EC's/Volunteering during school terms

[Jordan87657]

I was just wondering how many EC's you guys devote your time on during the school terms. Do you focus on 1 so you dont get overwhelmed with school work as well, or do you do as many volunteering/EC's that you ENJOY as you can?

[LeBronto2019]

I was just wondering how many EC's you guys devote your time on during the school terms. Do you focus on 1 so you dont get overwhelmed with school work as well, or do you do as many volunteering/EC's that you ENJOY as you can?

 

There is a way to coordinate your ECs in a beautiful manner and not get overwhelmed. I was fortunate that a handful of them are monthly, and my favorite ones are weekly. Now, many people may say "oh but monthly might be low impact" or "how much can you really do once a month?". Luckily, I work on projects that involve either having an event (not typical bake sales, THANKFULLY!) or meeting up once a month to catch up on our individual work.

 

For example,

 

Monthly: eye health screenings at inner city schools/centres, youth council that works with the city council on projects (making a documentary in our subcommittee), research panel + mixer for undergrads, holding dinners at inner city centres.

 

Weekly: volunteer coordinator for a cancer support centre, ESL teaching assistant with immigrants, working out (daily <- not an EC but I have to make time)

 

It seems like a handful but I devote the 3 hrs./week for each weekly activity, and arrange to get all my planning/meetings/work done for monthly activities for a total of 2hrs/week, So 7 hours for ECs each week is manageable for me and I've not let them affect my grades. If I have exams, the organizations I'm part of are accomodating since I've been with them for a while and understand.

 

MORAL: find the perfect balance for you. don't do everything but don't throw out stuff that you enjoy doing. if you're doing a few ECs, make them meaningful. if you don't see some volunteer opportunities worthwhile or think a student group is really a waste of everyones time, then forget it. but its really up to how well you can manage your time, keep up those grades, be happy, and do some good for others or yourself.