PLEASE HELP! Should I include these EC's or not?

Applying to College
1

<p>Ok. On my application I'm putting that I do non-fiction writing (which counts as a personal activity, at least once a week) and also basketball, which I play pretty much every day of my life.</p>

<p>Also, I am taking Calculus AB and BC AP at my high school (AB is a requirement for BC takers) but I am independently studying multivariable calculus (which my teacher made note of in his rec) because Calc BC is far too "easy" for me. I study this EVERY night for about 6-7 hours (till about 2 in the morning) because math is one of my passions - along with the two things listed above. Secondly, I am also independently studying for both sections of the Physics C AP exam because my counselor wouldn't allow me to take any extra classes in my full schedule (I plan to major in Physics/Math in college)</p>

<p>As a sidenote, I did not play organized basketball because a) my school does not have a basketball team and b) I do not have insurance (no social security number because I am an immigrant). I do however organize after school games for faculty and other students at my school as well as spend many hours practicing and playing games at the local gym.</p>

<p>Now for my non-fiction writing, I have proof of this to show in case they ever wanted to know.</p>

<p>What I wanted to ask you guys is a) do you think I should exclude any of the above from my "extracurricular and personal activities", although they constitue my passions? </p>

<p>b) if not, how many weeks per year should I put for the following since I play basketball and my advanced study takes a pretty significant chunk of my day.
- Independent writing
- Basketball
- Multivariable calculus
- AP Physics C study</p>

<p>c) Also, any ideas on how I might elaborate on the special circumstances I've just outlined above? Obviously these activities don't have "positions" or "honors awarded" and such.</p>

<p>P.S. I'm applying to schools like Caltech, Columbia, UChicago, Stanford...</p>

<p>Any help would be EXTREMELY greatful. I don't want to put "48 weeks a year" and seem like an exaggerator or liar.</p>

2

<p>have faculty members write a rec for you about the bball and physics if possible...that gives you credibility.
as for writing, send a sample and that's enough.</p>

3

<p>So should I include them in my application or not?</p>

<p>And if so, what would be a 'credible' duration?</p>

4

<p>hmmm, thats kind of iffy. like, i go to the gym everyday for a few hours to work out, and its a big part of my schedule, but i wouldnt put it on a college app because its not organized or anything. as for writing......have you ever been published? if so, then it would be worth putting on there</p>

5

<p>Well I elaborated on the writing in my essay and my English teacher put very great remarks about my writing (which is all done on personal time) in her rec. But haven't been published. Don't even know how one would go about that.</p>

6

<p>I'm curious as to how you are taking AB and BC and Multivariable Calc at the same time. If you just get into second semester AB, you start integrals, yet there are integrals in the beginning of both BC and Multivariable Calc. I don't get how you are doing that.</p>

7

<p>My school requires BC takers to simultaneously take AB.</p>

<p>Don't ask. It's immensely stupid but AB is supposed to give us "extra practice".</p>

<p>Personally, I have gone over the BC stuff THREE times in 4 weeks (just looking over the textbook over and over again. But there's my school for ya. No sports teams either.</p>

<p>The multivariable stuff is just a challenge to myself because I'm bored with the regular classes.</p>