ECs - the most unusual or memorable ones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Theremin
Warhammer painter/player
Soy candle storefront on Etsy
Vintage TV repair

I had to google the 1st two. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is so ridiculous that memorable EC is a make or break.

Frankly, it’s not. My kid with no truly unique ECs got into HYPSM early this cycle, albeit they did write fantastic essays that I suppose elevated those non-unique ECs. People have gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs regarding the college admissions race (for which I blame colleges, not kids and parents).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been harping on my sophomore for 1.5 yrs to join something at school. Keep telling her on paper she looks like not that interesting. Then I was so ashamed that I told him kid she wasn't interesting! She is in almost year-round club sport and piano lessons and other than that, she seems to only care about her hair and makeup - no cap as the kids would say.

But, she works hard at her grades and I've decided to leave her alone. We will just try to ensure her essays convey a sense of her quiet confidence and creative interests. I've actually really come around to deciding that -screw the resume-building - I think it is cool she is happy opting-out. And now we have peace in the home. I've told her some doors may close but if she doesn't have the drive rn to jump through hoops for other ppl, a non top-tier school will be just fine.

She is smart and creative and has nice friends... She will get a part time job this summer and at least get some real life skills and have her own Starbucks money. As for the college stuff, we are just going to roll with it and see how it all pans out. I'm sure it will be fine.

Kudos to you!! This is how it should be - let kids be kids and support them - this gives them a much better chance of being happy and healthy vs pushing them.

[Anonymous]

My kid shovels horse poop every weekend for a horse therapy farm. He’s learned that wet poop is really heavy and frozen is worse because you have pry it from the ground. He’s also learned that mini horses are the worst bullies to each other. This isn’t going to be the thing that gets him into college but I look forward to reading his essay for entertainment’s sake.

[Anonymous]

Found this thread in reading about how to use hobbies as ECs.

Wow. Eye opening

[Anonymous]

This is just the undergrad game.

In MBA school, people are supposed to put a couple of hobbies, interests, etc. at the bottom of their resumes so that interviewers can learn a little bit about them and have a conversational icebreaker. This is particularly important for high-paying Wall Street jobs and consultancies.

The best one I saw was "Successfully defended my ship from pirates in the South China Sea".

That was from a former US Navy officer.

Wall Street bros eat up that kind of thing.

[Anonymous]

My kid is an Internationally competitive jump roper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an Internationally competitive jump roper.

Double dutch or regular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kept wondering, how easy it is to fake these nonsense ECs. All you need is just writing this bs in your essay. A short order cook? A sailor? A bunny raiser? I can walk on the moon! It’s not like AOs will actually verify that you have done all the bs!

Brown and Stanford do "audits". I am sure others do as well:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/vej3ya/psa_brown_and_probably_other_schools_are/

Mine is at Brown. There was a digital trailer of most endeavors-- local news about winning a competition, YouTube video of another competition, imbd page for film acting, photos and video of 2 unique artisan skills, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid that shows her dog in dog shows. This is the main EC and they travel all over for it. Accepted to HYP.

Well that EC just indicates she's rich.

Maybe, maybe not. I used to show my mutt in obedience trials (got him AKC listed for obedience because he looked like a pure bred). My mom would drive us to shows within 1.5 hours of NoVa. It really didn't cost much and was fun.

[Anonymous]

My quote from the movie Clerks got removed. Boo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not in this year. There was a student who went on a journey of being a sailor. Then "wrote" a book about that experience, published. Got in stanford.

Risky, but worked.

Is it this one?

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/bulgarian-father-son-row-across-arctic-ocean-endangered-species-2024-09-17/

https://www.sportingbarbados.com/news/sailing/2020-10-07/bulgarian-student-becomes-world%E2%80%99s-youngest-ocean-rower

I met him last year and he is very impressive.

[Anonymous]

Different stage in life but I briefly worked in admissions for a business school. If I read one more essay about someone running a marathon - it is a very impressive feat but it became really cliché...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not in this year. There was a student who went on a journey of being a sailor. Then "wrote" a book about that experience, published. Got in stanford.

Risky, but worked.

Is it this one?

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/bulgarian-father-son-row-across-arctic-ocean-endangered-species-2024-09-17/

https://www.sportingbarbados.com/news/sailing/2020-10-07/bulgarian-student-becomes-world%E2%80%99s-youngest-ocean-rower

I met him last year and he is very impressive.

So they also built the boat they used to row in across oceans themselves?! Just wow. This is as authentic and incredible as it gets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not in this year. There was a student who went on a journey of being a sailor. Then "wrote" a book about that experience, published. Got in stanford.

Risky, but worked.

Is it this one?

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/bulgarian-father-son-row-across-arctic-ocean-endangered-species-2024-09-17/

https://www.sportingbarbados.com/news/sailing/2020-10-07/bulgarian-student-becomes-world%E2%80%99s-youngest-ocean-rower

I met him last year and he is very impressive.

So they also built the boat they used to row in across oceans themselves?! Just wow. This is as authentic and incredible as it gets.

Yet Trump says foreign students shouldn’t come to America 🤦‍♀️