Online ECs (for people in the middle of nowhere)

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>So I'm a high school freshman in Brazil who would like to apply for an U.S. college in two years (HS only lasts 3 years here), and my weak point is... extracurriculars.
There's nothing to be done in western Brazil. Seriously.
So I try to cover that by engaging in online activities, but I need some more.
I'm enrolled in a writing course by Duke University on Coursera and I'm starting to use my bilingual skills (as I speak both Portuguese and English) to translate educational content and make it available in Portuguese for free (as public education here sucks and most people don't have money for private schools), but I DEFINITELY NEED SOME MORE.</p>

<p>All help is appreciated,
Thank you for your time.</p>

2

<p>I’m conidering doing Coursera too but I found this <a href=“http://onlinemodelunitednations.org/”>http://onlinemodelunitednations.org/&lt;/a&gt; if your interested in a model UN sort of thing?</p>

3

<p>Nice found, thought about joining it too. Considering I want to major in International Relations, that will probably become a must-join at some point. :D</p>

4

<p>I sent an application but I’m not sure if it would be considered an “approved” EC by my school because it’s online</p>

5

<p>Yeah, I see.
I don’t think you should worry too much about that, though, I think what colleges “approve” is more important than what your school does (and I believe that’s pretty valid as a way of showing discussion skills)</p>

6

<p>Well then the question still stands, will colleges “approve” of the online MUN?</p>

7

<p>I suppose so.
I heard even IB was stimulating students to partake in it, so I believe it reached a significant level of relevance.</p>

8

<p>Fair enough, but then again IB and AP are two different things.</p>

9

<p>Yes, I understand. But colleges do recognize IB, so from my point of view it kind of implies they trust their means of testing students. Anyways, thank you for your time and discussion. I think it’d be better if we didn’t flood the thread with comments about O-MUN, but if you have any arguments or whatever, feel free to share (I am not trying to be an idiot) :D</p>

10

<p>Lol yeah, well have you tried doing a google search for online EC’s?</p>

11

<p>I have and it wasn’t really succesful. You could volunteer to the UN if you’re over 18 (not helpful for high schoolers) or partake in some quite interesting clubs if you’re part of Stanford’s Online High School, which is not free at all…
I believe this is an opportunity for founding online clubs, then :P</p>

12

<p>Well pertaining to the Online Model UN, their registration is a bit screwy and they need to send you a verification email after you apply, for some reason they also ask for your school.</p>

13

<p>Yeah, don’t know why they care about my school. </p>

14

<p>Colleges don’t “approve” or “not approve” ECs. They are interested in how you spend your spare time and what you accomplish with it. Certainly some online things like this UN activity and things like Coursera classes are good options. But you might also think about ways you could give back or participate in your own community to improve it, they also like to see that.</p>

15

<p>I understand.
Thank you very much.</p>