r/ECAdvice

hello all. i want to go to yale for finance/business SO BAD but i have no clue what to do that is attainable and also somewhat niche. i will list my current activities below

-lincoln douglas debater(placed 4x novice year and placed at Stanford)

-prospective debate business(i would be a coach over the summer to middle schoolers and hopefully make a profit)

-i play guitar

-i have 100+ volunteer hours

-4 times a year, i write for a magazine that gets sent to third world countries

-i make cards for kids in the hospital

yeah thats about it. also, im a freshman for context. PLEASE help me!! im doing fbla next year btw.

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Hello! I really need some advice on how to decide what to do this summer. I posted about my situation in another sub, but didn’t get much feedback, so I am posting again here.

My stat & ECs: SAT1580, GPA 4.0. rank 3rd in my year, 10 APs (all 5); National Training Camp (Mathematical Olympiad), National-level competition awards in Math and Physics (4x); National Youth Orchestra, Juillard summer Programs; National Youth Composer Competitio (6th Place); Sound design for the school drama club; Sound design intern at local theater; Composer for a 15 min play (the play itself won a regional award)

I already did machine learning research at CCIR with a professor. The paper was accepted to a major US computer science conference, and it received a Best Paper Award at a well-known (though not tier 1) machine learning conference in my country.

A professor I met at the conference offered me a summer research internship in her lab. This is in another country.

However, I had originally planned to intern at a local NGO. This means that if I take the research, I could not do NGO. My school counselor says that I already have strong research results, and that my college application looks weak because I am not the founder of a business or NGO. He said I should focus on local NGO internship + be a founder of something. My school is pushing everyone to do Launch X and Wharton now. Is business or the founder thing really that important? Any thoughts on that?

I really want to take the research internship, but I'm worried that it might hurt my application if I don't do the business and NGO things.

Hey guys so I was going through this page and started noticing how many of you guys want to get your ECs together for college so I can give you some ideas if you would like them....

1. Math/CS- I know this is gonna sound soooo hard but if you're aiming for CS try building a website or app... it doesn't have to be fancy just try making your own games for example and promoting them online. you can even do it for a non profit.

2. Sciences- If you're aiming for the sciences your best bet would be to go for research (try publishing a few papers) or participate in comps but otherwise you can mentor younger students, volunteer at hospitals or if you want to do something big you can launch prototypes and products in your school.

3. Social studies- you can initiate or aim for a big position in your school's newspaper club, you can start podcasts and aim for growth or even your own blogs on substack and other platforms and aim for high growth (colleges like to see growth over number of ecs). if you're really into writing get your work published at magazines or journals. Even imitate public events. one of my best tips is to combine something you like with society concern. For example if you like scrapbooking, you can scrapbook about poverty in your community and initiate community events to inform and educate people.

Tbh in my opinion do as much as you can and enjoy school life!! Dont stress about college too much but here are some ideas, if you want me to come with something specific just comment down below. really enjoy your school life and try your hardest. Keep going guysss!!!

Hiii I’m a highschool student from Thailand. Can someone please help me on if there’s any online research opportunities or internships related to biochemistry/medical/medicine that I can do? I’m also okay with any real life internship program in Asia. I’m interested in studying biochemistry in university and I’m currently taking 4 A level subjects. Someone please help me out… I think I’m running out of time😭😭😭😭😭

Hi Everyone! I’m wondering what else I can do to get into an Ivy League, I already do a lot of impactful things, but I feel like something’s missing! Any advice would be appreciated!

So far i’ve done:

Leadership & Service
President, WCT Key Club
President, Student Council
Founder, STEAM Youth Initiative (develop and lead workshops introducing children to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math)
Volunteer (150+ hours; led projects generating 300+ additional hours)
Organized coat and clothing drives
Fundraised for students in need
Volunteer with Special Olympics
Food distribution and community cleanups
Volunteer at University Hospital
Community service in a low-income neighborhood in North Carolina
Partnerships with Kiwanis and UNICO
STEM & Engineering
President, FTC Beaks n’ Bolts Robotics Team
Team Leader, SkillsUSA Urban Search & Rescue (SkillsUSA)
Biomedical Engineering Project: Designed a dressing assistance device for an elderly disabled woman to improve independence and daily living
NJIT STEM Residency Participant (New Jersey Institute of Technology)
PIM Program Participant (Engineering + Media)
Dual Enrollment at Rutgers University and Essex County College
Internships & Work Experience
Poll Worker, Essex County Board of Elections
Giving One Tenth Summer Internship (community gardening, Newark)
Internship with Cory Booker (office work, legal workshops)
PIM Media Internship (built website for program)
Athletics & School Involvement
Cross Country Team Member & Media Manager
Cheerleading Team Member & Social Media Manager
Athletics Media Manager (Volleyball & Basketball)
Media & Communications
Managed multiple school sports social media accounts
Increased engagement and visibility
Organized events and awareness campaigns
Coordinated team communications and logistics

What else can I do? Thank you!

