What ECs stand out?

Applying to College
1

<p>Okay, here's the deal. I've been reading a lot of "What are my chances" threads and most of the comments I see are along the lines of "Your extracurriculars don't seem any different from those of thousands of other applicants. You don't have a hook". </p>

<p>So, my question is this: what is a hook? What would be an example of an extra-curricular activity that does stand out?</p>

<p>Well, I guess prestigious awards are and getting into highly competitve summer programs would count also. But is there anything else?</p>

2

<p>You'll know if your EC stands out.</p>

<p>More than likely it isn't a president of a club, or even a national award, but maybe it's something that you're passionate about and expresses who you are.</p>

3

<p>Show extreme dedication to one thing.</p>

<p>Me - Theatre. 15 productions. 104 thespian points.</p>

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<p>does saving people's lives on a regular basis count as standing out? because honestly, i dont have that many ec's like those seen here.</p>

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<p>enzo: working as a swimming pool life guard part time doesn't count.</p>

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<p>In addition to ec's that stand out...there are a bunch of regular ECs that colleges tend to like...
-Debate
-Summerbridge/Breakthrough Collaborative (look it up online)
-and discovering a cure for cancer</p>

7

<p>yes...but does being an emt count? I volunteer for my town. the class took basically a complete school year...like 300 training hours. </p>

<p>i barely mentioned part time work on my app. I just filled in the part for work and said nothing about it on essays. i honestly could care less about work. I just need money from it.</p>

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<p>Some sort of significant research would be nice.</p>

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<p>Something that makes you stand out from the others. Do something other people don't do and be good at it.</p>

<p>Me: table tennis</p>

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<p>lol table tennis isnt THAT uncommon.. especialy among chinese (4 years competitional table tennis)</p>

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<p>me: producing a film. not sure how that is but i made sure it appears on every nook and cranny (or is it crook and nanny) oof my app.</p>

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<p>If you started a business, do you put that under work experience or extra-curricular? I don't really have an employer, I just do stuff locally.</p>

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<p>lol table tennis... every mandarin chinese friend that i have is good at ping pong, some of them at the provincial level. </p>

<p>not impressive, cause ivy league doesn't even have ping pong</p>

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<p>If you live in China, certainly table tennis isn't very uncommon. However, I live in New Jersey, and not many people play. Basement recreational play doesn't count. But being nationally ranked and a junior olympic gold medalist counts for something.</p>

<p>Joethemole: Most of the Ivies do have teams. Just because the Ivies don't have ncaa teams does not mean it is not impressive. And please, there is a difference between "pingpong" and table tennis.</p>

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<p>hahahaha... best kid ever... you make me laugh gxing.. koodos... and good job w/ the hardcore table tennis to the max... it's EXTREME!</p>

<p>by the way... i'm a competative policy debater... would that be something good to talk about for the 150 word common app short answer? 'describe and activity, yatta yatta yatta"... i have no idea how to talk about it in only 150 words</p>

<p>anyways, good luck everyone, and if you want to read my real essay, pm me.. hoorah for present tense!</p>

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<p>I figure skate, which wouldn't normally stand out (though Mt. Holyoke brags about the number of skaters they have), but I've been doing it since I was four, so my resume's pretty long. Mostly, I just included high school stuff, but I was a double for a movie when I was younger. I wasn't even going to bring it up, since it was a long time ago, but my interviewer read over my resume and thought it was really cool, so I guess that stands out.</p>

<p>And reykjavic, don't worry about what you write your essay on. Write about the subject that you can be most passionate about -- I wrote about skating, even though my Model UN awards seem to be something colleges like better. So if you're more passionate about, say, basket-weaving than debate, write about basket-weaving.</p>

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<p>Yea, I wrote what I wanted to write about, not what I felt they wanted to read.</p>

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<p>For the short answer on the common app - describe an activity that is meaningfull, etc - i'm writing about debate... does anyone else find it impossible to write something meaningful in 150 words?</p>

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<p>Club president, figure skating, ping pong, debate club --- yawn.</p>

<p>I want to hear about the kid who completed the training and does volunteer work as an EMT.</p>

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<p>edad, how is "pingpong" or figureskating a yawn?</p>