Anonymous
10/28/2025 15:42
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
Trapeze is a hot EC????
Anonymous
03/13/2025 15:01
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
Bumping up.
For those looking for unusual or memorable ECs.
Anonymous
02/01/2025 10:56
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Juggling. It’s the secret sauce.
This has also been done.
My undergrad had a full-ride physics major who was a unicyclist. He rode it to class. It was kind of a weird flex before we had the words to describe that phenomenon.
Anonymous
02/01/2025 10:54
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
We are at the point of literally demanding from future engineers and doctors to do circus acts. How is this helping anyone.
why are you having so much difficulty with this today?
It makes you more interesting.
hello.
It’s only interesting if it’s authentic, otherwise I hate this gaming.
Anonymous
02/01/2025 10:27
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
I thought a friend's kid with reasonably high stats and a long-standing circus arts hobby would have great admissions outcomes. Nope.
Anonymous
02/01/2025 10:23
Subject: How to be different
I think it is fine to have any slate of ECs BUT you need to explain why these things are an interest, where the passion for them comes from, how they taught you to handle setback or obstacles. You don’t need a record of always achieving - it’s better to have failed and learned from that.
Anonymous
02/01/2025 10:04
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
More activities discussions…
Anonymous
10/15/2024 15:41
Subject: How to be different
For STEM - writing skills.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 15:38
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
We are at the point of literally demanding from future engineers and doctors to do circus acts. How is this helping anyone.
why are you having so much difficulty with this today?
It makes you more interesting.
hello.
No, it doesn't.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 15:24
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Juggling. It’s the secret sauce.
That would be fun in an interview.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 14:22
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
We are at the point of literally demanding from future engineers and doctors to do circus acts. How is this helping anyone.
why are you having so much difficulty with this today?
It makes you more interesting.
hello.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 14:19
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs
We are at the point of literally demanding from future engineers and doctors to do circus acts. How is this helping anyone.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 14:16
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:One of my kids ended up with something unusual and very involved that happened with no input or steering from me (and tbh honest a lot of “what? Why are you doing that?!” from me instead.) My other kid is a more typical well rounded, not pointy kid.
My conclusions: 1) no amount of steering and encouraging would have been able to get my more standard well-rounded kid to develop the type of depth and passion my pointier kid has for some random hobby (though I’m sure I could have gotten her to dabble in juggling or rodeo-clowning or whatever) and 2) they are both fine ways of being and ao’s overvalue weird hobbies. Sure, some kids develop them naturally but the idea that it’s “better” for teens to have some unusual passion has seeped into the culture in a way that isn’t good for kids and families.
100% agree with this.
But it's all about supporting that random (weird) depth and passion and then getting it to shine in the application process (if kid is gunning for T20 - if not its irrelevant).
I don't think kids "need" an unusual passion, but most kids have an interest that they don't realize they could develop more fully.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 14:09
Subject: How to be different
One of my kids ended up with something unusual and very involved that happened with no input or steering from me (and tbh honest a lot of “what? Why are you doing that?!” from me instead.) My other kid is a more typical well rounded, not pointy kid.
My conclusions: 1) no amount of steering and encouraging would have been able to get my more standard well-rounded kid to develop the type of depth and passion my pointier kid has for some random hobby (though I’m sure I could have gotten her to dabble in juggling or rodeo-clowning or whatever) and 2) they are both fine ways of being and ao’s overvalue weird hobbies. Sure, some kids develop them naturally but the idea that it’s “better” for teens to have some unusual passion has seeped into the culture in a way that isn’t good for kids and families.
My conclusions: 1) no amount of steering and encouraging would have been able to get my more standard well-rounded kid to develop the type of depth and passion my pointier kid has for some random hobby (though I’m sure I could have gotten her to dabble in juggling or rodeo-clowning or whatever) and 2) they are both fine ways of being and ao’s overvalue weird hobbies. Sure, some kids develop them naturally but the idea that it’s “better” for teens to have some unusual passion has seeped into the culture in a way that isn’t good for kids and families.
Anonymous
10/15/2024 13:55
Subject: How to be different
Anonymous wrote:Other unique activities I’ve seen recently - with awards, competitions, clubs & corresponding volunteer /paid work where possible:
Origami is very popular now.
Some others are:
Birding; pickleball; beekeeping; archery; skeet shooting; improv (that’s a big new one); songwriting; ukulele; photography; trapeze or circus arts.
These are definitely hot ECs