<p>Okay, so I know it asks about your activities and how many hours were routinely dedicated to each.
From USC app: (Example: Spanish Club 9th12th grade; 2 hours per week; 30 weeks per year: Language club dedicated to promoting the understanding of Spanish language and culture. Elected treasurer junior year and president senior year.)</p>
<p>I'd like to know if this "hour tally" includes only the hours in which you meet with a group for that activity, or if it can include your dedication to the activity in hours spent at home.
Basically,
I have taken one 90-minute ballet class every week from September to June since I turned 4 years old. However, I spend several hours a week at home toning and practicing routines.
I spend 5 hours a week in chorale practice, but spend several hours a week practicing the music and now this year performing presidential duties.
This summer I attended Cal's ATDP, spending 10 1/2 hours in class every week for 6 weeks, but the homework time necessary was up to 24 hours each week.</p>
<p>I think this is a very valid question- another example: I'm the President of my Model UN club, and so I do a lot of work organizing the club, sending out e-mails, making posters etc, in addition to the actual meetings. Plus, we attend several multi-day conferences each year. How do I factor these in?</p>
<p>When I have been looking for college guidelines I found that they want the total number of hours that you spend in and outside of the club. For example if you did marching band like me, not only do you spend around 10-15 hours a week in school, but around three hours at home learning music and practicing. Colleges can easily see dedication if you have an acitivity that you have done for a long period of time which takes up many hours of your day to be a part of.</p>
<p>For Marching Band, I'm listing the 8 hours a week after school and the 12-18 hour Saturdays, but not the 3-4 hours a week that we do in 7th period or that I may practice at home.</p>
<p>How do you count hrs per activity if it varies greatly? For example, I'm on the Speech & Debate team and some weeks when we're not prepping for a tournament I will only spend 5 hours a week practicing and such, but then on weeks when there is a large tournament I am sometimes there for up to 12 hours plus the 8 hours of the actual tournament. I know you're not supposed to write "between 5-20," are you just supposed to take an average? I don't want to lie on my apps by just putting 20 for every week because that isn't true, but every week varies so much in my time commitment depending on upcoming competition. How do you display that?</p>
<p>Reduce the number of weeks or reduce the number of hours. I only do work for MUN when we have a conference coming up, so I say something like 15 hours/week for 6 weeks/year because I spend a LOT of time researching and writing but in a short amount of time.</p>
<p>Could I possibly just take an average? I don't want to say that I only participate in the team for 6 weeks because in actuality I participate for 40 weeks. Since about 50% of those weeks have less than 10 hours of prep and 50% have more, is it fair just to right 10 hrs wk?</p>
<p>If I put 5 hrs a week/40 wks, then I am undermining myself greatly since debate tournaments and the prep immediately before is a huge time commitment.</p>
<p>However, if I put 20 hrs a week/40 weeks...I am lying.</p>
<p>Is it fair to write 10 hrs/week for 40 weeks? Saying I spent 6 weeks on the team as a jump down from 40 weeks is pretty substantial.</p>
<p>j07, definitely give yourself credit! 10 hrs/week for 40 weeks sounds good.
They're asking for the average, so that's what you give them. If you spend between 10 and 20 hours a week at something, for instance, you should put 15 hours on the app.</p>
<p>For Drama club i do stage crew and its twice a year for two weeks each. During that time i do about 30 hours each week but how do i average that with the rest of the year without any?</p>
<p>I have a question related to this... I did an exchange program this summer. If there's no room on the app to write about summer activities (meaning, I have to factor it into the EC portion), should I write "168 hrs/wk, 4 weeks"?</p>
<p>Also, what about other activities related to the exchange? Ie., I will be doing random things (that still matter, so I want to list them separately), but they will only be a couple hours each. Is it going to look bad if I mention these, but they only come out to maybe "4 hrs/wk, 1 week"?</p>
<p>AND one final thing. What about less conventional types of ECs, like studying a language, writing, collecting music, etc., that are done alone? This means that I don't really have a schedule for them - I do it sporadically. One week I'll be writing a lot and the next reading a book in a foreign language. I do it all year long, however, so I don't know how many weeks I should list. Would it be weird if I listed "3 hrs/wk, 50 weeks" for everything? Or should I try to average it out by what matters most (ie., assign more hours and weeks for things that aren't as obscure)?</p>
<p>This thread has been very helpful so far, but I do have a few questions...
What should I do if I play on two teams for one sport. For example, if I play both AAU Basketball and HS Basketball (I don't--just an example), should I list both under one title or split them up? Also, since I am filling out the common app. online, where should I put awards in my sport if they don't fit in the space given (I want to give the best impression of myself I can)?
Also, if I have held different offices each year in an activity, where can I fit those offices? The most I can seem to squeeze in is two. </p>
<p>List the two basketball teams separately. I'm on my HS swim team and my club team which is much more time consuming and I'm listing them separately.</p>
<p>You can send a resume to the schools with all your activities and positions but make sure it's really well put together and concise. That way you can also put the different offices</p>
<p>I have a question related to this... I did an exchange program this summer. If there's no room on the app to write about summer activities (meaning, I have to factor it into the EC portion), should I write "168 hrs/wk, 4 weeks"?</p>
<p>Also, what about other activities related to the exchange? Ie., I will be doing random things (that still matter, so I want to list them separately), but they will only be a couple hours each. Is it going to look bad if I mention these, but they only come out to maybe "4 hrs/wk, 1 week"?</p>
<p>AND one final thing. What about less conventional types of ECs, like studying a language, writing, collecting music, etc., that are done alone? This means that I don't really have a schedule for them - I do it sporadically. One week I'll be writing a lot and the next reading a book in a foreign language. I do it all year long, however, so I don't know how many weeks I should list. Would it be weird if I listed "3 hrs/wk, 50 weeks" for everything? Or should I try to average it out by what matters most (ie., assign more hours and weeks for things that aren't as obscure)?</p>