<p>I'm not saying to make up being president of something. I've played piano since kindergarten but stopped before freshman year and i will be playing it again this summer. can i just say ive done it throughout 9-12? </p>
<p>That’s not an exaggeration… That’s lying.</p>
<p>I don’t think colleges are going to care, whether you say you played straight or took a break, if you don’t have anything to substantiate it - ie, that you participated in a band or orchestra in school…that you took music classes during HS…participated in talent shows…won awards, taught Dr Pepper addicted Appalachian children how to play…you get the picture. </p>
<p>Not a good idea to start lying on important documents. However, it really doesn’t matter, as the vast majority of colleges don’t care enough about EC’s for it to matter. For the ones it does matter greatly to, things you’d probably want to lie about could most likely be fact checked. As mentioned above, saying you played piano for 4 years straight is cool. Its also probably worth the same amount if you said you played piano for 9-10. </p>
<p>There is no reason to lie. Playing piano from 9-12 grades would not give you anything extra. However, if you do take some achievement test or win some awards, that would be something worth mentioning.</p>
<p>Don’t! I didn’t have many & still got into colleges.</p>
<p>Before exaggerating them, I’d learn how to spell “extracurricular” first. </p>
<p>it was a typo, relax. </p>
<p>Well…I is right next to U on the QWERTY keyboard. It’s a bit redicilous to correct someone over that. It’d be like pointing out the redundancy in your sentence.</p>
<p>THANK you @elvisthepup . </p>
<p>As long as you’re not saying you’ve won a Purple Heart or a Noble Peace Prize or came 1st in the National Knitting Tournament or another EC that could easily be verified by googling your name, you probably won’t be caught unless you brag about lying.</p>
<p>Why is that worth the risk of something coming up that shows you to be a liar? Why take advice from someone who spells ‘redicilous’ that way?</p>
<p>Unless you have nothing else to put on your application, why even bother with listing playing piano as an activity, since you didn’t actually do it? </p>
<p>haha BrownParent I was commenting on how persnickety some people are (and shouldn’t be). If you actually understood my comment (please re-read), then you would realize I offered the OP absolutely no advice. My opinion is that one shouldn’t lie in nearly all cases (including this). However, I don’t have much knowledge of the application process. Could he get away with it? Could it help his application? I don’t know, so I held that opinion. </p>
<p>Oh, and since you seem to be sarcasm deaf…</p>
<p>I misspelled ridiculous ironically to highlight the little impact that the error (the same one that the OP made) caused on the general understanding. </p>
<p>Okay, well I wasn’t talking about lying like winning something I haven’t…I’ve played piano for many years prior to 9th grade and then stopped in 9th and I’ll be continuing this summer…So all the years i’ve played prior to 9th technically wouldn’t count; I just wanted to know if i can just put that on my app as having played piano all throughout. -.-’ </p>
<p>First, a lie is a lie. Second, why even bother if it will not get you anything?</p>
<p>That’s dishonest. </p>
<p>You CAN exaggerate and lie all you want. No one to stop you. But the chances fo getting caught are there, and the consequences can be severe. In general, you can exaggerate up to the point where it makes a difference. Schools really don’t care much about your ECs, unless they make a difference, but when they do, they may well look for supporting evidence. They don’t care if you played soccer for 5 years or 10, but if you are looking to be recruited, well, then you gotta come up with some concrete proof that you are good enough to get a pass on your ball kicking abilities, and still the 5 or 10 years isn’t going to matter. You have to come up with evidence that you are at the calibre where it makes a difference, and just your say so isn’t good enough.</p>
<p>Lies have short legs. I’ve seen some of the dangest coincidences where people get caught in really stupid lies. Like if you happen to interview with a admissions person with a piano in the room, and he invites you to play a tune, and he can tell how good a person is on the piano, and you are rusty, no where that nyone who has been taking piano through out, …or really bad at it. Doesn’t help your case. Just giving an example, here, I can write pages on some foolish tales that got people in trouble. </p>
<p>No one cares how many years you took piano. Whether you are willing and able to play the piano for the school orchestra and other things they have going, now that’s another story.</p>
<p>Is there someplace else on the app that you can put it? If you stopped taking lessons but continued to play for fun, you could add that as additional info. If the app doesn’t have a comments section, you could send an email to the admissions office with additional info. you think may be helpful. Some people send resumes, I think, but you could just send a letter with a list of additional interests. Your purpose is to let them know that you’re well rounded, so I’d sort the activities by type (sports, the arts, etc.), not by when you participated in them.</p>
<p>Selective colleges look for your teachers to confirm your potential as a scholar AND your involvement with extra curricular activities. Be very careful. If you list that you’re a concert pianist, student council member, work on the school newspaper etc, your teachers better be writing the same in their recommendation letters. </p>