Extracurricular activities are the things that confuse the most people about the college admissions process. I’ve had some people say that a set of extracurriculars is “weak” while others say the same set is “strong and shows involvement”. So, the question is, how do you impress colleges with your extracurricular activities?
Be committed: Commitment to an extracurricular activity is extremely important. Doing an extracurricular activity for all four years of high school shows a certain amount of dedication that doing it for one or two years and then quitting lacks. On the common application, when listing your extracurricular activities, try to go for ones that you have participated in for an extended amount of time.
More than a list: Extracurriculars have to be more than just a big list. Be sure to be specific about your activities in your essays or your interview, to show that you do not simply participate, but truly enjoy and excel in many of your activities. So when you are asked in any situation what you do, don’t just list, elaborate. Describe in great detail your activities, and more importantly your role in these activities. Show that you did more than just “serve your time”.
Quality>Quantity: Not only is it hard to list extracurriculars after your first 7 (there is no room on the common application, so you have to list it in additional info or attach a resume or something), there really is no way you can be involved in a huge list of extracurriculars. Colleges are more impressed by dedication in a few extracurriculars than participation in a huge amount. If volunteering isn’t your thing, don’t do it. If you hate sports, don’t play a JV sport just to put it on your resume. Do what you like, it’ll make life a lot easier for everybody.
Doesn’t have to be in school: School isn’t the only place to do extracurricular activities! You can also find opportunities outside of school in places like the Food Bank or the Senior Center, where there are abundant volunteer opportunities. Getting a job, or working in a lab (if you live in a university town), are also great extracurricular activities. Coaching little league baseball or pee wee hoops, operating your own business, any of these are great extracurricular activities. Be encouraged to think outside the box for your extracurriculars, colleges will be impressed by your initiative!
Expand your involvement: If you like dance, you don’t have to just take dance lessons, you can do competitions or teach clinics, or even do choreography for your school dance team or show choir, again creativity is key, and being unique is definitely a good thing, so don’t be afraid to take chances and ask people for opportunities, the worst thing they can do is just say no!
This is the first in a number of posts regarding extracurricular activities, so stay tuned, I’ll be covering a number of issues with what may be the most complicated part of the admissions process, simply because it is so incredibly open-ended!
Tags:extracurricular activities college free counselor admissions admission application tips help university
Stumble It!
Digg It!
August 14, 2008 at 8:34 am
Hi. I’m an international student applying for entry into college this year.
Thanks for your informative post on activities, I was just wondering what to fill in and what to leave out.
Two more question though. To what extent should I elaborate my participations in the activities? For example, if I’m in a Japanese Culture Club, in charge of organising activities, do I just state that, or do I elaborate on what I did?– I’m using the Common Application forms by the way; they don’t seem to have specified how much to write…
The other question is, should I include my personal hobbies? Example, if I’m into Art, paintings and such, but I’ve not gone for competitions, just did things on my own for the past few years and took some classes, should I put it in?
thanks a lot^^.