<p>I went to school full-time, worked 22 hours a week, and participated in an EC activity. It’s all about time management. If you say you can’t work, go to school, and take part in EC’s then you have horible time management.</p>
<p>Eating contests aren’t EC’s. I really don’t know why you keep arguing the same points over and over again. Obviously you got nothing out of your EC choice. Yes, you can pick and choose them. Some are more valuable than others. If I hadn’t joined my EC I wouldn’t have found out about the school I am applying to for this fall. I also wouldn’t have made the friends that I did. Sorry you didn’t have a good experience or didn’t make any friends or no one liked you which could be fairly apparent with your attitude or whatever the reason.</p>
<p>Obviously a retail job won’t help anyone get an internship at the FBI. But who said anything about the FBI in the first place? Do you even know what the Fed Challenge is? It’s an economic outlook challenge. That has nothing to do with the FBI. A good gpa, networking from EC’s, networking through professors and campus events will get you a good internship. So will drive, motivation, and a good attitude.</p>
<p>Another point for ECs- if you do NOTHING on campus, you won’t have as many friends and you’ll be wondering in your last year “What did I do wrong?” because everyone will be crying and saying they’ll miss each other and you’ll be left out. And seriously, you can’t do well if you’re constantly feeling like an outcast. Friends are good. They can even benefit you academically- study buddies!</p>
<p>You dont need ECs to make good friends. Stop getting emotional random, because I never said anything about ECs during High school. In case you havent noticed, The OP wanted some advice AFTER HS. FBI comment was an example. I have many friends, I made ( college people) them through group projects. If anyone needed help, or if we couldnt understand something, I would talk to other people in our lounge area. </p>
<p>What ECs are good in college? It depends on what the little muscle in your skull considers an EC. Any volunteer work at college level is just a righteous thing to do. It wont help you in the long run. Or at least not as much as working for money. Because when someone pays you to do something, it shows that you were a necessity for that company/organization. Volunteer work, well they cant really complain if your not doing your utter best.</p>
<p>You also have to consider what school your going to, I am at commuter school where at least 95% of students commute. SO one (with the exception of some people like you) wants to stay after their classes to learn Jodo, or make flowers for the sick. If your stuck in a dorm with a fat kid eating chips the whole time, maybe making flowers is not so bad after all.</p>
<p>I worked ~25 hours a week too. Other than the money, It just consumed my time. Now I am taking 20 credits no EC , No job. I already got a summer internship as a php,C++ programmer. That an EC that will (at the very least) help get a job at Google or Microsoft.</p>
<p>Of course volunteer work will help you in the long run. It’s a great thing to talk about in job interviews. I’m helping mentor kids who don’t have homes, and they’ve helped me to really appreciate all the opportunities I’ve been given in life. Plus it’s fun!</p>
<p>Greenvison, I don’t understand why you’re telling people to turn down what could be good opportunities! College is all about learning and growing as a person. There definitely are colleges where certain ECs aren’t popular, or ECs that are worth very little, but that’s a very specific problem that students can figure out on their own depending on where they are. Do you actually believe anything besides studying or working (that is, ECs!) are worthless just because you haven’t had a good experience in that area?</p>
<p>^^ hey you have 123 posts as of now.</p>
<p>no really, get into ECs if you think it will help you. But i do believe that studying and working will help you more.</p>
<p>haha you’re a programmer, that explains it all…j/k. I didn’t do any EC’s in high school. And I thought we were talking about clubs. I’m not sure I made it clear in my other posts but I am in the economics/finance club at my COLLEGE, not high school. I’ve been out of high school for 3 years, I know what the real world is like and that’s why I’m in college. Obviously studying and working has some good benefits. Like I stated before you need a good gpa to even think about applying for an internship/job at good companies. And I will state it again, I worked roughly 20 hours/week, had a 4.0 for the semester, and was in the club. It all ties together if you manage your time. Of course there are other ways to meet people in college but the best way, and easiest, is to get involved in something, anything. It’s harder for some people to make friends in a new environment than it is for others. I don’t know if EC’s are strictly volunteer work but I always thought they were clubs on campus too. It all ties together though. I did the club thing at my CC. Now I can put it on my application to a 4 year school to beef up my resume. If I get into the school I’ll be able to work less hours, assuming my personal loan is paid off, and focus a lot more on my school work and any groups/clubs I join. Keeping my GPA up to par I can apply for an internship at one of the Big 4 and hopefully get in. So it all ties together for me.</p>
