<p>Hello everyone. I was looking through the forums and noticed that i have a really unique set of EC's and was wondering how they stack up against everyone else's. Please tell me how they are for applying to schools like Northeastern and UMich for pre-med. Thank you.</p>
<p>Volunteer at special needs summer camp- 80 hrs
Volunteer at local hospital - 200 hrs
Coach for youth rec basketball team- 80 hrs
Key Club Volunteer- 20 hrs
Indoor track for 1 year- 200 hrs
Rec basketball- 80 hrs
Orchestra concerts and practice- 100 hours
Piano classes and practice- 500 hours- been playing since I was nine and played in some concerts in churches etc.
French Club
Medical Club
Mu Alpha Theta
Shadowed an orthopedic surgeon once</p>
<p>Now here are the unique ones:</p>
<p>I'm a very dedicated music producer/ mixing engineer and have taught my self everything about it through reading books, watching videos, and reading articles online. I make and mix music for many artists and sometimes make money off of it. Through my high school career I have spent around 6000 hours in this passion. I consider myself very advanced as I have spent a lot of time perfecting this craft. Is this a good EC for college?</p>
<p>I did taekwondo up until high school and got a black belt. I also achieved multiple bronze, silver, and gold medals in taekwondo competitions. In total I have spent around 800 hours in this. Should I include this?</p>
<p>I don't know if these are great EC's or weak EC's please tell me where I rank. Thank you.</p>
<p>Not bad. I would recommend joining a biology or science type of club. Only thing is, you ECs are not in one particular area and seem a little random</p>
<p>The single most important factors for admission to UMich and NE are your transcript and test scores. Don’t be waylaid by this EC chase that many students falsely feel is essential. If you can give up 80% of that list and increase your culm GPA by 0.3 points or your ACT by 2 pts or SAT by 200 pts, you should do it in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>BTW: no one really pays attn to your vol hours. That level of detail is unnecessary.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. There are some things that I did solely for my college app, but most of the music things are just a passion and things I truly enjoy doing, not necessarily to get into college. I was just wondering if it would help my chances.</p>
<p>Your music is part of who you are – nothing wrong with that. Include your martial arts, too. Does it give you a particular flavor that’s going to help? NE and UMich are very stats driven. A person with 1/10th of your EC list but a better GPA and test score combo will face better odds than you – that’s just how it goes.</p>
<p>Thank you. Not to turn this into a chance me thread but if my UW is around a 3.5 and W a 4.1 would I stand a chance. I know they are pretty low but my gpa has increased by .1 each year and is continuing to improve. I have taken the most rigorous course load available to me and worked very hard my sophomore and junior years which should be reflected in my recommendations. My SAT is a 2100.</p>
<p>I think the music producer/mixing engineer business is a great hook. Colleges love when high schoolers do something “adult”–run a business, perfect an adult skill, etc. I’m convinced this is what got my son into Stanford. Read a couple books on the subject and run with it:</p>
<p>You can look at the common date set for schools you are interested in to see how they evaluate applicants. Looking at the one for the University of Michigan they care foremost about the difficulty of the classes you took and your GPA. One step down they will look at your scores, essays, and letters of rec. in the next category, which is essentially barely considered, you will find EC’s.</p>
<p>Also you will not be applying to any college for premed. Premed is not a major. It is a label that you give yourself that tells you and anybody that wants to hear that you plan on taking the 10 or so courses required to be eligible for admission to medical school.</p>
<p>Yes, the music mixing and marital arts (particularly if you won the medals in high level competitions like state championships) are probably more interesting ECs on a college application than most others.</p>
<p>But do not be under the illusion that ECs generally make a huge difference for most colleges, compared to high school courses and grades.</p>
<p>All your mentioned activities are nice additions to your app other than one. One of your ECs is only a middle school EC and should not be in your apps.</p>
<p>The fact you were focused on taekwondo and earned a black belt before starting high school, when you have not participated in the sport at all in HS, is not an item you should bother to report on your apps. Nearly all middle school awards, including black belts, are irrelevant to colleges. If you go on to get high rank in a second martial art during HS or pick up TKD and participate during HS, you might mention it. Otherwise, no.</p>