would be considered band. I don’t get graded for either of them. What are they then? @TomsRiverParent I am the leader of the Math Tutoring/Group. I am the head staff of yearbook. </p>
<p>I also have done 124 hours of volunteer time. </p>
<p>Citing the exact no. of vol hours isn’t required, nor will it do anything for you.</p>
<p>Band is EC because they perform at football games, band competitions, etc. Some kids are in band but don’t take the class. Chorus is a class with a winter and spring recital which is part of your grade. Big deal!</p>
<p>Someone who is a freshman is NOT head of yearbook. btw… that title would be Yearbook Editor! smh Admissions officers are NOT dumb.
Go ahead with those and see if you get accepted. Doubt it regardless of your grades and test scores.</p>
<p>ECs are important, but grades and test scores are more important (in general)</p>
<p>@TomsRiverParent I don’t have much advice in terms of the extra curriculars other than what others have said, but I needed to respond to the comment that “choir isn’t an EC, it’s a class.” I can say with 100% certainty that both choir AND band are extracurriculars. If I had a dime for every day I spend after school doing something for either choir or band (throughout the ENTIRE YEAR, mind you), I would be rich. During the month of December alone I have to put almost all of my other activities on hold because I spend a good 4 hours a night EVERY night at school for our Madrigals dinners. I pretty much don’t have weekends during September and October because of marching band. And I’m pretty much incapable of holding a part time job because of the time and dedication I put into choir and band outside of the regular school day. So both are definitely extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Sorry, rant over. Anyways, it is definitely quality over quantity. Admissions officers prefer to see that you contribute a lot to a few activities rather than doing very little with a lot of activities. Get into the advanced choir(s), build a large client base for tutoring, become a leader and head producer of the yearbook, and enter some competitions with piano. That will stand out more than tripling the number of activities you have now.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that you should try to do something unique. Berkeley -and most other large, competitive schools- get literally thousands of yearbook editors, student council officers, singers, pianists, tutors, etc. What they don’t always get is the pianist who won XXXX competition and thus got to play in Carnegie Hall (not that you need to play in Carnegie Hall, but that’s just an example). Take what you love and run with it; make your activities unique and make them your own. Its that more than a wide breadth of activities that’ll give you that extra boost when it comes to admissions. </p>
<p>@saif235 I won 1st place in a state competition if that counts for piano. It isn’t piano that I love though. It is computers. Which is what I want to go for. I also got 1st in state for math last year. And I went up a grade in math. My school is kind of technology resistant. (Not really but they aren’t up to speed.) But I am making an android app right now and learning C++. I love computers though. </p>
<p>That post also went to @rkepp12</p>
<p>And by head of yearbook, I wasn’t clear. I was head of my division.</p>
<p>What are you applying for? It’s a lot tougher to get into Berkeley for EECS than, say, L&S undecided.</p>
<p>I am applying for Computer Science</p>
<p>The piano thing was just an example. For computers you could compete in a hackathon, create a bestselling app, participate in some kind of CS research lab, compete in robotics competitions, etc. </p>