<p>Do you think prep schools consider the extra curricular activities you are in when applying that much?</p>
<p>absolutely</p>
<p>if you’re a straight A student with glowing recs from your teachers but have virtually no ECs, you basically have zero chance at any elite boarding school. zilch.
ECs are one of the most important factor in your applications (in my humble opinion). grades, once they meet a certain level, don’t matter anymore- it’s your extra currics that differentiate yourself from the next applicant, and so forth. they’re def extremely important-- they care a lot</p>
<p>Well what is the ideal amount of extra curricular activities? I have maybe… 3 or 4 ECs.</p>
<p>quality, not quantity : P look around in the chance threads to get a feel</p>
<p>but it also depends on which schools you’re applying to. obviously andover’s going to be looking for a higher calibre of ECs than, say, um… trafalgar castle school.</p>
<p>yes, quality not quantity! and do they take in consideration how long you’ve been in it? I mean, I know if I started an EC like right now, it really wouldn’t help… they’d know I just joined for applying… but if I were in something for only a year, you think would they be fine with that?</p>
<p>A real after school job where the employer would recommend you often carries the same weight as the best EC’s.</p>
<p>I think length is a strong factor too. Students who’ve started/tried a lot of things might show the school that they are willing to try new things and be open, but they would also like students who’ve been doing a specific activity for a long time, which shows the schools that they have a passion for that activity as well as the willingness to be committed to something.</p>
<p>It depends on how you define your EC activities. In Exeter, I have met some pretty amazing people, but people have all types of EC’s and I’m pretty sure they are some people who only had one or even two extracurricular activities. I think you’ll be fine if you show your passion for it.</p>
<p>okay, thanks everybody! I have like 3 ECs, and one of them I’ve been in for 6 years. The other 2 I’ve been in for a year. so I think I am fine on that part… and I DEFINITELY want to join MANY co curricular activities if I get into a prep school!</p>
<p>keep in mind people its quality over quantity. do write a laundry list of activities on your app, it dosnt neccessarly matter how many ec’s you do, its more about the amount of time you spend on each Ec’s and what you do with it.
for example you may only have soccer as your main ec but you play 20 hours a week and maybe you are in a specific soccer program or you play juniors.</p>
<p>i meant to say don’t write a laundry list****</p>
<p>Is this a sufficient amount of EC’s?
Basketball-3 Years-7 Hours-JV Champions
Gutiar-3 Years-3 Hours
Biking-4 Years- 3 Hours
Swimming-3 Years-2 Hours
Horse-Back Riding-1 Year-0 Hours</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>how can horseback riding have 0 hours??</p>
<p>I have experience Horse-Back Riding but because it is expensive I cannot do it too often. I wrote it down because I know that Exeter has a Horse-Back Riding Club, and it is unique. How are the EC’s, though?</p>
<p>What about for people like me? I am not in the greatest situation at the moment, and I cannot be transported to a bunch of extra curriculars. However, my school offers some things. It is rather odd since I am financially able to afford boarding school, but other factors kind of bar me from certain things.</p>
<p>Robotics - 1yr- 2 hrs a week
Horseback- 1 yr- 2 hrs
Piano - 3yrs - 2 hours
Flute -2yrs - 1 hour
Tutoring - 1yr- 2 hours
NJHS- 3 hrs- 1 yr
Volunteer - 2yrs- 1 hr</p>
<p>I can’t do a lot of things, but I try different things when I can. Also, I have joined a lot of activities recently only because my situation has sort of resolved itself (not just for the apps).</p>
<p>unique6, That’s great!
My EC’s are:
Dance - 5 years - Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Lyrical (The only one I haven’t done is Pointe, which I really want to teach myself, as crazy as that might seem.)
Odyssey of the Mind - 2 years.
Girl Scouts - 1 year - Does this count as Community Service? And also…when going on interviews, should I bring my badges?
Student Council Office - 1 year - I was secretary, but I got promoted to Vice President because of our President getting “impeached” (Vice Pres then moved to Pres position)
Basketball - 2 years - I’m not as good as I used to be.
Cheerleading - 1 year - I was like, co-captain or something. I don’t even remember, I was in 3rd grade.</p>
<p>What bout me? Hah</p>