<p>I know that having interesting EC's is important to Stanford but does Stanford distinguish between school related activities and out of school activities?</p>
<p>I've done a lot of EC's outside of school such as working at a hospital and stuff but I haven't really been involved in activities (such as clubs and sports) at my school. Don't get me wrong, I have some pretty unique EC's outside of school that I really enjoy doing but I dont want Stanford to think I'm some outcast at school.</p>
<p>Will Stanford look negatively upon my lack of involvement in school related activities? Is it OK if all your activities are "non-school" related? Do they distinguish?</p>
<p>No, I think if anything having non-school ECs will help you. It indicates that you're actively seeking out things that you're interested in, not just club-whoring to get into college. I mean, come on, I'm sure Stanford gets gazillions of applications with "Debate captain/NHS treasurer/Math club secretary," et cetera. Showing non-flashy geniune interest and passion is major points with the admissions boards.</p>
<p>granted, there are many people that go "club whoring", but I don't think generalizations are fair, because there is no reason to believe that someone is "Debate/Math/etc. captain/president" just because that person loves doing it. There's no reason that they show equal, or more passion, and it's just hurting those genuine passionate people when you generalize like that.</p>
<p>Well, what I meant was that if you do the more traditional things, then it'll be harder to differentiate you from the people who do it because those are the opportunties that they can easily take advantage of. I actually did debate/math club/NHS/english honor society, stuff like that, so I'm not knocking it by any means.</p>
<p>I was a bit concerned that Stanford (and universities in general) would think I was some recluse at school or something. It's just that I find activities outside of school more interesting than the clubs and sports that my school has to offer.</p>