<p>So say a person hasn't really done much EC (sports, music, ect)
but has been in science competitions such as science olympiad,
should one start joining but stay in the areas of interests?
or would this seem like a last minute attempt at adding to the resume??</p>
<p>When it comes to ECs, forget about the application process.</p>
<p>If you see an amazing activity, do it. If not, forget about it.</p>
<p>“Application padding” is rampant and obvious. If you don’t have an EC that you’ve pursued for more than a year, especially if it wasn’t that interesting to you, then I wouldn’t highlight it in the application. If you don’t have a lot of EC’s because you have a dominant hobby or passion, over many years, for something as mundane as sewing, reading, tennis, etc., then that’s the EC to highlight!</p>
<p>I agree with Neuron39. Sometimes the “mundane” activities are far more interesting than membership in a high-school club. I know a current high-school senior who’s been struggling over the small number of high-school extracurricular activities on his application. Because he’s the son of a close friend, I know him pretty well, so I asked him if he’d written about squashes, pumpkins, or gourds. Over the past 5 or 6 years, he’s developed an enormous garden in his back yard, where he has conducted a number of cross-breeding experiments. He’s entered the results in various county fairs, and he’s also taken to carving gourds, first as a hobby, and now as a profitable business online. He’s half Luther Burbank and half entrepreneurial craftsman. I don’t think it ever occurred to him that this is a pretty unusual activity for a teenager today, when most 17-year olds are slaying evil wizards online. He’s applying to a group of small liberal arts schools, not MIT, but I bet that after the admissions committees read his essays and see pictures of his work, they will remember him.</p>
<p>… not that slaying evil wizards is a bad thing!</p>
<p>(I don’t actually play any games like that. But I was jus’ sayin’.)</p>
<p>Hey I didn’t mean to disparage online gaming! Slaying evil wizards is a fairly common activity in my house. Sometimes my MIT daughter will get online in Boston and team up with my high-school senior son at home, and they slay wizards together. It’s just that in my experience, a teenage boy who breeds/carves/sells gourds is far more unusual.
:-)</p>
<p>Well, listen. I’m a senior and a brand new club that sparked my interest arrived. I don’t want it to seem like I joined a club for 1 year just to pad my resume. So, now what?</p>
<p>If you want to join the club, then join the club. There’s nothing wrong with joining something new your senior year if it’s something that floats your boat.</p>
<p>you join new activities because enjoy them, not for college. Don’t worry about it. MIT won’t hate u because u are doing more stuff, that is absurd</p>