r/ECAdvice

I know im a cs major but there aren't that many cs opportunities 😭 this is what I got so far

GPA 3.85

founder of 5score: ap prep website that has quality questions for completely free. managing a team of 6

coding lead for electricity optimization during power outages simulation project

Awareness through research Researcher (more med)

cherielle for girls in code nonprofit content creator

Stanford mini fellowship on molecular imaging + letters of recommendation from the professors (wasn't prestigious or anything but I have the rec letters at least)

craft research scholar

planning on making a student led research publication website

I think I’ve missed the deadline for a lot of competitions cs of school and SAT prep.

hi im a british student looking for 3-4 collaborators on an independent research project on ‘to what extent do financial and policy barriers to menstrual products access school attendance in Nigeria’. we will work from now until september and work to get it publish it.

Heyy, so I actually recently started using Reddit so please mind me if i dont know what im doing. However , I am a highschool student, who founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called ScanBridge AI, designed to help teach about how to use AI in healthcare to help under resourced regions and communities. I'm thinking of having international chapters along with ambassadors to help spread the nonprofit and advertise it! I'm also thinking of recuriting a formal team soon, so I can manage everything from the website, event planning, budgeting, etc. Reply here if you might be interested!

OK beside all this, I'm also feeling extremely lost on how to maintain my nonprofit. I don't have anyone I know with experience, which makes it harder, and online media just confuses and stresses me even more. I really need some help, chat. Does anyone who run a nonprofit or know who does, have any advice they can give me? I put a lot of time and effort into this so I really want it to work out before college.

What This Thread Is For

Post your request for extracurricular (EC) opportunities or collaborators here.
Anyone offering an opportunity can reply in-thread. This keeps the main feed clean and focused.

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Student Template (optional)

Copy what you need, delete the rest.

Seeking: (e.g., research mentor / nonprofit internship / hackathon teammate)
Interests & goals: …
Grade & location / time-zone: …
Relevant skills / experience: …
Time you can commit: …
How to reach me: reply / Reddit chat / DM / other …

---

Provider Template (optional)

Post as a top-level comment or reply to a student.
If it costs money, list the exact price up-front.

Opportunity: …
Type: volunteer / paid / competition / research / startup ✧ specify
Who it’s for: grades, prerequisites, skill level
Duration & weekly hours: …
Cost (exact amount or “free”): …
Proof / reviews: link to website, testimonials, past student outcomes, press, etc.
How to reach you: reply / chat / DM / form …

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⚠️ Quick Advice for Students

• Aim for impact & depth. Admissions teams care more about genuine commitment than shiny price tags.
• Free can be fantastic. Self-run projects, local volunteering, or leadership roles often impress more than costly programs.
• Vet before you commit. Search for reviews, ask in the sub, or DM past participants when money is involved.
• Guard your info. Share personal details only in DMs or off-platform once you’re comfortable.
• Report red flags. If something looks like a scam or violates r/ECAdvice rules, hit “report” and it’ll land in the mod queue.

---

Sort by new to see the latest posts. Happy hunting & collaborating!

I’m an Ethiopian high school student looking for a few motivated students interested in collaborating on independent research related to real financial/economic problems affecting developing countries. Topic is still open, mainly looking for serious people willing to commit and build something meaningful together. DM if interested.

hi all! i’m not sure if this is the right subreddit to share but if there’s a more appropriate subreddit please let me know 🙏

i’m currently waiting to matriculate into university so i have some spare time and i kinda want to build my portfolio in regards to stem. so far, i’m trying to learn skills such as python, and reading up on research papers. if anyone here has any good advice on skills/good projects on a stem portfolio pls feel free to share! i’m honestly quite open to learning anything from astronomy to ecology 🙏

another thing i would like to ask is that if it’s possible if i can help out in any research here or elsewhere as remote work as a high school graduate (incoming undergrad). for context, i’ve done a mini research paper as part of my IB high school curriculum regarding biological processes of enzymes (4000 word research paper with statistical analysis). i can help out in research and cross referencing but i’m just not sure if it’s too far of a stretch to ask for whether i can collaborate or help out in any current research projects that are stem related in this subreddit and elsewhere. should i continue building the skills and foundations or seek research opportunities or both?

if anyone has any good suggestions for anything related above, please feel free to share as well 🙏 thank you so much!

Hi, I'm an international student, specifically from a region with low resources and opportunities. I have recently moved to the capital city of my country, and I am looking for ECs to aid my college app next year. I am already a gap year student and do not have alot of ECs. What can I do until November and December. I am a tech focused student with programming experience and an interest in ML and the new trend of agentic engineering. I have been researching about hackathons and I'm trying out for online events at Major League Hackathons. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Thank you guys ❤️

For context, I’m a rising junior. So for this summer I have to decide between doing unpaid computer engineering/science research at a university lab under a pHD student or be a paid it/finance intern at a well known corporation.

