<p>Everyone on here seems to have massive ammounts of extra cirriculars. I've heard several people say: "Its quality that matters, not the quantity." I am actually wondering what you think now? If someone put down 3 EC's in which he/she has done well, everyone seems to say: "Your EC's are weak." But if you have several it all goes un-noticed, and seems to be a good thing. So I'm just wondering is it quantity or quality that really matters in this case??</p>
<p>People here don't know what they're talking about. CC has the kind of people who are scared of leaving lines for ECs on the commonapp blank for fear that they are perceived as slackers. They mention every little thing that they've ever done in their lives that might impress someone. The reality is that someone with only TWO well-substantiated ECs on their application is far stronger than someone with 9 ECs and a resume to boot. This gets more and more obvious as you learn more and more about the student bodies of schools.</p>
<p>If someone put down 3 EC's in which he/she has done well, everyone seems to say: "Your EC's are weak."</p>
<p>^ No, I think whoever put those 3 EC's down probably didn't elaborate on them and therefore people got the impression that those EC's were truly shallow and superficial. Otherwise, no one in his or her right mind would say "Your EC's are weak."</p>
<p>There should be no doubt in your mind that college adcoms will hold in high regard a student who is fully committed and dedicated to three or four EC's, as shown in the student's list of awards, honors, et al, or even in the student's essay.</p>
<p>Quality actually DOES matter more than quantity, contrary to your doubt. Yes, a lot of people here have a laundry list of EC's, but that doesn't mean everyone else must have them as well, or that a laundry list of EC's is the way to go if you want to get accepted into a good college. I was once nervous about having a mile long list of extracurriculars as well, but now I'm not so caught up in it anymore.</p>
<p>and...ivytoivy, "CC has the kind of people who are scared of leaving lines for ECs on the commonapp blank for fear that they are perceived as slackers." -- I don't think it's not for fear that they are perceived as slackers per se, but that if they have high test scores and GPA's, the adcoms will think they are too self-absorbed if their EC's field is not so concentrated or reflective of their dedication. Hmm, I read somewhere about how a girl with 750+ on her SAT II's and high SAT's got rejected by UPenn because UPenn didn't perceive her as someone who had something to offer to them other than academics, as she didn't really give back to the community or anything. That is precisely where the EC's come into play, when it is firmly established that you've got the numbers.</p>
<p>I guess since academics are first, and because so many people get good grades and amazing scores, that puts a lot of pressure to have the "right" EC's and hence, one might concoct a laundry list of EC's in pursuit of what one thinks colleges want to see or what one actually likes to do, but at the same time, one could also opt for committing oneself to only a couple to a several activities.</p>
<p>My point is that it's the quality of EC's, not the quantity, dreamsofYale, that counts. :-)</p>
<p>Quality has to be in the form of accomplishments such as rewards, recognitions, etc. Otherwise, quality based singly on time spent won't necessarily be better than Quantity.</p>
<p>Results also are important when it comes to quality. Thus, a club president who initiated a project that doubled the club's membership (and who mentioned this on their application) would demonstrate "quality" as would a person who initiated a successful fund raising project who also described that on their application.</p>
<p>It definitely is quality. Anyone can make a list of ECs but if you have done nothing in them or if you don't really carry a position - they're worthless.</p>
<p>someone i know got into both of the 2 ivy league colleges he applied to. he only put one EC on his application. he was very dedicated to this EC. (nothing like national recognition or anything, but very dedicated). he also had a 1600 and 4.0, which helped him...</p>
<p>I agree that quality matters more than quantity. I think that a student with a couple outstanding ECs will always be more likely to get the acceptance than a student with many mediocre ECs. The reason for this is that colleges want well-rounded student bodies, not necessarily well-rounded individual students.</p>
<p>Please define mediocre ECs...</p>
<p>The quintessential question: Are you spread too thin in ECs or too one-dimensional?</p>
<p>I think you can have your laundry list of EC's as long as you show (in the application) a true passion and quite a bit of accomplishment in a few of them. </p>
<p>"Quality has to be in the form of accomplishments such as rewards, recognitions, etc. Otherwise, quality based singly on time spent won't necessarily be better than Quantity." - I disagree.</p>
<p>An enormous amount of time in one of your EC's followed by no accomplishment can still be good; if the teacher/adult sponsoring the activity gets to know you well because of the time spent and finds you to be a great and dedicated member, his/her Rec letter filled with stories of who you are can be just as good as accomplishments on paper. Sometimes, you can show you're the best in your district, region, or state at something, but it can be just as good to show what kind of person you were when you were doing it.</p>
<p>"An enormous amount of time in one of your EC's followed by no accomplishment can still be good; if the teacher/adult sponsoring the activity gets to know you well because of the time spent and finds you to be a great and dedicated member"</p>
<p>That wouldn't be enough for places like HPY. They are looking for true leaders --people whose presence in an organization brings changes, results, awards, new members, etc. Someone who spends a lot of time, but doesn't leave any kind of legacy would not be an impressive candidate. After all, they'd be competing against people who had spent a lot of time in an organization and done things like started new programs, attracted many members, won awards, raised major amounts of money, etc. </p>
<p>People whose claim to fame is having spent a lot of time and been basically good followers wouldn't be the kind of leaders that HPY and similar schools are looking for. The leadership doesn't have to mean that the person was in the head position, but they need to have had a clear major impact on whatever part of the club they had responsibility for.</p>
<p>For instance, I met a student who got into one of the HPYS by being the first student responsible for maintaining the wardrobe of her school's large marching band. On the surface, the job sounded boring, but it actually was a big responsibility and required a lot of work and organizational skills.</p>
<p>In addition to making sure that the uniforms were maintained for all of the members, the student also used her position on executive board to successfully advocate for some changes in the organization that made it more welcoming to the younger students. She showed wonderful leadeship and vision by handling her responsibilities well and by addressing a problem that otherwise probably wouldn't have been addressed.</p>
<p>It's true that accomplishments are important, but how you achieve them are just as important. You are right, though, that accomplishments are necessary to some degree.</p>
<p>I guess what I need to say is that you need accomplishment in that one area you're passionate about, but the rest of your EC's can still show dedication and essentially show that it's not just a laundry list of acitivities to you.</p>