<p>On the Common App website, they have released a preview of the new Common App form. There at two things that really catch me. Firstly, they have merged all the SAT sections so that colleges will have to see your super-score. Secondly, they have merged the work experience and EC sections so that instead of having 7 slots for ECs and 4 slots for work experience, you now have 12 slots for both.</p>
<p>The second part is a little bit unsettling for me because prior I had about 8-9 ECs with leadership positions so I could fill up all 7 slots then add 1 or 2 more in the additional section. Now, I want to fill up all 12 slots (I have work experience so I need to fill in about 2-3 ECs that I have taken part in but I do not have leadership positions).</p>
<p>What do you guys recommend:</p>
<ol>
<li>Out of the 12 slots, fill up 9 with ECs that I have leadership positions in and 1 with the work experience.</li>
<li>Fill up 9 with ECs w/ leadership and 1 with work experience and fill up the last two with ECs in which I am only a member (for one I dedicated 2000 hours, for the others around 100 each).</li>
</ol>
<p>The second part need not be upsetting. By merging the EC & Work Experience the student is allowed to list and group their activities as they see most important. Some students have long work history that really shows commitment, others have sporadic work history over summer breaks, but have heavy EC activity. One is not inherently better than the other. This allows the student to essentially ‘rank’ their experiences. Do not feel the need to ‘fill up’ every slot. List your activities, work and EC, in order of how important you feel they were. You are painting a picture of yourself.</p>
<p>So you think it would be better to leave 1 or 2 slots empty than to fill them with extraneous and meaningless activities?</p>
<p>I know it may sound like a stupid question but I was wondering if there is any psychological advantage of filling all the slots. Maybe, the admissions officers will feel that I have more ECs but there was no space to list them, if I fill up all the slots. That’s why I’m asking…</p>
<p>Keep in mind, this is just one persons opinion, however…</p>
<p>If you are heavily involved in an EC that takes say 15hrs/week…
You hold a leadership position in another honor society that might take 2-3hrs/wk etc.
By the time you get to the 12th entry, you may be listing items that hold little significance and you were not invested in (1hr/month)…
OR you are overstating the hours spent on your activities. Add the hours you are stating you spend total/week. Assume you need to get homework done & attend classes. Is what you are suggesting believable?</p>
<p>This is simply one opinion. Hopefully you will receive further responses so you can think about what approach most closely matches what you feel is right for you.</p>
<p>The new format gives more flexibility and allows each student the space to emphasize different experiences.</p>
<p>I would suggest you not feel compelled to fill all the space. If I were the reviewer, I would respect 8 or 9 slots filled with meaningful, significant experiences … more than 15 slots filled, some of which appear minor/inconsequential/unsubstantial.</p>
<p>I would view the student who filled up every slot by using 3 or 4 utterly meaningless activities much more harshly than a student who did not list their meaningless activities.</p>