<p>A friend is filling out his application and is worried about this:</p>
<p>In the box which asks, "What activities and programs have you done outside of school to enrich your education?" he has nothing to put.</p>
<p>He goes to a private school and has lots of ECs (NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, multiple varsity sports)- in the summer he works or conditions for his sport (through the school- it's free). He also takes as many APs as he can- he'll have 8 by graduation. Still, he would have time to do something in the summer- at least a 1-2 week program- except that his parents put all their money toward the private school and can't afford a cent more for added academic programs. The school IS his academic program.</p>
<p>Should he leave it blank? Should he try to explain?</p>
<p>I would say that all the ECs you listed are considered "outside of school" even if they're sponsored by the school. I think they're just looking for his ECs - "outside of school" means "other than the classes you take."</p>
<p>I think that NHS and Mu Alpha Theta would qualify. But I would not worry. The space exists to allow students who do have these enrichment programs to list them. He seems to have plenty of ECs.</p>
<p>Basically what the college wants to know is how he spends his extended periods of free time. Does he sit around like a couch potato, work (which is perfectly fine), do volunteer work (perfectly fine), pursue a sport like marathoning or spend the day catching up on the reading for pleasure that he doesnt' have time to do during the school year?</p>
<p>They know that things like summer camps cost lots of money. The top colleges don't give a lot of credit to students pursuing activites that it takes big bucks to do. In fact, the top colleges may be able to identify the wealthier students (and consequently expect more of such students when it comes to admission) through their pursuing expensive ECs.</p>
<p>Things like Upward Bound help the college identify students who are very poor and/or first generation college. </p>
<p>As long as the student is doing something productive during his extended periods of free time, that's all that matters.</p>
<p>Would reading be ok? I try not to sign up my D for any serious academic subject in the summer, but I do check out lots of books for them to read for pleasure.</p>
<p>I don't think colleges are looking for students to have done ACADEMIC Programs outside of school. My kids NEVER did. They ARE looking at how students spend their time outside the school day.....afterschool/evening activities, weekends, and summers. A wide variety of worthwhile activities sustained over a period of time fit into this realm. They need not be academic in nature whatsoever. Also, for a kid who doesn't have funds to do any form of summer program, the alternative is not to do nothing. There are many many worthwhile summer endeavors that are not "programs."</p>
<p>The initial question you quoted about activities outside of school to ENRICH your education....I could fill pages with for my kids (let alone examples from other students) and many of these were not associated with their high school (though ones affiliated with school ALSO count) and none were academic. All very much enriched their overall "education." Please realize that ECs of all sorts can be enrichment, both after school and in summer. I believe they are asking about "outside the school DAY," not necessarily outside anything affiliated with the school. In other words, activities beyond the academics in the classroom.</p>
<p>He does read in the summer. I think they (the college) are just trying to cover all the "bases" with respect to what a kid might do in his free time. He felt insecure about leaving it completely blank. The other kids he knows, that applied to this school, have all put something there- either they took courses through virtual school, CC, or went to summer programs and camps at universities. He is afraid his app won't be as "competitive" if he leaves it blank. </p>
<p>This poor kid feels like he's already behind the eight ball before he's even hit the "submit" button! I just wanted to make him feel better about it. I personally don't think it matters, knowing all his wonderful attributes, but I can understand how stressful this can be for the kids.</p>
<p>soozie, my other post (#7) stated the question exactly. In my first post, I was "guessing"- trying to remember from what he had told me earlier in the day. After I wrote that post, I actually went back and looked up the question on the application.</p>
<p>It is OK to leave something blank if they are asking about PROGRAMS attended. That does not reflect poorly at all. They are looking at the WHOLE picture. If a student hasn't done programs, then hopefully he has other things that are big commitments that override that. Other examples of leaving something blank may be a kid who has no paid work experience, a frequent question on applications. They are not going to be frowned upon to have that blank if they are showing other worthwhile endeavors that did outside the school day and in summers. </p>
<p>Going by the wording of the question quoted in post #7....my D who goes to an Ivy League school would not have attended programs of the sort listed. During her summers, she went four years to a performing arts summer program (she is not pursuing performing arts in college) and two summers to travel programs, one in the US, one in Europe (the latter involved competitive tennis too). She did one internship in her field as well. So, none of these were academic enrichment programs. She had many college acceptances. If she had that question, I guess she'd have had to leave it blank. But she had a whole lot else on her application and supplemental materials to show committed ECs for her entire life and every summer. They just were not academic programs.</p>
<p>I will add here that my own children, as well as the students whom I advise, include an annotated activity/achievement resume and so they demonstrate how they have spent their time. It matters not that one kid happened to do University Outreach (whatever that is...I gather it is an academic program) or some other summer activities. What matters is that they did something worthwhile, enriching, involving a commitment over time, interest, and achievement. Some kids have done academic programs; others have done lots of community service, others work, and others do sports/arts and a variety of other extracurricular endeavors, as well as travel.</p>
<p>I also read a book that states not to leave anything blank, this book is old, the author is a HS counselor. For example, the author wrote under the Honors section, if some kids didn't have anything to put down, this author suggested the student to put down the student was considered the top 3 in a biology class. Basically it's not a real honor but trying to put down something so the section is not blank.</p>
<p>If it makes the student feel better, my S had summer programs since 6th grade but very little in the way of ECs! Your student has plenty, in my opinion.</p>
<p>^^^ exactly....marite gives a perfect example. Her son had done many academic enrichment programs but less of the other kind of ECs and the student you are talking about has plenty of other ECs and so it doesn't matter that he hasn't done academic enrichment programs. It only matters that he did something that was a commitment over time outside the classroom.</p>
<p>It looks like this question is specifically asking for academic enrichment programs (or trips abroad, or stuff like that). I can't imagine that leaving it blank would be a problem. In the current environment, it might even be an advantage!</p>
<p>(That's assuming that there's enough stuff in the other sections to make it clear that this is no couch potato -- something that doesn't seem to be a problem for your friend.)</p>
<p>It's best to play down a student's priviledge background. For the same reason I did not pay for a trip to Costa Rica, summer school at Stanford, etc..(because I read it here that you shouldn't have to).</p>