EC in school or outside of school

T

txfwindian

Parent of USNA C/O 2025
5-Year Member
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Hi All,

Would like to get some input on EC participated in school vs participated outside of school.

- Are they weighed differently by the SAs ( USAFA, USMA, USNA) if they both have the same leadership learnings, impacts, team work?

- is there some verification needed ( letter or so) for EC outside of school.

My DDs EC are all outside of school and that’s why asking this question.

Regards
 
bopper said:
There are some ECs we know the SA's like.

Boy's State/Girl's State: Out of School
Varsity Sports, esp. Captain: In School
Boy/Girl Scouts: Out of School
Class President: Out of School
See https://westpoint.edu/admissions/class-profile for more.

So clearly both are valued.

Does she do a sport?
Click to expand...

Yes, she is xc ( JV this year and working towards V senior year).

Why is class president out of school ?
 
If your candidate received a 2 minute look by an admissions panel, would the student resume resonate with them and would they understand the activities your candidate participated in? Some activities are universally understood - like Boys/Girls State or scouting. Others are not, but could be very impactful if properly described in the resume. For instance, there may be a prestigious selective group at your high school that is selected by the administration and has massive impact. As an admissions board, do I know what Eagle Scout is? Do I know what a member of the Garfield Ambassadors is?

I could go to Garfield High with a graduating class of 800.
Selected by High School administrators as 1-of-5 out of 800 students to serve as public ambassadors to my magnet school, responsible for leading guided tours, responding to press interview requests, and serving as a student advisory council to senior district leadership.

There are three levels of EC participation - member, leader, and leader with impact. Strive for Leader with Impact and be able to document the impact.

Who was involved, how many, what was the result?

Led a Coat Drive

or

Selected by peers to lead a group of 9 students over 80 hours of community service as we collected more than 400 coats for homeless members of my community.

In a 2 minute look by the admissions panel, detail and context matter.
 
shiner said:
If your candidate received a 2 minute look by an admissions panel, would the student resume resonate with them and would they understand the activities your candidate participated in? Some activities are universally understood - like Boys/Girls State or scouting. Others are not, but could be very impactful if properly described in the resume. For instance, there may be a prestigious selective group at your high school that is selected by the administration and has massive impact. As an admissions board, do I know what Eagle Scout is? Do I know what a member of the Garfield Ambassadors is?

I could go to Garfield High with a graduating class of 800.
Selected by High School administrators as 1-of-5 out of 800 students to serve as public ambassadors to my magnet school, responsible for leading guided tours, responding to press interview requests, and serving as a student advisory council to senior district leadership.

There are three levels of EC participation - member, leader, and leader with impact. Strive for Leader with Impact and be able to document the impact.

Who was involved, how many, what was the result?

Led a Coat Drive

or

Selected by peers to lead a group of 9 students over 80 hours of community service as we collected more than 400 coats for homeless members of my community.

In a 2 minute look by the admissions panel, detail and context matter.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir, this helps put things in perspective. Would you take a look if I pm my DD resume snapshot and give some advice?

Regards
 
txfwindian said:
Hi All,

Would like to get some input on EC participated in school vs participated outside of school.

- Are they weighed differently by the SAs ( USAFA, USMA, USNA) if they both have the same leadership learnings, impacts, team work?

- is there some verification needed ( letter or so) for EC outside of school.

My DDs EC are all outside of school and that’s why asking this question.

Regards
Click to expand...
USMA has standardized categories for EC's that provide automatic WCS points with the check of a box. Most of the standard EC's are in-school, but some are outside of school such as martial arts, scouting, etc.

For EC's outside of school that do not have a check box it is important to communicate with the RC. The RC will award WCS points for participation and leadership in outside EC's, but there can be judgement calls in cases where the activity does not readily correspond to an equivalent check box activity. It is up to the candidate to explain the relevant details in the comment section and through direct contact with the RC - WCS calculations are verified by another RC and your RC needs the details not only to calculate WCS points, but also to justify the calculation to another RC.

All EC's, including those outside of school, are verified by the school official completing the Candidate Activities Report.
 
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