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Extra-curricular

What are some ECs I can do (to boost my CV)
Common ECs?
If i learn to program is that EC
How about if I can produce music and speak French
Also what are some good volunteering jobs etc. Just anything to boost CVs would be helpful.

(would like to be an investment Banker and im going into year 12 in September)
Thank you


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Reply 1
No decent university cares about extra-curriculars.
Original post by AdeptDz
What are some ECs I can do (to boost my CV)
Common ECs?
If i learn to program is that EC
How about if I can produce music and speak French
Also what are some good volunteering jobs etc. Just anything to boost CVs would be helpful.

(would like to be an investment Banker and im going into year 12 in September)
Thank you


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write to a few investment banking firms near your place and see if they could arrange a short summer internship for you.
try to start a sport perhaps.
community work can help too.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by BasicMistake
No decent university cares about extra-curriculars.


could you pls elaborate? they do look for a well-rounded candidate. they do not accept students with staright A*s (i know ppl who haven't been accepted even when they had great academic achievements).
Original post by 2000rules
could you pls elaborate? they do look for a well-rounded candidate. they do not accept students with staright A*s (i know ppl who haven't been accepted even when they had great academic achievements).
I don't remember my personal statement having any extra curricular things in it apart from 'watching foreign films' and I got all my offers within a week...if it's for something competitive like medicine then yeah I would understand needing to have EC activities but it is true that you don't always need them (all my offers were from Russel Group unis)
Original post by rleah1998
I don't remember my personal statement having any extra curricular things in it apart from 'watching foreign films' and I got all my offers within a week...if it's for something competitive like medicine then yeah I would understand needing to have EC activities but it is true that you don't always need them (all my offers were from Russel Group unis)


woaw! that's great! may i ask which universities you got accepted into?- i'm just curious as im trying to go to a Russel Group university myself.:smile:
Original post by 2000rules
woaw! that's great! may i ask which universities you got accepted into?- i'm just curious as im trying to go to a Russel Group university myself.:smile:


Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield. Admittedly, since it was for Languages that probably explains why it was so fast because I guess they have fewer applications to deal with
Original post by rleah1998
Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield. Admittedly, since it was for Languages that probably explains why it was so fast because I guess they have fewer applications to deal with

Thats really nice to hear!
good luck mate!
Original post by 2000rules
could you pls elaborate? they do look for a well-rounded candidate. they do not accept students with staright A*s (i know ppl who haven't been accepted even when they had great academic achievements).


You're right, excellent academics aren't guaranteed a place but in terms of weighting, they matter the most by far. It doesn't matter what else you do, if your grades are poor then don't even bother applying for highly competitive courses. You might want to consider what people call super-curricular activities instead. Playing piano and being in the rugby squad is absolutely useless if you want to apply for economics at a top university for example. However, super-curricular activities like wider reading and going to lectures show that you actually want to study that subject.
Original post by BasicMistake
You're right, excellent academics aren't guaranteed a place but in terms of weighting, they matter the most by far. It doesn't matter what else you do, if your grades are poor then don't even bother applying for highly competitive courses. You might want to consider what people call super-curricular activities instead. Playing piano and being in the rugby squad is absolutely useless if you want to apply for economics at a top university for example. However, super-curricular activities like wider reading and going to lectures show that you actually want to study that subject.


I agree! But what i meant to say was well balanced academic achievement and EC accomplishment, can take the student a long way in the university application process.
By 'going to lectures', do you mean something like summer schools?
Original post by 2000rules
I agree! But what i meant to say was well balanced academic achievement and EC accomplishment, can take the student a long way in the university application process.
By 'going to lectures', do you mean something like summer schools?


Summer schools are a great way of showing interest but they aren't the only way of doing so. I'm going to apply for economics this autumn so in order to demonstrate my interest I have read multiple relevant books, gone to talks/lectures and written essays and articles. One thing to note, it's all well and good to have done all these things but you need to be able to express what you've gotten out of it, what you understood and what you learnt.
Reply 12
Alright thanks for the replies and EC is really important to stand out in IB, it's competitive

How about if I tutored students every week
Hmm volunteered
And for summer internships when can I start applying?


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Reply 13
Does reading books count as EC


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Original post by BasicMistake
Summer schools are a great way of showing interest but they aren't the only way of doing so. I'm going to apply for economics this autumn so in order to demonstrate my interest I have read multiple relevant books, gone to talks/lectures and written essays and articles. One thing to note, it's all well and good to have done all these things but you need to be able to express what you've gotten out of it, what you understood and what you learnt.


that's great advice. thanks mate!

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