<p>I know that as a freshman its a bit to early to be worrying about this but I am interested in pursuing ECs that help in the application process. What ECs got you into college.
I'm not a very talented athlete but participate in cross country and considering pursuing archery. I am interested in volunteering and will be volunteering at a hospital and probably going to a summer program. Looking to write on the school paper in the future. Debate team.
Unique ECs?
Any help is greatly apprecriated</p>
<p>Do what you enjoy! If you love something, the passion will show in your college essays and r</p>
<p>What EC’s got me into college? Well, I did one that took a lot of my time and had a lot of success in rebuilding the club to a competitive level. That was my only major one, and I got in some decent programs. It doesn’t matter which one you do, as long as you do something you enjoy and can be successful in. However, I encourage you to try different things before you narrow it down to 2-3 next year. If it ends up that you like “white bread”, that totally fine; adcoms would want you to enjoy “white bread” instead of eating “tofu and caviar stir-fried with durian sauce” just for the sake of being different.
The important thing you need to remember is that to get into college, you have to put your academics before EC’s. If your grades start to plummet, drop the EC’s you were doing and focus on academics. And getting good SAT’s is important too (aim for 2100+ if you are looking for a chance in the top 30). As much as I like EC’s, they are “extra” and should be secondary to academics.</p>
<p>How about this?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/82799-how-impress-adcoms-your-extracurriculars.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/82799-how-impress-adcoms-your-extracurriculars.html</a></p>
<p>EC’s give you the opportunity to explore interests, interact socially with others, and have fun. Simply put—participate in activities that are fun for you. If you’re not enjoying the experience of one EC, find another. Also remember that it’s not the quantity of EC’s in which you participate, but the commitment and the passion that it brings out in you. Find one or two that you truly enjoy.</p>
<p>Also, don’t underestimate the value of working summer jobs. Whether you’re working as a summer camp counselor, bagging groceries in the local grocery store, or stocking shelves, employment of any kind will teach you valuable skills. It also says something about your character—willingness to sacrifice “fun-in-the-sun” to build upon responsibility and independence. </p>
<p>Enjoy your high school years. Worry less on trying to impress and more on enjoying the experience.</p>
<p>well some EC are super important. The boys & girl club of america is heavily weighted because like 10 past president were a part of it. Key club, Science team, NHS, and etc are all important.</p>
<p>Of course, no extra curricular list can be complete with out drugs. Start your own drug business at school. It shows colleges that you understand key economic terms such as: high demand, low supply, and differentiation. Plus it shows that you can take a risk and turn a profit. The best part of it is that its tax free. (joking in case u havent realized)</p>
<p>“well some EC are super important. The boys & girl club of america is heavily weighted because like 10 past president were a part of it. Key club, Science team, NHS, and etc are all important.”</p>
<p>^they are not any more important than any other EC.</p>
<p>college admission books specifically singled out Boys & girls club, the USAMO, and the Intel award. </p>
<p>The other clubs are just standard EC.</p>
<p>If i can recommend just 1 EC, it’d be Boys & girls club.</p>
<p>Oh I would say that starting your own EC early on (so not just for college) and really impacting the world, maybe even winning some awards along the way…and an extra rec letter from someone who’s seen all of it is even better than Boys & Girls Club. </p>
<p>Or maybe I’m just biased.</p>
<p>Jason, please do not believe everything you read in those College admission books.</p>
<p>Intel is a research based program. It is more of a research program than your typical EC.
