<p>also, whoever said the point of ECs is to show that you can do well with less time to study is so wrong it's unbeliveable. Mayyyyybe in the college admissions game it's impressive to do a whole bunch of meaningless . But when you're in college, it's not about filling your time, it's about proving you're more than a test taking machine, that you can work well with others, that you can perservere in the face of failure, that you know how to think about things in ways you can't learn in the classroom, etc.</p>
<p>They don't care what you do or don't do in college.</p>
<p>To me, it sounds like a certain "college bureaucrat" was just having a bad day.</p>
<p>Perhaps if you'd have actually done anything in college your life wouldn't suck so much right now.</p>
<p>It is kind of weird for students to only go to class. GPA isn't everything when a person is socially inept. While I was at BC, I was hard pressed to find anyone who didn't have at least ONE obligation outside of class.</p>
<p>"Perhaps if you'd have actually done anything in college your life wouldn't suck so much right now."</p>
<p>I studied, I thought about life, I hung out with people, I played video games, I procrastinated, etc. If the idea of extracurriculars is to make the point that you did well academically in spite of not having a lot of time left to study, then why shouldn't I list on my resume the amount of time I spent playing video games?</p>
<p>Well colleges don't really care if you do extracurriculars or not, but I would say that here at least most students have at least one activity they do. But a lot of my friends at a big public school only go to class and socialize. So it kind of depends where you go, I think.</p>
<p>Also, it's sometimes helpful to have experiences to talk about when you're applying for jobs/internships. These could come from other activities of course, but extracurricular activities at school are a great way to give specific examples to interview questions.</p>
<p>Still trolling the forums Moire?</p>
<p>For all the newer people, Moire comes in here now and then with a WOE IS ME thread complaining about how his life is in shambles because he didn't have XYZ handed to him on a silver platter.</p>
<p>By the way, what happened to this conversation happening when you were calling up your career center after graduating and failing to find a job?</p>
<p>"It is kind of weird for students to only go to class."</p>
<p>Weird in what sense? And what about the extracurricular activities they participate in, that should not be listed on a resume? ie: jogging, hanging out with friends, etc...</p>
<p>"GPA isn't everything when a person is socially inept."</p>
<p>In my case, a low GPA combined with my social skills would have lowered me to the level of a community college student who graduated at the bottom of his class.</p>
<p>"Well colleges don't really care if you do extracurriculars or not..."</p>
<p>Then why did that woman make such a big deal about it? She made me feel quite guilty.</p>
<p>^^Well, I'm sorry you wasted your college years holed up in your room. Your story is the perfect cautionary tale of what happens to kids when they don't apply themselves outside of the classroom and the not-so-shocking effect of what happens when said person gets smacked in the face with reality.</p>
<p>It seems to me you're trying to make excuses as to why you are where you are right now. I've scraped the bottom of the barrel and know what it's like to fail in life. Do I pity myself for it? Hell no. I get up off my ass and work hard and that's what's brought me to where I am today. You want to sit behind your computer and loathe your circumstances. Nothing is going to be handed to you. Get off your butt and work for it.</p>
<p>I suggest you stop trolling the boards with your sob story and toughen up. My only hope is that this thread gets deleted.</p>
<p>Collleges don't expressly require you to do ECs, but it's implied that you certainly should. I really can't understand why anyone would spend all day long on homework and classes when there are so many other opportunities.</p>
<p>Particularily, if you want apply to grad school, you definitely need to do something. Even if go straight to work, you need to do at least an internship or something that shows you have interest in the profession. </p>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>I don't get why you keep posting these threads. I'd suggest you go to another career counselor at your school, and find out what other options there are for you to improve your career. Aren't there several career counselors you can see?</p>
<p>also, whoever said the point of ECs is to show that you can do well with less time to study is so wrong it's unbeliveable. Mayyyyybe in the college admissions game it's impressive to do a whole bunch of meaningless . But when you're in college, it's not about filling your time, it's about proving you're more than a test taking machine, that you can work well with others, that you can perservere in the face of failure, that you know how to think about things in ways you can't learn in the classroom, etc.</p>
