<p>Honestly,my EC is really considered as weak. (yearbook,science writer of my school's online newspaper,member in city astronomy club---volunteering sometimes,orchestra,no leadership,no BIG awards,nothing really stands out) But there are too many reasons for why i (or some people)have such a weak EC..... So,why do the colleges still care so much ???</p>
<p>Because it’s not enough for you to be concerned with academics or the actually curriculum. Colleges want your whole life to basically be one giant resume to get into college.</p>
<p>Most colleges don’t care that much about ECs. They care much, much more about your courses, gpa, and test scores. In general, it’s only the very top colleges – the ones with an overabundance of high stat applicants – that pay a lot of attention to ECs as admission factors.</p>
<p>^^I’m aiming for top 25 schools,I’m so depressed that my EC is not as impressive as others… If I explain my situation,do you think the these colleges will consider my situation and ‘‘forgive me’’?</p>
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<p>It’s not about “forgiving” students. College applications are about the presenting packages (high school transcript, application essays, recommendations, outside interests, and other factors) that convince the admissions committee of an enthusiastic, intelligent, active young person who will be a clear addition to the campus community.</p>
<p>It’s up to you to bring your background, experiences, ECs, and whatever to life using the opportunities available in the application package. It’s not about national awards or “x” number of hours of community service. It’s about selling yourself.</p>
<p>BTW, you could write a killer winning application about bagging groceries every day after school with no ECs.</p>
<p>At top colleges, so many applicants have perfect GPA/courses that they need another criteria to evaluate them ie. the essay & EC.</p>
<p>I do not have good ec activities either, but simply my school did/ does not offer any of my interest. Though as a college student, there are many programs to fit my interest.</p>
<p>In regards to the original statement: perhaps there’s no good excuse for NOT exploring and then communicating your intellectual passions?</p>
<p>“but simply my school did/ does not offer any of my interest.”</p>
<p>is not a valid excuse.
you can always START YOUR OWN club if you want.</p>
<p>…or look for opportunities in your community, beyond your school.</p>
<p>Gee- where I come from that is a pretty good bunch of extra curriculars. My college app had 2 extracurriculars. I ride Dressage and do a bit of community service. In all fairness I’m a nationally ranked young rider, but I doubt that means anything to most people and probably sounded as impressive as saying I was a nationally ranked in (insert obscure sport/activity/game here). But in my personal statement I wrote about how participating in the sport helped me grow as a person, taught me good skills, and shaped my decision for a career.</p>
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<p>What if nothing that’s like a “club” strikes your interest? What if your passion really at this stage was just learning about a subject or two in depth? I think that someone cannot necessarily just make good use of his/her time and achieve lots, and get into colleges – you have to <em>market</em> yourself properly. </p>
<p>I won’t deny that personal experience biases me. No “ECs” around really interested me, though I was not inactive outside of school…just didn’t have anything marketable. </p>
<p>However, quite a few schools will not care if you don’t have a ton of marketable ECs, or even a few, because they’ll let you communicate your passions in essays.</p>
<p>^^so what top (top30) schools will let me communicate my passions in essays??</p>
<p>"What if your passion really at this stage was just learning about a subject or two in depth? "</p>
<p>That’s wonderful. The colleges that care about creating vibrant campuses would want to see how you could pursue those interests in college while contributing to campus life, too.</p>
<p>For instance, if you like an academic subject now, you could be doing research (which could be completely independent or could be done with a local college prof or by doing far more than expected for high school papers in related subjects), joining a professional organization related to those subjects, taking summer classes in those subjects or going to summer programs in those subjects or creating a club related to those subjects.</p>
<p>yipyip, from your posts I have the impression that you work. Having a job is an EC. It also sounds like you may have a big role in running your household.</p>
<p>To post 9</p>
<p>I’m not trying to come up with an excuse. Plus, no need for me to come up with my own club. I’m a junior in high school, and feel confident that where ever I attend for college a club ( or more) will be offered of my interest, where I’m more than likely to join. I’m not in rush to join any club if it’s not offered.</p>