<p>Greenvision: Okay, that makes sense. I agree that working (if you need/want to) and classes especially should be your first focus.</p>
<p>I think that doing extracurricular things is vital. Right now, on top of my 5 courses, I’m playing ultimate, taking a student taught Steelpan drumming class, participating on several student government committees, and doing research. It just makes life more interesting, and less focused solely on studying.</p>
<p>The people you live with in the dorms will challenge you because they will be more diverse than you could imagine. You will be living with people who are racist. You will be living with people who are closed minded or strictly religious. You will be living with people who are extremely poor/rich and like to base everything they say on that fact. You will live with people who are homophobic and people who are gay. You will be living with bookworms and party people. Whoever YOU are, you will be living with people who are really DIFFERENT than you. My biggest challenge was realizing that being open-minded meant accepting people who I didn’t agree with. </p>
<p>I am from a nice neighborhood in downtown St. Louis Missouri. Coming to Ohio State I met many people from small towns who liked country music, football and were very Christian. I was really turned off by these people at first, but after being invited home to Thanksgiving by of these students I really came to understand and respect our differences (I also listen to country music now. weird!). Many of these students also grew by accepting different kinds of people who they weren’t familiar with in their hometowns.</p>
<p>If you think you have an open mind before going to college…believe me: you don’t.</p>
<p>^^ your right. But you have to realize that some people just want to be left alone. I have seen students who are never seen hanging out with others or even talking. But then i realize that these people have their own crowd. Imaginary crowd i guess.</p>
<p>random, you seriously have to check the title before posting. And yes, you were talking about ECs (even if you said clubs, it would have meant the same thing). </p>
<p>I read some of your posts, you have a 3.5ish GPA in a CC, I dont know why you stated 4 in this thread.</p>
<p>You stated working 22 hours a week. Then you switched to “roughly” 20. Working at home depot is not going to help you get a job at JPMorgan, but its better than nothing. So be precise, and focus. You major is all about that.</p>
<p>You think you’re trying to stump me or something but it’s not working. I stated I had a 4.0 for that semester(all A’s) while working, going to school, and in the club. My cum. is a 3.5, so you seriously need to read better before posting. Working at home depot isn’t going to get me a job at JPMorgan, I never stated that. You are putting words into my mouth. Home depot will pay my loans, car insurance, gas, living expenses, cell phone, etc. You don’t just get a job/internship at a top firm your freshmen year in college. I worked at Home Depot before I went back to school so I never stated, thought, nor will I ever have a thought that Home Depot will help me get a job at a top firm. If you even read my posts I stated a high gpa, good networking, internships, and motivation will land you a good job. Quit nitpicking my posts until you come up with something good.</p>
<p>Ok guys. Can’t we just agree that good EC’s will help you in life whereas bad EC’s that don’t help with networking will not?</p>
<p>Greenvision: You are so wrong. Those people who stand alone DO NOT for the most part want to be outsiders. They just don’t know how to go about talking to others. Poor social skills, or whatever.<br>
It’s true that they are outcasts for a reason–something is wrong. However, it could be just shyness, left over from a not great high school experience. They would blossom if someone else came over to them and spoke, and included them in the invitation to a party, etc. They don’t initiate conversation with others due probably to some past rejection in high school. You could experiment. Try to talk to an outsider. Just casual, and see if you can discern the problem. if they are nuts, then avoid in future, but you might really be doing someone a HUGE kindness if you spoke to a so-called outsider/loner who is really just lonely and not sure how to interact or get started.<br>
Hope you listen and reach out once in a while.</p>
<p>i stand by my word. bad Ecs, no no, good ECs, they dont accept anyone easily.
so go and make some money.</p>