<p>This is what my ECs will look like when I'm applying to college so they are ~predicted. </p>
<p>I am the only source of income in my family so I spend all of my time outside of school working, etc and therefore don't do any school clubs. I'm a little worried about how this will look. What do you all think? </p>
<p>I'm hoping to apply to top 40 schools and major in Computer Science.</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Working: 40 hours/week in IT. Passed the CompTIA A+ and Network+ exams.
[</em>]Carer: Sole carer of parent.
[<em>]Writing: Awards (Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, etc). Summer program in writing. Published articles. Hoping to try and publish a novel. ;-) Also review books for a national newspaper.
[</em>]Business: I am self-taught in web and graphic design. I blog to earn money to contribute to my family as well as running a web/graphic design business.
[<em>]Athletics: I'm a sprinter who is hopefully D1 competitive! I don't want you to take into account whether I get recruited or not though! Just whether my ECs are competitive...
[</em>]Volunteering: 1500+ hours. [/ul]</p>
<p>^To be honest, I think it is far more impressive that you have still maintained grades competitive enough for “Top 40” schools while carrying the burden of providing economically for your family than having any “club leadership positions”. Kudos my friend and best of luck! :)</p>
<p>Well, leadership roles matter, but colleges mostly want to see that you’re passionate about what you do, and you seem to me, so just explain your most important EC’s and your passion behind them, and I think you’ll be just fine!</p>
<p>Thank you andreaval! Me and a friend have plans to start fundraising and raising awareness of a charity around where we live so hopefully I can show some leadership through that. </p>
<p>Hockeydude, I will do my best to chance you with the knowledge I have but take it with a pinch of salt. ;)</p>
<p>One suggestion - use “care-giver” instead of “carer” when applying to schools in the US and Canada, as it is the more frequently used term. At first, I thought you mis-spelled “career,” and it took me a minute to figure out what you meant!]</p>
<p>I started when I was quite young. I learnt HTML when I was eight or nine from a HTML for Dummies book. Since then, I’ve just picked up bits and pieces from other languages as I’ve needed them (CSS, etc). </p>
<p>Graphic design involves a lot of experimentation and online tutorials. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in learning yourself, I can direct you to some websites? :)</p>
<p>Wow, you’re very smart! Yes, I’d love to see some websites! Thanks! By the way, I’m taking computer science as an elective next year, so some practice will help…:)</p>