<p>I'm not a person that can be spread too thin, so I have only a few ECs that I spent a lot of time on, rather than a large number that I don't do too much in. The problem is, how can this be reflected in an application? Granted, I've already applied RD, but I would like your opinion on this matter.</p>
<p>I do Debate, I have over 500 points from the National Forensic League, the second highest for my school. I'm the best debater at my school, a state qualifier, tons of tournaments and experience, a gajillion trophies, but you can only fit so much in that little line they give for ECs (I didn't write an essay about this). I also spend an average of 25 (!) hours a week on debate (including tournaments, which last close to 20 hours by themselves (8 hrs on Friday, 12 on Saturday).</p>
<p>I also play Chess. Best player in my school (only because everyone thinks chess is for nerds), runner-up at the biggest tournament in the district two years ago, but because the chess scene has been inactive, I didn't compete much last year other than in school. President of the Chess Club (or King, as we call it), this takes about 5-10 hours a week.</p>
<p>National Honor Society. I am one of the few members that actually does something (though I have a knack for being late to the morning meetings because I have a habit of coming to school a minute before the beel rings), and have hundreds of volunteering hours for this club. This is in my application, but National Honor Society is such a watered-down EC now (an adcom member of a local university told me no one takes NHS seriously anymore because it is so easy to get into, even though at my quaint school of 800 (250 eligible), there are only 20 openings in the club, and it is WAR to get in). 15 hours or so, mostly Saturday mornings volunteering.</p>
<p>Piano. This is the big thing. I haven't been playing very long, but playing piano is the most enjoyable thing I do with my life, and were it not for piano, I would have gone crazy by now. I am self-taught because our family can't afford lessons (I talk about this on the essay, which might boost my 'adversity' rating), and after a year, I'm on level with many pianists at our school that have been playing for 10 years! Granted, there are many vets that completely dominate me, and I have little experience and a small repertoire, but everyone tells me my playing is wonderful. This isn't my hook, per se, but being my most significant EC, I talk about it a lot. I spent 10 hours a day practicing during the summer, and even now, I play about 2-3 hours at school (yes, even cutting class to do so), and as much as I can squeeze in at home. Per weeks, that totals to about 30 hours, maybe more.</p>
<p>Most days, I stay afterschool until 5-6, running from debate to chess to the choir room, where the school's only decent piano is stored. It's not that I'm lazy or don't want to commit myself to any activities, only that I am so focused on a few that I don't have time for extraneous things. I tried my best to convey this in my essays (especially the piano one), but it wouldn't have helped to list every trophy I've won or every chess game I've played; like I said, I only have one line to talk about the less important ECs.</p>
<p>Most people on this site have a laundry list of ECs, but I find it hard to find that much time in the day; yet, I've heard that my ECs are weak because they aren't numerous. This isn't a self-glorification thread (after all, my ECs ARE weak), but is it better to focus on a few ECs rather than dabble in tons of them?</p>