<p>So I am a junior right now, I dont have really good ECs, just regular sports and some clubs. nothing special or spectular. </p>
<p>But I was wondering how much do ECs really carry an applicant? I got curious after one of the college sessions that all the juniors had to go to at my school. The speaker didnt explain it that well, she told us that ECs can have a "signicant" effect on your overall resume, but her explaination was really vague. </p>
<p>So I was wondering what your guys opinion on this?
I know different colleges look at ECs in completely different manners. But in general, for the tier 1 colleges, how much of an impact do ECs make? </p>
<p>I do realize that unless someone find the cure for cancer or something, ECs will not polish away those bad grades and not so great teste scores.....</p>
<p>I think they're meaningless because colleges say they want "well rounded" students,how the hell does being in activites like science comitee or spanish club make you well rounded.Colleges care WAY more about grades than Ec's</p>
<p>For the very competitive schools out there, say top 10-15 maybe, ECs are not just a good idea, they are essential. Obviously grades and test scores are the most important factors, but these schools get so many amazing applicants that they need to weed out the weaker ones, and when so many have great SAT scores and a 4.0 GPA, they have to start looking at other aspects of the applicant. Basically, ECs will carry you a long way if you have the grades and scores to back them up...but in general they're not going to make up for poor performance in school or on tests. Once you get out of the super-competitive range of schools, ECs become helpful but not essential...the more you have, the more likely it is that you can afford a little lower GPA or SAT score and still be a match for the school you're looking at.</p>
<p>Hey people.
I need help with one thing. One of the application question asked me to attach a resume/list of EC activities. Should I list my ECs in such a way like writing a job resume? For my Ecs (like volunteering at an organization for a long time) do I really need reference as well/or maybe a letter stating I had done this volunteer work? In addition to volunteering, I also participated in a basketball youth program (play once a week). Thats about it. Are these activites worthy of EC and that should I put in on my resume? Please assist me. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Mercinator, that was really helpful..except I wish I knew if I had a chance at the "very competitive schools".. I thought my EC's were okay (how can someone have so much time for more?) ..I always had this idea that the people who got into those top colleges were absorbed into their books and didn't get to go outside and play some sports...and I always figured EC's consisted of sports and clubs. there are SO many people going for the same colleges i wanted to that have all these competitions and awards and president of 3+ clubs.. i will have 2 yrs of vars. tennis (state champs team) and few clubs and volunteering..
next year I plan on going for cornell, columbia(doubt i'll make it), uc berkeley, jhu (doubt it), rice, wash u, etc. all top universities, right? i have nothing exceptional b/c im probably top 6% and hopefuly my SAT score will improve to over 2250 (psats - 2200).</p>
<p>I kind of have some good EC's, but what if they aren't that strong? My school is just a small town school. It's not too special. They don't offer many clubs or anything. So what if I'm not that involved? </p>
<p>Also would science fair count as an EC? Thanks for replying.</p>
<p>sciencenerd yes science fair is an ec
but you shouldn't let colleges or CC'ers define your ec's
ec's should be things you do that you truly enjoy. Just because a CC'er says its common and overused doesn't mean that colleges will think so too. Do what you want and make the best of what you have around you.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>don't worry about how good your ECs are as long as you have some mixed with good grades and test scores and recs/essays etc.</p>