<p>"Has created and organized a major service project such as getting a Habitat house built ,raising at least $10,000 or starting a nonprofit that clearly was started by the student, not their parents"</p>
<p>This is listed as one of the "outstanding ECs" by Northstarmom on the first page. There have been many questions about how you document such an EC in order to get your message across to admissions, so maybe I can help.</p>
<p>I had an EC that fell in this category. My family adopted my sister from China two years ago and I had been doing some things to support China's orphanages (helping adopted children retain their Chinese language, sending boxes of goods to orphanages, etc.) I eventually got the idea to organize a fundraiser to raise money - a bowling event I organized raised $1,400 and a luncheon raised $1,300. </p>
<p>Later that year, I organized a golf tournament event that raised $11,400. This was my major EC that I stressed in my application. I gave information such as how many items were donated for our silent auction, how many golfers we had, how many dinner guests we had, how much money we raised, how many hours I put in, how many hours my student volunteers put in, etc. On top of that, I sent them our event program (which included 20+ pages that entailed our sponsors and silent auction items) as well as a front page local newspaper article that covered our event. I also discussed my attachment to China, often in the context of my fundraising endeavors, heavily in my college essays. But beyond that, and perhaps this was shown through my essays, I really cared about what I was doing. </p>
<p>Essentially, admissions is looking for 4 things when it comes to an EC: achievement, growth, passion, and utility. By achievement I mean the extent of an applicant's accomplishments (think national awards versus state awards). By growth I mean a past record of building on previous accomplishments (think bigger projects, leadership roles, etc.). By passion I mean the genuine desire to participate in this sort of activity long after college admissions is over. By utility I mean the value the EC adds to the university (in this respect, as colleges are foremost academic institutions, academic ECs definitely have an edge here. That's why USAMO holds more weight than, say, placing in a national eating contest).</p>
<p>And, as Northstarmom has stressed vehemently, having great EC's and great stats is by no means a guarantee of acceptance at any of the top programs. For example, I was accepted to Stanford but rejected by HYP. Easily I could have been rejected from all 4.</p>
<p>So above all, be realistic. But at the same time there is a certain pride that comes with going out of your way to do something spectacular. Whether or not a college gives your efforts the recognition they deserve, it shouldn't matter as long as you truly enjoy what you are doing.</p>