<p>All you do is think about the past and what could have been, and what went wrong. You keep making excuses for why you are where you are. Thats not going to do you any good.</p>
<p>All you have to do is convince yourself that you actually want to fix your life. If you actually wanted to- you would have done something by now instead of starting all these threads trying to elicit sympathy so that you can feel better about yourself.</p>
<p>It's not the world's job to hand you a quick fix because you have a sob story.</p>
<p>"I've scraped the bottom of the barrel and know what it's like to fail in life. Do I pity myself for it? Hell no."</p>
<p>I wouldn't say I failed at life. I just expected to do better.</p>
<p>"I really can't understand why anyone would spend all day long on homework and classes when there are so many other opportunities."</p>
<p>Neither would I. I did extracurriculars, alright, just not the type you'd write on a resume.</p>
<p>"I don't get why you keep posting these threads. I'd suggest you go to another career counselor at your school, and find out what other options there are for you to improve your career. Aren't there several career counselors you can see?"</p>
<p>It's a possibility, but I wouldn't expect a counsellor to do magic for me. They are not in the business of giving people jobs, you know.</p>
<p>"But when you're in college, it's not about filling your time, it's about proving you're more than a test taking machine, that you can work well with others, that you can perservere in the face of failure, that you know how to think about things in ways you can't learn in the classroom, etc."</p>
<p>But forcing yourself to do extracurriculars doesn't prove that you have the virtues that you mentioned. Anyone can drag themselves to the soup kitchen every weekend and be totally miserable and asocial.</p>
<p>Moire,
What are you doing NOW to get yourself on the road to whatever is your goal? You've done an adequate job of analyzing mistakes in your past but that's all in the rearview mirror.</p>
<p>Pick a goal. Then work backwards to determine each of the steps you need to take to get there. And then take those steps. No one is in your way but you.</p>
<p>Moire, as others have said, no one expected you to do extra-curriculars just to fill time. People either do extracurriculars because they want to, or they do them as prerequisites for careers or further study. For example, a pre-vet student could work or intern at an animal hospital, or a science student could do lab research. Those looking for jobs right after college often do internships. Personally, there are no extra-curricular opportunities pertinent to my humanities graduate school interests. Graduate schools aren't interested in extracurriculars unless they have something to do with the subject. But I'm involved in certain clubs, such as the local democrats, the vegan club, etc. </p>
<p>Most people who do extracurriculars do so because they know what career they're aiming for, or they simply enjoy doing it.</p>
<p>"Those looking for jobs right after college often do internships."</p>
<p>I should have tried harder to find an internship. But the thing is, for you to get an internship you need to have extracurriculars listed on your resume.</p>
<p>"Most people who do extracurriculars do so because they know what career they're aiming for, or they simply enjoy doing it."</p>
<p>I didn't know what career I was aiming for and I certainly didn't enjoy extracurriculars :)</p>
<p>But you know, my main complaint is that people tend to cheapen my academic achievements when I tell them that I didn't do extracurriculars. It's like they immediately conclude that I did well in school just because I studied all day long! That is ironic, considering that I had a reputation amongst my friends for being a slacker...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I should have tried harder to find an internship. But the thing is, for you to get an internship you need to have extracurriculars listed on your resume.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Except this isn't true, as I got three internships with no real extracurriculars, a job immediately after graduating, and into a number of top-10 grad schools in my field.</p>
<p>Why not troll some other forum, Moire?</p>
<p>"Except this isn't true, as I got three internships with no real extracurriculars, a job immediately after graduating, and into a number of top-10 grad schools in my field."</p>
<p>When you say "no real extracurriculars," do you mean to say that you had extracurriculars but just not the type that you'd consider "real"? What type of extracurriculars are those? And what was your major?</p>
<p>I was in the student advisory council for my department. We met once a month for two hours for free pizza and discuss how other students felt about classes and give professors teaching those classes feedback.</p>
<p>Other than that, I hung out with friends, played video games with friends, and surfed the internet with my free time.</p>