<p>For a scholarship application, I'm supposed to list "involvement with school-sponsored clubs, community-based programs, employment, leadership positions that you've held, and any honors or special recognitions that you have received. Provide the dates you were involved in each activity or received the recognition." </p>
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<li>It doesn't specify only high school activities...should I include middle school things like the county spelling bee or an essay contest? </li>
<li>How far back are you supposed to go? There are activities like piano lessons that I've been involved in since kindergarten. Do I include the very beginning dates for those things since I still participate in them?</li>
<li>What about volunteer opportunities that only occur once a year? For the date, do I just say "annually since 2007?" </li>
<li>The question asks for a detailed description. How detailed does this mean? I'm also supposed to choose 3 activities that were especially important and write a paragraph each, so it can't be too long....</li>
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<p>Generally speaking, life begins with 9th grade. Listing events going further back than that makes it look like you know your EC’s are inadequate and you are desperate to come up with anything you can find to write down.</p>
<p>So in answer to your questions:</p>
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<li> No.</li>
<li> If you’re still taking piano lessons, then yes, say since kindergarten. If you stopped in 8th grade, then don’t list it at all.</li>
<li> Yes.</li>
<li> What they really want isn’t details, but good writing. Try to convey an emotion in your one-paragraph description. You can describe your grandfather’s car, for example, as a medium blue 1972 four-door Buick LeSabre, or you can describe it as the same car he’s owned for 30 years that still smells of every cigar he ever smoked in it, but it just keeps running. The first description is full of factual details, but the details of the second description describe your grandfather as much as his car, and there’s part of YOU in it. That’s what they want to see. For the three activities, try to find a subtle common thread between them in terms of WHY they were important. Your three activities could be learning to drive, being an extra high school theater performance, and visiting people in a nursing home, but if they all take you out of your comfort zone, the scholarship people will see that.</li>
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