Im sorry for being vague but I am kind of lost right now. I finished hs this year and I am currently on a gap year but my ECs are really poor. I have a few months before early admissions for next year open so please suggest some extracurriculars

hi everyone! im a current hs sophomore who’s interested in medicine/neuroscience (i want to go into premed💔). does anyone have any recommendations for high impact ecs or something i can do over the summer??

i was planning on volunteering at a hospital over the summer and getting my cna certification but idk if that’s good enough.

any research/internships currently available?? pls help a girl out😓😞

Hey everyone, I’m a freshman in the Bay Area CA. I took AP Computer Science A through an outside provider (cost about $1,000) because I wanted to get ahead and I'm interested in CS/AI. Another reason I did it is because it would help me make a more defining story in my college applications, and have good resumes for summer programs .
When I told my school teacher about it, she didn’t like my decision at all. She called me foolish and said I wasted my money, and claimed that AP scores don't even matter for college admissions at UCs. She also said grades are the only thing that matter the actual high school GPA so I did a bad job by taking the course outside. Apparently according to her it has absolutely no impact on my college applications.
I’m feeling pretty discouraged now. I thought taking a rigorous course early would show initiative, but now I’m worried I’m actually making a mistake. I was also planning on completing courses like AP stats and AP cybersecurity next year so my junior year course load isn’t hell. I’m really confused on everything. I don’t know what summer courses and out of the school courses I should take because I’m afraid they don’t even count. Please help.

Hey guys, I'm a junior going into my senior year next school year, and I want to make my ECS stronger in the field of psychology.

I'll start it off by saying... I have no ECS, only a vague vision. I haven't even thought about trying to go abroad until last year and now this overwhelming feeling is all crashing down at once . I feel like I'm in a daze

I don't really have an idea of what to do but I always a feeling... this big idea of creating something that captures the essence of the feeling in my mind involving art and stem (some of the things I'm good at) and i would like to develop my writing and music skills for this.

But again, I am completely lost. This is currently an inexecutable passion and just a feeling so heavy that i feel like I'm doing something when I'm doing nothing at all. I feel uncertain of my capabilities as I've never actually put myself out there and I'm overwhelmed by the things that I have to do. I would like to major in something on the premed track but I'm not sure how to start.

(sorry for making this feel like a personal rant lmao)

I recently got professional accreditation to go to the cannes film festival, but I was debating whether or not I should go because it would be expensive. for context, I would go to write articles about screenings and maybe interview some film professionals in the 3 languages I speak for publication in a cultural institution's journal.

accreditation is usually reserved for film professionals or established journalists and I think I would be one of the only, if not the only, high schooler there. I was accepted because of my association with the cultural institution and my past publication of interviews w emmy and Oscar winning directors.

also, I want to major in international relations and would tie this into the major if I went.

how impressive of an EC is this for college? do you think its worth it to go?

Can someone explain and guide how exactly do you do research, how do you find papers, how to find professors or mentors? And etc

hi guys,

im probably leaning to cs/stats/math major, and i was wondering what are some ecs to have that i can initiate

any ideas would be appreciated, thank you!!

I go to a relatively small school in a suburban city. What are some strong ECs that I could do for premed?

FOR COLLEGE ECS+AWARDS: About 20-50+ students minimum,more the better, its something i might create, if you guys are interested. COLLEGES LOVE when us students collab together, make a community/global impact, talking to multiple races/cultures and having large impact.

Basically, I have a non profit organization that includes teaching students from Middle School to High School about AI and Business (specifically the combination of the two). We teach the students entrepreneurship strategies and fundamentals and they have monthly pitch competitions against each other with prizes to learn and develop. We already have traction nationally. In our location alone we teach over 120+ kids. Let me know if youre interested and spots are reserved for people with a decent amount of a technological and business background. DM for more details!!!!!!

I am currently in 9th grade, going into 10th, and I have been researching different programs to possibly participate in, but I am having a hard time deciding whether they will be worth my time and money.
Everywhere I look, there are mixed opinions: some say it is worth the money, while others say it was just a money grab. I was thinking about applying to
- LaunchX
- Ladder internships
- I have been accepted into Stanford Pre-Collegiate Program for game design
If anyone could tell me if any of these programs would be worth my money, it would be a great help. Thank you for your time.