<p>I really enjoyed and learned much from the great ideas on the thread about "reading as an EC" so can I ask a similar but different question: what about tutoring? I'm sure you all have good ideas. </p>
<p>My youngest, a freshman, has discovered tutoring and absolutely loves it. She says she'd drop everything else and just tutor if she could. Aside from her devotion to drama, I've never seen her so excited by something. She's a very strong student, especially in math and science. And she thinks she might want to be a teacher one day. Just for fun, she did one of those online MyersBriggs personality career tests (that I found on CC!!), and to her surprise and delight the top two occupations they listed that matched her personality were education and natural science. </p>
<p>Year round she tutors math to an elementary school child, and is a sub too, in the peer tutoring program that one of her teachers runs. She also found and initiated several volunteer opportunities. One as a weekly reading tutor for a little girl whose single mom can't afford a tutor. And for another family of limited means, she teaches math and science, organized around interesting games and experiments she prepares. She gets so much joy out of these opportunities. </p>
<p>But where does one go with this passion beyond what she's already doing (other than more of the same, maybe eventually for pay)? There aren't competitions, awards, summer programs or certifications for being a tutor (that I know of). Starting a club isn't one of her options either. Her teacher already runs a tutoring program at the school, and the endless number of clubs at her school are just very dead (they seem to proliferate and exist just for college resumes). But also she'd say "but I want to tutor, I don't want to run a club!" I can see her point. </p>
<p>I'd be interested to know as well, since my sophomore son also tutors. He does it for money though and makes quite a bit! He's been tutoring since the summer before his freshman year, and he's very much in demand. Too bad he doesn't drive yet! He tutors out of homes, and the arrangement we have is that I (or DH) drive him one way, and the parent of the person he's tutoring drives the other way.</p>
<p>EC's are what you do outside of school work. This can be because you love to do it, or you need to do it, or both. It can be several things, because you have many interests or are exploring. It can be one thing, because you have a singular passion and/or talent.</p>
<p>Outside jobs are EC's for many people. EC's do not have to be organized clubs and do not have to be affiliated with your school.</p>
<p>What I've read (probably here on CC!) to turn it into a Turbo-charged EC is if the tutor is also strong in a foreign language and sets up some special program for, say, lower income Spanish speaking students. This is particularly important in places (like here in CA) where HS exit exams require passage of an English and a math test. Yes, the HS has plenty of training after school as well, but sometime it just working better with a peer tutor.</p>
<p>I tried to interest my S into doing this but no dice. However, through Link Crew and peer tutoring list, he has plenty of chances for being a math tutor. He doesn't even keep track of the hours he does it for his friends on the water polo/swim team, or the kids he knows in the photo class (lots of down time due to back log in getting into the dark room, or so I hear.)</p>
<p>Both my kids have done teaching/tutoring and will include it on their apps. S1 had a bit more of an offical track for doing it, but S2 does it with folks on the football team. Neither of them ask for money. S1 wants to teach, so it's second nature to him to jump in if someone is having difficulty.</p>
<p>OP, she doesn't have to create a club. Just include it in her ECs and it sounds like she is so enthusiastic about what she's gotten from it that it would make for a fabulous essay.</p>
<p>If she's tutoring kids for free, that could be mentioned under the heading of Community Service. If she's tutoring for pay, it could be listed under the heading of Employment
Does her high school have a "Future Teachers/Educators Club"? I know that one exists in our local public high school. The club gives kids an opportunity to discuss different aspects of a teaching career. The kids also work with the elementary and middle school kids in a classroom setting.</p>
<p>Most certainly!! Son and daughter were both heavily involved in peer tutoring all through high school. Both focused on their different strengths and devoted more time to it than their clubs. It was much easier to fit in tutoring with their heavy sports practice/game/meet schedules than other ECs. They were able to do it during lunch, before and after school and on weekends at various teachers' homes and a centrally located library. They scheduled the sessions, worked closely with counselors and coaches to help reach the other students who really needed it.</p>
<p>And like the above poster mentioned both are fluent in Spanish so they were able to include many ESL students for a variety of subjects. To this day son is still contacted via phone, AIM, facebook and other means for tutoring help from his high school!</p>
<p>His current school was well aware of son's commitment to tutoring so his university provides weekly transportation for him to go into the nearby city to continue to tutor at both the high school and middle school level. One of his past projects was mentoring a supervising a large contingent of students needing help for science fairs. He was so proud of all of them!!</p>
<p>So to answer your question, YES!</p>
<p>Kat
ps Not to leave daughter out but she too volunteers 2x per week at an elementary school nearby her current school as well.
