<p>soccer
swim team
Gay Straight Alliance
Key club
Track
Drama
Speech team
Have a job as secretary in dental office
i own a "business"
Boys State
Teach kids at the local shelter
Guiding Light --- a student "counselor" program to help emotionally wronged kids
Volunteering to teach kids how to ride horses</p>
<p>do i seem unfocused in my passion with all this stuff on my plate? what if i REALLLY REALLY REALLY REALLY excel at my sports, but still have all this stuff that i do?</p>
<p>if you do have a passion, go do something that reflects it. If not, I don't think it matters THAT much. Someone else should be able to respond better.</p>
<p>Often you only get space for a few ECs on your app anyways, so just pick the ones that really matter to you or the ones that you have leadership positions in. You won't be able to fit all of that in.</p>
<p>The problem is that if you just put a moderate amount of energy into each activity, you won't be able to "talk them up" for your essays- about how you have impacted the school or community through your club, and about what the activites mean to you, etc.</p>
<p>But just doing a bunch of things in and of themselves won't hurt or help you. It's what you make out of the activites that matters.</p>
<p>If in some of those activities you are very involved and can talk extensively about them, then also having clubs in which you aren't highly active is perfectly fine, even good. The problem is if you are only minimally involved in each of them, in which case it may seem like you have little passion.
but it also depends greatly on where you want to go. Having <em>amazing</em> ECs is a plus anywhere, but there are very few places where it's required. Even among excellent schools that do care about ECs (as opposed to ones that will take pretty much whoever the highest scoring applicants are to boost their stats) most simply want active students, they don't expect superstars.</p>
<p>So you've done a bazillion activities throughout high school.
And you're worried that you'll seem like you're NOT passionate.</p>
<p>Well, be honest. You're NOT passionate about every one of those activities - certainly, you're better at some than others.</p>
<p>In your short answer, say that. Tell them that although you've done x, y, and z, you're REALLY interested in basketball, and shooting hoops has made you the person you are today.</p>
<p>choose the top ECs that you care most about. show how in a few things, you are VERY passionate. if you are not very active in an EC don't put it down.
then you will be more focused. =]
(if you just list your activities like that it will seem unfocused)</p>
<p>I agree with citygirlsmom: you do show a passion. Link your activities together in your resume:</p>
<p>Sports: swim team, track, soccer
Teaching and mentoring: teaching kids to ride, tutoring at local shelter, Guiding Light (perhaps Key Club?), Gay Straight Alliance
Drama public speaking: drama, speech, Boys State</p>
<p>Rather than listing everything chronologically, list them in their "groups" with their major headings. Then when you put this in your Additional Info section, it won't be just a rehash of a list, but have the real purpose of showing exactly where your passions lie.</p>
<p>(Employment goes in a different section, so just list it.)</p>