I want to go into management information systems (prefer), or like cybersecurity/cs or accounting/finance. I can’t do both options for the summer.

A third option I have is I could do the lab research at the university combined with a less time-consuming business development and outreach support paid internship at a lesser known nonprofit that is dedicated to promoting equitable access to open source technology.

Which of these options would be best for college apps?
Pls help

Sharing this because somebody in this channel shared it before and honestly it changed the direction of my life..

Honestly in high school I always knew I wanted to do something. The thing is I was always just focused on trying to get the best grades and maybe to do some clubs here and there and all that other stuff. I realized in my grade 12 year when applying to some random jobs I saw on LinkedIn that the real world now doesn't fully value those grades as opposed to actual experience (btw ended taking a gap year)

I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Honestly when I came across a post about how you are who you surround yourself with, it is really true. For me during that gap year I ended up just doing new things and trying and exploring, putting myself in new circles. Whether it is with tech, entrepreneurship, public speaking, vibe coding or whatever, I would learn so much from these people. Next thing you know I felt like I was going with their momentum and so I feel like my ambitions developed from there.

Now honestly I'm in the process of actually trying to apply to do an internship actually in New York and San Francisco, even though I never actually thought I would end up doing it but here I am. I don't know, the rooms you're in matter a lot so I think it's really good for you to surround yourself with other people who are curious and ambitious. For sure I think that's an important takeaway. Soo when your comfortable in your own circles challenge yourself!

(Rereading and there’s prolly similar posts out there)

I try really hard to not care about other people’s ECs for college, but today a kid told me I’m absolutely cooked for college when I told him I had a paper that was pending for publication. We’re freshman, and he has already published many papers under student run“nonprofit” organizations (“nonprofit” in quotes because its technically 501(c)(3) but still requires fees to publish. He’s also done research under other organizations (I don’t wanna dox anyone, so think Lumiere, like “research”organizations that are obviously cash grabs, but it’s still a publication at the end of the day). So to him, the fact that I didn’t have a publication yet meant I was behind.

I guess it rubbed me the wrong way when he said I was “absolutely cooked”. I felt like I was falling behind when I’ve spent so long getting to where I am. Really pathetic, right? Haha…

Anyways, do competitive colleges (think Wharton, that’s his reach lol) actually consider those types of publications as legitimate forms of research? Like, should I try to in on it too? Or should I stick to my smaller (peer reviewed btw) journals that I may not even get published in. I don’t really have the money, but I will do it.

Just so you y’all know, this kid is still my classmate and friend (I say that loosely). He does have accomplishments: FBLA, some pre-college programs, sports, and his grades are pretty good. But what he said today just made me feel like I was falling behind. So I’m not trying to flame anyone, I genuinely want to know if I should be playing the P2W game.

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.

i was thinking of emailing some local universities around me since i basically have no ecs but im a bit confused on how to email, am i supposed to email professors or the universities themselves?

I only have 2 ecs but I think they're pretty strong. I founded a website called 5score for AP Exam prep kind of like knowt and fiveable but completely free forever with high quality questions and progress tracking and I manage a team of 6 people. I'm also a coding lead for an electricity optimization simulation. (unemployment major here btw)

idk.. my dream is ucb, what other ecs BESIDES clubs should I take up?

What This Thread Is For

Post your request for extracurricular (EC) opportunities or collaborators here.
Anyone offering an opportunity can reply in-thread. This keeps the main feed clean and focused.

---

Student Template (optional)

Copy what you need, delete the rest.

Seeking: (e.g., research mentor / nonprofit internship / hackathon teammate)
Interests & goals: …
Grade & location / time-zone: …
Relevant skills / experience: …
Time you can commit: …
How to reach me: reply / Reddit chat / DM / other …

---

Provider Template (optional)

Post as a top-level comment or reply to a student.
If it costs money, list the exact price up-front.

Opportunity: …
Type: volunteer / paid / competition / research / startup ✧ specify
Who it’s for: grades, prerequisites, skill level
Duration & weekly hours: …
Cost (exact amount or “free”): …
Proof / reviews: link to website, testimonials, past student outcomes, press, etc.
How to reach you: reply / chat / DM / form …

---

⚠️ Quick Advice for Students

• Aim for impact & depth. Admissions teams care more about genuine commitment than shiny price tags.
• Free can be fantastic. Self-run projects, local volunteering, or leadership roles often impress more than costly programs.
• Vet before you commit. Search for reviews, ask in the sub, or DM past participants when money is involved.
• Guard your info. Share personal details only in DMs or off-platform once you’re comfortable.
• Report red flags. If something looks like a scam or violates r/ECAdvice rules, hit “report” and it’ll land in the mod queue.

---

Sort by new to see the latest posts. Happy hunting & collaborating!

Currently a sophmore, and would love to know some ideas for ECs to have! I'm wondering if I should create a nonprofit, but I have no idea what to do with the nonprofit... any advice would help!!

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.

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😭😭😭😭😭

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

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.