<p>4 of them have to do with music and I think it shows at least a little bit of passion, but the other 6 I also put a good amount of time into and I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to beef up my app with pointless fodder. I didn't include any minor clubs I was sort of in (like statistics club, i'm in it but we met three times total last year) but things that made a difference in my high school life. I have leadership positions in 5 of them. Does it still look like I'm laundry listing?</p>
<p>I too would like to hear what people think on this? I ended up filling out 9/10 and still had 3 left I needed to enter. I ended up dropping one due to having no leadership position in it and the other 2 were paid jobs that I just added in the additional information section along with my volunteering experience.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what were your 10?</p>
<p>I also have around ten and share the same concerns as the OP.</p>
<p>In my opinion, I would only fill it out only with activities you really contributed to and participated in. For example, I probably went to two Environmental Club meetings at my school, and I didn’t really participate even though I was technically in the club. I didn’t write it on my Common App because </p>
<p>A) I didn’t really participate or put too much effort into the activity.
B) No offense to others, but I don’t really care about the environment. I’m just not passionate about it. </p>
<p>Only list the activities that are of significance and that you truly gave your time to.</p>
<p>@brogrammer17, does that mean you still have 10 activities or just 8? I still have a few things I need to add in the additional info section, I just really hope it doesn’t look like I’m trying to pad the application.</p>
<p>Without getting too specific, my main ECs were, in order of time commitment:</p>
<ol>
<li>School band</li>
<li>Different instrument, still passionate about it</li>
<li>Independent Research projects about music</li>
<li>Music workshops/projects in the community I lead plus additional volunteering</li>
<li>Boy Scouts</li>
<li>Robotics</li>
<li>Cultural club </li>
<li>Academic competitions</li>
<li>Pre-health professions program</li>
<li>Church group</li>
</ol>
<p>I have 9 Activities in the Activities section and I included my 2 paid jobs and 3 volunteering “gigs” in the additional information.</p>
<p>My activities (vaguely):
Football
Wrestling
Powerlifting
Drumline
NHS
Robotics Team
Internship (unpaid)
Starting own business
Student Government </p>
<p>Outside of the activities section I listed:
Paid job from freshmen and sophomore year
Paid job from junior and senior year
Volunteering for animal shelter, church and youth wrestling club.</p>
<p>The general consensus on CC is don’t use all 10 as you don’t want to seem “unfocused” and all over the place. However, I have more than 10 that I really actually dedicated my time to, so whether there is no consistent theme or not, I am putting it down. A girl at my school, who did pretty much every single EC you could ever think of (I’m not kidding) and actually actively participated in them, was accepted to Harvard and Yale (and maybe others I just only know of these 2) this past year and she definitely did not only just put down 10. So I feel like it’s okay to do 10 and even some in the additional info. section, and that’s what I’m rolling with. Good luck!</p>
<p>This thread is great, I had the same questions. What I’m doing, though, is listing the most important activities that I’ve done for several years in the activities section and putting the rest in the additional information section.</p>
<p>I have 12 serious things to include, all of them I was extremely involved in, most of them I was the head of. They also all fall under 2 main categories of my interests and a few include me using my interests for charity, so they’re pretty interconnected (not all random things). I know it may seem like adding things on but it feels like I’d be cheating myself to not include all of them just because I’m afraid the admissions officers will think I’m padding my application unnecessarily. I mean, they don’t put 10 blanks to make the page look pretty I feel like they’re there to be filled to capacity! Thoughts?</p>
<p>I also have more than ten activities. I definitely was active in all of them. List all activities you are involved in. However, I wouldn’t put down an activity that meets every other month for thirty minutes and means very little to you. If you have a hard time listing all of them, group activities together.</p>
<p>I have 6 activities that I’ve contributed a significant amount of time to over the course of multiple years, so I just put down those. Of the ones I put down, my most intense activity was theatre (13 hrs/week and 17 weeks/year) and my least intense was my position as a student ambassador (4 hrs/week and 8 weeks/year, and I almost didn’t include it). Anything else didn’t make the cut. Just put down the activities you’ve been fairly committed to and that you care about and you’ll be fine! :)</p>
<p>Yeah I’m having the issue of not wanting to fill up every box with seemingly random activities, especially because you don’t get to enter the name of the activity, just which general category it falls under. Mine are (in order of importance)</p>
<ol>
<li>High school theatre</li>
<li>Community theatre</li>
<li>Key Club</li>
<li>Legislative debate</li>
<li>Forensics (broadcasting)</li>
<li>NHS</li>
<li>ITS (International Thespian Society)</li>
<li>French Club</li>
<li>Vocal training</li>
</ol>
<p>Also, for anyone in NHS, are you putting it as a volunteering activity or an academic one?</p>
<p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>I would group “music” or “(instrument)” as one EC and list your accomplishments there.</p>
<p>Not trying to sound braggadocious (that’s a word right) but I don’t think I can fit all the details and accomplishments into one activity.</p>
<p>ahhhh do I put all the volunteer work I’ve done or just the volunteer work that had been significant?</p>
<p>Honestly, put down everything that is important to you. Seriously. It doesn’t matter what people on CC say (even though I’m on CC, giving you advice…but this is different! :p); if you have 10 things you’re really passionate about, list them! Who cares if they’re “all over the place,” “too scattered” or “spread out”? You wouldn’t want to lie to colleges and pretend you didn’t do things that you actually did, right? Right. </p>
<p>So, bottom line, if you feel hesitant about putting anything on the list, don’t do it. But if you have 10 solid ECs you love and spend a lot of time doing, then go ahead and do it. If you’re honest, colleges will you love you for it. :)</p>
<p>@Thebeatlestoday That’s some really great advice, and I thank you for it. But what if some of those ECs that I’m really passionate about and loved doing only lasted a short while? In other words, what if I only did them one year (this past summer)? Would you still recommend listing them on there?</p>
<p>I have about 5 activities in high school where I had lots of time commitment. That’s it. I know kids who shoveled driveways because they could get community service credit through the town through the elder center. My parents just made me do it because it was the right thing to do and they lived next to us. I’m not putting that stuff down.</p>
<p>But put down anything that was important to you. Sometimes you just did something in one particular day that turned into something that made you have some different ideas you know? Not saying you had to be president or a regular club member to have something that could have a lot of meaning to you personally.</p>
<p>Abigailadams, can’t you put NHS under awards/honors section??</p>
<p>I also am wondering about this, because I play in 4 different music ensembles. Can I group them under one category? Or are those considered 4 different activities?</p>