<p>I’m probably a lone voice here.</p>
<p>I actually hate the concept of an ‘EC’. When I was involved in things in high school (many years ago), I didn’t even know about an EC. I did things because I like to be involved, and had no clue that it was something that I would later put on a college app. </p>
<p>These days our kids get involved knowing full well what it means down the line. Everyone talks about it, and kids feel bad that they aren’t involved outside of class. People may say that they are doing fifty million things for the love of it, and we should just admit that’s an absolute lie. They may like doing 1-2 things, and the rest are for the app.</p>
<p>I think we are just creating a generation of over-worked, stressed out people, by the time they are 18! I just cringe, and my heart breaks when I see all the posts here from kids and they are asking if they will be admitted to such and such school, and their list of accomplishments and activities is pages long! And they feel like a failure if their list isn’t as long as the next kid’s list.</p>
<p>What if a school actually said that they would prioritize students that had 1-2 ECs over those that had 20? What if we allowed our kids to be kids, rather than miniature versions of us? </p>
<p>I can only dream. . .</p>