<p>For the common app, lots of people recommend writing about your favorite EC. This apparently shows how its not just an item on a list. Now I have a couple of issues with this.
My EC's are not just stuff on a list, and I could write an essay about EC's (not a standard EC essay, but you get the point) , but that's not what I want to write about. </p>
<p>Where else can we distinguish our EC's? I'd honestly rather write a personal essay thats not about EC's. Suggestions?</p>
<p>You can use a resume perhaps to describe some of your ECs in a bit more detail? Not sure if it’s a good idea, just a suggestion.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of conflicting information about what the essay should be. Basically, as long as it is personal, clean, and interesting, you should be good. If you care most about a particular EC and want to elaborate about how you took initiative in founding such and such club, then write about that. If you want to write about something else, then write about something else. The personal statement is one of the few instances in which you can write about pretty much anything. Just don’t make it unflattering! No mentions of drug use, pretty much.</p>
<p>One of my classmates wrote about living in a bad town and having to hear people get shot every Thursday. This dude got accepted into every Ivy League in the country including Stanford, MIT, and Caltech.</p>
<p>@Typhon- Lol none of those are Ivy League schools</p>
<p>Maybe I worded it wrong, but what I meant was that he got into every Ivy League INCLUDING really hard non Ivy league ones such as MIT, Caltech, ect.</p>
<p>My advice to you is to write about something that you’re passionate about. Doing this will automatically make you write a better essay b/c you might actually enjoy writing it. So if you like making movies with your friends write about that or if you like poetry write about that. Your essay needs to stand out b/c the person reading it also has to read hundreds of others, so make it interesting and don’t be afraid to make a joke or two. So if you’re gonna write about how you volunteered at the soup kitchen every tuesday thats great in all, but it wont stand out (unless you’re a really good writer). What you need to know is that the person reading your essay is trying to get to know who you are, listing your ec doesn’t do that. This may or may not come to a shock to you, but if your essay is boring and dull the admissions person wont finish it. They will move on cuz the have to read hundreds.</p>
<p>If you’re not passionate enough about any of your ECs to write about them, don’t write about them. However, if that’s the case, they probably are more akin to items on a list than truly meaningful experiences.</p>
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<p>You can tell me all day long that they’re not just stuff on a list. You can tell the adcoms that, too. The fact of the matter, though, is that many resume items and EC list items are little more than items on a list. Unless you demonstrate that they’re more, adcoms may be skeptical of their importance.</p>
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<p>A list of ECs turned into an essay is silly. An EC essay should be about a single EC - the one about which you are most passionate and in which you are most involved.</p>
<p>If you have a topic you’d much rather write about, go for it - the resulting essay will probably be of higher quality. If you don’t have a different topic in mind, go with your favorite EC.</p>