Colleges aren’t expecting you to have a single minded focus on any academic area even if that’s the one you plan to do for the rest of your life. Heck, even engineers have hobbies and also are expected to make presentations. So put down any awards and great ECs you’ve participated in even if they don’t exactly match your proposed major.
Some of you will get more responses to your EC questions if you start separate threads. Don’t be shy. 
Yeah, definitely. This thread definitely started out as just a general thread. Also use the search function on this site, or use google’s search (which is more powerful) and confine it to this site (you can do that in the advanced search).
You’d DEFINITELY get more responses - and more variety in opinion.
wonderful!wonderful! really learned a lot from the post!! thank you!!
Hi. I’m new here and ive been reading da first few pages and im very grateful of da advice eternity hope gave. but i have a quesion. for my essay can i write about my passion for video games? There arent any ec that include video games. so can i write about how playing games change my perspectives and stuff like that? Thanks
You could - the personal statement simply exists so they can learn a little more about you. On the other hand, your video game passion may like living in the ‘what do we not already know about you’ section better. If you can make the essay go past what the adcoms have already heard, then I’d go for it. I’m sure if you wrote something many CCers (me included) would love to read it. If you’re going to do that though, make sure to not post it, but rather PM people if they say they’ll read it.
It must be really, REALLY insightful lol.
Wow…what was her essay on?
I have a quick question.
All through high school I have been extremely involved in theatre. I have taken on leadership roles, been involved in everything, etc. But, as I go to make my list of EC for my college apps…I feel like, even with my dedication to theatre, the list is bare. I have done theatre (both in school and out) and I aid at my sunday school. But theatre takes up all of my time and I haven’t done any of the “typical” high school ECs (community service clubs or any things of that nature). Is it true that colleges are now looking for a a commitment and dedication to your passion rather than going around doing everything in every possible area?
what’s a rough minimum for volunteer hours?
Typecastme22 - yeah, you’re actually doing very well. The great thing about theater is that it’s IN THE SCHOOL - meaning that not only will your drama teachers recognize your talent, but a good portion of other faculty will see you excel too, meaning that your recs are likely to be very good. No, your passion should be clear on the app as long as you really devoted all your time to it. If you did, that will be very clear.
Thepapercrane- Do more than your HS requirement. Just make sure you’re BUSY during your HS career. If you’re not, then get involved, LOVE SOMETHING. The minimum is your graduation requirement - you should definitely go above and beyond it, since fulfilling that requirement involves almost no work.
So, my HS minimum is approximately… 50 hours. So if I get like 250, I should be good…?
thepapercrane - yeah, you’ll be fine.
hear, hear
how about 400+ hours? is that a fairly large amount to be noticeable and help?
Whether it’s 50 hrs, 400 hrs, or 5000hrs, the most important thing is WHAT YOU MAKE OUT OF IT.
kevster is right. It’s not the total # of hours that counts, but what you accomplished – impact, leadership. making a difference in an individual’s life, raising lots of $, etc. One can manage to get hundreds of hours of volunteer credit for sitting on one’s butt doing nothing but breathing at a nonprofit. Colleges aren’t impressed by things like that.
hm… ok, well i volunteer at my library, and help teach kids at summer programs, and volunteered at a shelter
i agree. my comm service is one hour a week. i lead a group of kids from m synagogue to visit a group home for mentally handicapped people. i can tell you that i may not have 500 hours to show for what ive done but what i do makes me fell good and i feel that i am making an impact on these people’s lives. one in particular one time told me to stay where i was and he brought out a photo album of his baby pictures to show me. that really touched me. even simple things like when i say “double bingo” (cuz we play bingo) and one of the members chimes in with the song from the doublemint commercial, are just great moments. i could go on and on, but, like i said, i totally agree that it’s what and not how much you do.
Tryn2bcool,
Your community service sounds fun, interesting and like a wonderful way to make a difference in lots of people’s lives, including the kids from the synagogue who accompany you.
i know what u guys mean. i might not be as invoved with impacting peoples lives directly. but at the library i help because our town budget is tight and funds have been reduced. so i give an extra hand to help get more work done for the understaffed librarians. the only direct impact ive experienced was at the shelter where i was able to talk to locals and the people working at the shelter. This was a NHS trip, and we were able to help them because the whole town had flooded out.