In most cases, it is limited to the highest achieving and most academic focused student in the school system.</p>
<p>Volunteering at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club (which isn’t in every town across America) isn’t any more meaningful than volunteering at your local public after-school program, nursing home, youth soccer or baseball or whatever sport club, or anywhere else. </p>
<p>If you’re into computers or engineering, check out your high school’s Robotic’s Club (if they have one). If you’re into film, check out the Video Production Club. If you’re into Journalism, check out the Newspaper Club. If you’re into Art, check out the after school Art Studio Club. One club is not any more meaningful than another. The whole idea of EC’s is to explore your passions and have fun. It’s better to have a few that you consistently participate in over the years rather than many that you quit after a month or two. It’s all about showing commitment and interest. In addition, if you do stay with the same club or two, there’s a very good chance that you will end up in a Leadership position within that club at a later time.</p>
<p>Community Service is different. In our local public high schools, completing a certain number of community service hours is mandatory in order to graduate. Again, find something that interests you. You don’t have to take a service trip somewhere to the other side of the world to give back to society. You could volunteer at your local Senior Citizen’s Center, Day Care Center, local Clean-Ups, Food Pantry, Animal Shelter, etc. You could help raise money for a specific cause. There are many local opportunities for community service projects. One is not more impressive than another. </p>
<p>Focus on your grades, your rigor of classes, preparing for the SAT/ACT, participating in a couple of enjoyable EC’s ( a sport, a club, band, chorus, whatever…), and enjoy your high school experience.</p>
<p>What ECs get you into college? None, if your scores, GPA, and rank aren’t up to snuff. </p>
<p>Assuming everything else is in order, your ECs should reflect your own interests. As a freshman, you have the luxury of time on your side–join any club that interests you! By the beginning of sophomore year, you can par your list of clubs down to two or three that interest you. Your interests may take you outside of school sponsored clubs as well; that’s fine! Just make sure you aren’t involved in so many things that you can’t commit meaningful time to each one. Your ECs should reflect your interests and passions–not what an adcom “wants” to see–so no one on CC can really recommend any for you. It’s up to you!</p>
<p>^exactly! 
:)</p>
<p>Have the guts to get involved in any EC that interests you. Do this even if you haven’t tried that activity before. It’s easier to be a newbie as a freshman than as a senior.</p>
<p>Don’t join things to impress colleges: Join things because you like the activities.</p>
<p>Most colleges don’t factor ECs into admission. The ones that do favor students who have done well at things the students enjoyed. The colleges are looking for students who made the best use of their own interests and talents and for whom the college would be a good fit, not students who tried to force themselves to fit the college’s mold.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the advice. Regarding the boys and girls club I am pretty sure we don’t have any where I live, although I could try to volunteer at one in a bordering town. I’m banking on volunteering at Stanford hospital in the spring when they allow younger volunteers, which might be an alternative to the Boys and Girls Club/other major Club which is something I can honestly say I will enjoy.</p>
<p>Also I skipped a grade a while back after I moved here from another country…(completely American caucasian with CA born parents), would that help at all in the admission process.</p>
<p>Boys and Girls Club presidents do so well because such clubs usually are for low income people. The students who rise to the top of such organizations often are very smart and have overcome major challenges in their personal lives. . That’s why some get accepted to top colleges: They’re poor (hard for top colleges to attract qualified low income students), have overcome major challenges and demonstrated major leadership, particularly by becoming president of a national organization.</p>
<p>It’s not like belonging to B&G club automatically opens doors.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, being national president of any large organization would put a student with excellent stats ahead of many applicants to top colleges. For instance, while many h.s. NHS presidents apply to Harvard, only one National NHS president is going to apply.</p>
<p>While often students can get offices at the high school level by being popular or by being teacher’s pet or by starting an organization that does nothing, to become a national president of an organization, usually one has to have some kind of vision for the organization and a track record of accomplishing major things for the organization. The track record is what impresses colleges.</p>
<p>Just piling up volunteer hours also doesn’t impress top colleges. Accomplishing something while volunteering – organizing a new program, making a major difference in someone’s life, organizing a successful fund raiser – is what will impress colleges. One only is able to accomplish something like those things after volunteering for a while and getting to know the staff and organization well enough that you are trusted with more responsibility. One also has to be assertive enough to see needs and to create programs and come up with doable ideas to address those needs.</p>
<p>An Ivy-aspiring student who walks in the door and tries to take over in order to decorate their resume isn’t going to be taken seriously by organizations.</p>