<p>Ok so I'm not going to go far into detail but I don't have the option of playing sports... I am a sophomore in High School,(TX), and I want to go to UCSB if that matters at all. Main question, what else is considered an EC other than sports? I have 173 volunteer hours if that counts as anything... Please help because being OOS and having no EC's will not look so good on my UCSB application.</p>
<p>An EC is pretty much anything you spend your time doing. It can be a job, sport, club, volunteer work, taking care of your family, or anything else. Colleges, above all, are looking to see that you stay busy outside of your schoolwork. Devote yourself to a few activities that you really enjoy (it sounds like you have done this with volunteering) and let the rest work itself out. Good luck!</p>
<p>Is there any clubs in particular that might make me stand out? Thanks btw</p>
<p>What are you interested in? Are you planning to go into business, law, med, etc?
Example: med- join Red Cross. Law- join mock trial. Business-FBLA or start a small business?(:
And try to get leadership roles in the clubs!</p>
<p>Definitely med:) idk that’s where my 173 volunteer hours came from, the Red Cross (I think). I volunteered at the CFI at BAMC in San Antonio last summer and they gave me like 3 certificates, one stating my 173 hours and they also gave me a shirt</p>
<p>A shirt that says “red cross youth services” on it so would that count as Red Cross?._.</p>
<p>Maybe you can volunteer at a hospital? But practically everyone does that, so that and something else ( sorry idk anything about med ://)
But yeah, if your school has a Red Cross chapter, definitely get more involved so that you can get a leadership position!</p>
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<p>They don’t care about volunteer hours. Community service can be one of your ECs, but it doesn’t have to be.</p>
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<p>No, not really. It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you show commitment and hopefully leadership in it.</p>
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Wait is there a difference between volunteering and community service?._. Totally did not know that</p>
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<p>Sure, because community service doesn’t necessarily have to be voluntary. But that’s not what I was talking about. I mean they don’t care that you have 173 volunteer hours.
Volunteering/community service can be one of your ECs, and the Common App asks how much time you spent on each EC. But you don’t need to have volunteer hours to get into college, and they’re not going to ask how many volunteer hours you have.</p>
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They ask how much time as in…? Hours? Or like 1 year, 2 years etc? Sorry I’m very confused…</p>
<p>They ask how many hours per week, how many weeks per year, and in which grades.
They want sort of an approximation, not an exact number. It’s so they can get an idea of how much time you spent on your activities, how committed you were, that sort of thing. And they will ask that about all your ECs, not just volunteering.</p>
<p>Oh ok thanks:)</p>