They did not do alot of one on one tutoring but more with groups since many students had many of the same issues/problems/questions with each particular subject. They were able to help more students at a time this way.</p>
<p>Current high school teachers and principal are anxiously awaiting their return from undergrad and hoping they stay local for grad school! Iknow both kiddos would like to coach as well so we shall see.</p>
<p>Now college Soph S listed tutoring as an EC. He did it "for profit" after school and, on ocassion, had been asked at his private school to mentor a younger student.</p>
<p>He also attended summer camp each year and had worked in various jobs at the camp. One job was "counselor in training." He lived in a cabin with younger kids and assisted the counselor. The camp had campers from Japan and S had taken Japanese since 4th grade, so he could help when the kids needed something out of the ordinary (usually if they were homesick or feel and had a small bump or bruise).</p>
<p>One of his college essays was about how he liked helping people one on one.</p>
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But also she'd say "but I want to tutor, I don't want to run a club!"
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<p>My kid as well. I know there is a lot of emphasis on starting a club, being president of clubs, etc. but that's just not my son. He's very passionate about his interests and works hard. I figure surely some college out there will be interested in a student who is willing to work hard for one of the many, many leaders they are admitting!</p>
<p>I am a firm believer that sometimes the most successful leaders have a really strong second (sometimes called a lieutenant) behind the scenes. I've worked both roles and sometimes the lieutenant role is the harder one!</p>
<p>The key is to give these "silent leaders" a way to describe this in one of their admissions essays. With some forethought, I think this can be done quite powerfully and yes, I think the more keen admission's officers will be on the lookout for that.</p>
<p>"ut where does one go with this passion beyond what she's already doing (other than more of the same, maybe eventually for pay)? There aren't competitions, awards, summer programs or certifications for being a tutor (that I know of). "</p>
<p>She doesn't need to get awards, etc. She just needs to continue doing what she loves. </p>
<p>IF she's in a service club or an organization like NHS, she also could see if she could recruit other student to tutor. She also could help organize a training workshop for prospective tutors.</p>
<p>When she applies to college, if the colleges allow it, she could include an extra recc from the parent of someone she tutored or the person who supervised her tutoring. She also could choose to write her essay about her experience as a tutor.</p>
<p>Thanks for all these great posts so far! It is so good to read what other kids are doing and different things one can do regarding tutoring, and also more generally about ECs.</p>
<p>Do you have a science center or museum in your area? Or does the local zoo offer educational programs for kids? Volunteering to work in a science-based program that has a teaching component seems like a logical next step, if she has the time. If she loves teaching and science, and has one or more EC's that are centered on that, she doesn't need to start a club. But I think adding a new version of tutoring might be something that enhances the focus of her profile.</p>
<p>My D volunteers as a tutor for a program in a public housing project, and really enjoys it. She volunteers at school coaching younger girls. She also has a paid job, where she coaches/teaches at a sports facility. I figure it's all sort of connected.</p>
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But where does one go with this passion beyond what she's already doing (other than more of the same, maybe eventually for pay)?
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<p>My daughter turned it into a full-time volunteer position teaching math classes to 80 children a week in several summer enrichment camps across Boston and Cambridge run by a local university. She had to come up with the curriculum herself, borrowing ideas from existing materials and games. The exerience teaching classes to Latino/a and African Amerian children from public housing communites won her an honorable mention recognition for Massachusetts from the national Prudential public service awards program and was the focus of her college applications and main essay. </p>
<p>She then wrote and got grants from her college and from private foundations to support her work and a decent stipend for two more summers, along with free housing in a dorm on the Charles River. Three years was her limit, but she had a nice run and grew tremendously from the experience.</p>
<p>As a teacher, I also sponsor the National Honor Society. What I would not give for a great tutor like your daughter? I do have some fanastic kids who give countless hours to our tutoring program. Perhaps my best story is that of my NHS president, who got in some minor trouble in school, and had to serve a detention period. Well, while in detention, one of the other kids was frustrated with her math. She just could not get the hang of a skill from algebra. My president heard her complaining and offered to look at the material. She immediately knew what to do and began to tutor for the next 75 minutes. The young lady really had a grasp of the material when my NHS president left. </p>
<p>I do not wish the same fate on your daughter, but good tutors are tough to find. Especially ones who have the respect of those whom they tutor. My son has more than 200 hours in tutoring, and he just loves helping others. My nephew told me over the holidays that he has 400 to 500 hours in tutoring students at the YMCA and teaching others various computer skills. </p>
<p>Continue to encourage your daughter's passion. Oh, BTW, NHS also offers a scholarship to seniors. Service is definitely a requirement.</p>
<p>My D1 made very good money tutoring ($50/hour) students from her HS. She listed it as a job, not as an EC. I think it's a great idea to tutor under privileged students for free (therefore an EC), but there is no reason not to charge money for tutoring otherwise.</p>