Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does birding as an EC create this type of “thread” or “backbone”?

Birds are vertebrates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious about wording for newfound interests:

If you say you are a birder and joined a group at a few state parks junior year, worked in an arboretum for the summer, is it a stretch to add in some seasonal volunteering with senior citizens (if only done for a few weeks)?

Thinking kid writes EC essay about this….

Check Reddit. So many birding stories in college apps. It might be the new beekeeping so perhaps overdone?

Cicada carcass collecting is a really timely thing this summer.

Birding is definitely the new hot EC. Will not work another cycle.
My kids are at ivy/ivy+ and they did not have these trendy ECS. They both had non-school big ECs they had been doing since elementary schools and continued into high school. They also had school ECs that mattered to them , and community volunteering that mattered to them. One had extensive outside of HS intellectual pursuits, other had a small amount of that but had more musical pursuits outside of school. These were all opportunities pursued by them. And they are excellent writers and had top stats/rigor/got selective school awards from teachers, etc. They did not exaggerate any activity or EC. One cannot fabricate or plan ECs. Students who follow their genuine interests will have plenty to write about and be able to show impact. Students who have that plus true intellectual vitality as evidenced by LOR and coursework/stats will get in top places.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People shouldn't lie, obviously. But I don't think this is helping them.

Our kids' high school does a college 101 session every year. It brings in a college admission counselor and the message is always the same re: ECs. Minus some exceptions - recruited athlete, etc., whether the kid does one or ten extra circulars, ECs count as one factor in admissions, and nowhere near as important as rigor, grades, SATs/ACT, essays, etc

Much more nuanced than that. ECs really don’t make a diff on their own.

For T20, they need to create a thread that runs through the entire application (essays, LOR, supps)….no random EC helps if it’s not totally connected and intertwined into the backbone of the application.

- I did this for my kid, admitted to two ivies and 2 other T25 with a good but not stellar academic track record.

Anonymous wrote:At my DC’s local private school you have to make an appointment to go over the common app line by line with your counselor before you can submit. They look closely at all awards, activities, etc. to make sure there is no lying. The counselors know the kids pretty well and will question them if they think an entry is false or exaggerated. The counselor also helped my DC rank and re-write the activity descriptions which was helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People shouldn't lie, obviously. But I don't think this is helping them.

Our kids' high school does a college 101 session every year. It brings in a college admission counselor and the message is always the same re: ECs. Minus some exceptions - recruited athlete, etc., whether the kid does one or ten extra circulars, ECs count as one factor in admissions, and nowhere near as important as rigor, grades, SATs/ACT, essays, etc

Much more nuanced than that. ECs really don’t make a diff on their own.

For T20, they need to create a thread that runs through the entire application (essays, LOR, supps)….no random EC helps if it’s not totally connected and intertwined into the backbone of the application.

- I did this for my kid, admitted to two ivies and 2 other T25 with a good but not stellar academic track record.

Anonymous wrote:How does birding as an EC create this type of “thread” or “backbone”?

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, what's the difference between stretching the truth on ECs and submitting a test score which represents hours of undisclosed one on one tutoring, multiple retakes and extra time in a quiet room?

Anonymous wrote:DS, senior, told us several people in his class have made up titles and awards on their common app; examples below. I’m pissed. He said it’s super common sadly.

- varsity tennis (co-captain); in reality just a member

- Model UN; delegate award

- environmental club; vice president

- food drive; organizer

It’s crazy right? I mean it’s not huge or the end of the world but….

Anonymous wrote:People shouldn't lie, obviously. But I don't think this is helping them.

Our kids' high school does a college 101 session every year. It brings in a college admission counselor and the message is always the same re: ECs. Minus some exceptions - recruited athlete, etc., whether the kid does one or ten extra circulars, ECs count as one factor in admissions, and nowhere near as important as rigor, grades, SATs/ACT, essays, etc

Anonymous wrote:People shouldn't lie, obviously. But I don't think this is helping them.

Our kids' high school does a college 101 session every year. It brings in a college admission counselor and the message is always the same re: ECs. Minus some exceptions - recruited athlete, etc., whether the kid does one or ten extra circulars, ECs count as one factor in admissions, and nowhere near as important as rigor, grades, SATs/ACT, essays, etc

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire system is set up to reward extraverted sociopaths who like to brag.

💯
So weird that everyone is in denial that this is the reality.
It’s the system.
Play the hand you’ve got - talk yourself up. It’s called a brag sheet for a reason.

Brag brag, brag, expand on every single thing.
Find ways to make the simplest things seem the most monumental.