i don’t really have too much on the extra curricular side of my application. im president of a few clubs, and i have varsity tennis, but nothing that really stands out. I’m looking towards Stanford and when i talk to my friend who’s currently a freshman there, he keeps telling me to do something big: “change the community.” I’m just looking for some ideas, so far people have suggested doing an internship or going to summer programs. The problem is I’m in a fairly small town with not a lot of clubs and out of school programs. If anyone has any advice on “big things” for extra curriculars please reply, thank you.
<p>How about showing a lot of passion in the leadership roles you already have, maybe back it up with awards in that EC, or possibly shine in your Tennis area. </p>
<p>For example, I went to a national board press workshop for summer before I was nominated for EIC of newspaper, and also won some stuff for journalism, etc. I thought that showed that I was really devoted to journalism in the end.</p>
<p>Doing something "big"...this is kind of tricky. Because not everyone who goes into those top schools always do something that is "big" , but rather do things out of passion. It's big to THEMSELVES, and not necessarily a community revolutionizing project or anything of the like.</p>
<p>of what clubs are you president? are these "prominent, established" clubs like M.U.N. or...</p>
<p>Does your town have a park with tennis courts? Do they offer a free or low cost tennis program? If so, can you volunteer? If not, can you start one?</p>
<p>I became a prominent volunteer at the local precinct of the naacp...I think stanford really liked that.... they took me.... good luck....</p>
<p>Try doing some research / work in some academic field over the summer.</p>
<p>Do something that you are passionate about. I don't understand people who do extracurriculars just so that they look better on paper. You are supposed to be getting something out of the extracurricular, not just suffering through it to get into college. If there is not much in your town to do, start something new that interests you, something that will benefit the community.</p>
<p>do something u like</p>
<p>(^thats what everyone says haha, but most ppl just do it at the end to put it on paper)</p>
<p>You don't need more ECs. Colleges look for depth, not breadth. You need to do more with the ECs you already have. The top colleges, for instance, would expect that you would have done projects and started new activities with any club that you are an officer of. Just holding a title is meaningless. </p>
<p>When I interview students applying to my Ivy alma mater, I ask them what offices they hold, and what they accomplished in those offices. I look for evidence that their leadership had an impact on the club. I ask about challenges that they faced and overcome, etc. Providing such details (or lack of details) is a major part of my report and does help the adcoms differentiate students who just look good on paper from the students who actually were exerting leadership.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Northstarmom, everyone is probably smart enough to put quite a few things down on their apps for EC, but if everyone does it, what makes YOURS special (the general you)? I believe that you really ought to focus on a few things and make yourself REALLY good at them. (Harvard and all those like it...and plus, you get more enjoyment and fun out of them!) Don't sweat too much what you should do to impress the universities, think about what you would do to impress yourself. Only when you've impressed yourself, you've got a chance to impress the universities.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>The point of leadership is to be in a positon to serve others, not to be in a position to get into college. Think about what you can do to make the organizations you're in better. Then do those things -- and include other people as part of your team. </p>
<p>Leadership isn't resume dressing nor is it a one man show.</p>
<p>Too many high school students get into leadership positions for purely selfish reasons, and those kind of "leaders" aren't what colleges are looking for.</p>