Lack of ECs

<p>I'm a little worried about my lack of ECs. I'm Active Duty Army and I work about 14 hours a day managing a 12 man machine gun squad. There are also times when I am out in the field (training exercises) for up to a week at a time. Most of my weekends are eaten up by online classes that I am taking. Not to mention, but I am also in Afghanistan right now. I have a very busy schedule and I don't have time for volunteer work. One thing I do like to do is work on my personal fitness. Would that be an EC that I can write on my application? It sounds kind of cheesy, you know.</p>

<p>I just want to know what the admissions board will think if the EC section in my application is blank. I address how much I work in essay, so they should understand, right?</p>

<p>Adcoms are suppose to be holistic.</p>

<p>They’re quite familiar with vet applications, so they’ll be able to take a look at what you’ve done on duty and understand the commitments you’ve made. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. </p>

<p>Are there any military activities you can put in that weren’t strictly required? Like volunteered for Airborne school, led the something chapter, helped out with a community service project, something like that?</p>

<p>Yes, my military record is stellar. Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, Ranger qualified, EIB CIB, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. I hope they take those highly into consideration as I address them in my essay. I didn’t even think about those since they are related to my occupation. I’ll definitely put them down. Thanks for the tip.</p>

<p>ECs are a way to show leadership and commitment. They’re important for teenagers who live at home and are supported by family and have no other big obligations except school.</p>

<p>Although, if you were an admissions director and you got an application from an Olympic athlete, would you reject him/her for not also being in the French club, the pep squad, and the highway cleanup crew?</p>

<p>I think you’d realize that his/her sport was a major activity, similar to a job.</p>

<p>You have a job, and it’s a 24/7 job. You’ve done significant leadership activities there. Is being president of the chemistry club more important for someone like you? Nope.</p>

<p>By the way, were you by any chance an Eagle Scout? I know it was high school, but I’d try to find a way to refer to it in an essay. Corporate America tends to love people who were Eagle Scouts, because many CEOs were and they set the tone for their companies. Colleges may be different, but, if you have the credential…</p>

<p>I am an Eagle Scout and I mentioned no other EC’s for being an army vet. I don’t even remember writing a lot about my army experience in the essay, didn’t really want to BS it too much or be too honest like “1 year in the desert taking smoke breaks and arguing about football/which super model is hotter”. </p>

<p>However, I did have a 3.8 gpa for a couple of semesters at a community college just to prove that I am ready for a college environment. That only proves I’m ready, CC is basically a joke compared to the workload here. </p>

<p>My essay was mostly who I am, what I’ve done and where I go from here. There was also interesting facts about the school that I’ve sprinkled in but I felt it was important to keep the message simple.</p>