<p>I know that many have said, and I agree, that showing depth in a particular activity is better than having pages of ECs. That makes complete sense to me and I agree that it is good to show your keen interest in one area rather than have a laundry list of things.</p>
<p>BUT, what if you have participated in pages and pages of ECs AND have also demonstrated interest and depth in a couple of those activities? Should you not mention the "laundry list" at all? What if you've participated in something for only one year (for one reason or the other)? Should you exclude those?</p>
<p>Or should you mention all the things you have done, just demonstrate your interest and serious involvement in the two or three things you are passionate about?</p>
<p>I think in the "activities" list, it's reasonable to list all/most of your activities. They ask you to list what you've participated in, so I would do so. There's nothing wrong with lots of activities...it's only a bad thing if you're just doing it for colleges or because you have to but don't really care about what you're doing. In an essay and your paragraphs or whatever, if you choose to write about an activity, just choose one or a couple. That way you show you've got both bredth and depth.
I'm talking mostly about the common app here, but it applies to other applications. List your activities in the section where it asks for them, then go into detail about 2 or 3 of the ones you most care about (presuming there's a place for that on the application/supplement).</p>
<p>However--I would also add that you should make sure your ECs are real ECs. You might knock a few off your "laundry list." As an example, maybe you were part of a club one year, but only made it to the occational meeting and didn't otherwise participate much, or maybe your friend dragged you along to some hours of community service a few times--but you were just stacking cans and didn't get anything out of it.
Basically, if you feel there are any activities on your list that you could not think of five or six things you enjoyed or got out of the activity (especially if there wasn't much time commitment), I wouldn't bother putting it down. (I'm only saying this because you said you had "pages and pages"--if some of those are activities you couldn't care less about or didn't put much time into, they probably aren't important.)</p>
<p>Maybe none of your activities are like that--I don't know. You also mention activities you were only part of for one year--those are certainly valid and you should put them down if you put time and effort into them.</p>
<p>That's just my two cents. Others might say differently, but that's what I'd do.</p>
<p>Thanks, that's very insightful.</p>
<p>I'm concerned about this, too.
I'm involved in theater, speech, tennis, newspaper, volunteering at local museum (related to what I want to be - museum curator or teacher/professor), working at a tennis club and I have an internship this summer. Is that too many activities? I really think I get something out of each one and I have a few leadership positions. I'm president of my school's speech team and have won all-state honors. I am arts section editor for my school newspaper this year, will be news editor next year and hope to be editor-in-chief my senior year. </p>
<p>I would cut back on things because I'm way too swamped, especially this time of year, but I can't do it. I like every thing I do. Theater allows me to kind of escape from reality, be someone totally different and meet tons of great people. I find tennis very relaxing and a good way to exercise, which is also why I chose to get a job relating to that. My internship also goes along with my interest in politics. And I volunteer at a museum that focuses on my favorite topic of history and my heritage. </p>
<p>I guess I have very diverse interests? But if I focus on one interest/activity, like you said, in an essay, would the long list still hurt me from getting into schools like Wesleyan University, Vassar, Grinnell, etc?</p>