Extracurriculars & College Apps

You've heard it before: college and university admissions officers want to see a record of extracurricular activities on your applications. Because of this, high school students often load up on as many activities as they can to try to pad their application. However, this isn't the smartest strategy. Here are some tips for choosing extracurricular activities in a manner that will make a positive difference on your applications.

Committed Involvement to Extracurricular Activities

When it comes to high school activities, quality trumps quantity. Schools don't want to see a student who's joined dozens of clubs and organizations for a short period of time. They know application padding when they see it, and if they think you're just joining activities to make yourself look better, this can actually hurt your chances more than help them.

What schools do want to see is a student who's been involved in one organization for all or most of high school. A student who can do this demonstrates commitment and maturity, and these are qualities that admissions officers seek because they are markers of future college success.

This doesn't mean you can't be involved with a number of different kinds of activities. In fact, a well-rounded application looks impressive. However, there's a thin line between well rounded and application padding, so don't overdo it. If you can be involved heavily in two very different activities during college (like the lacrosse team and the chess club), this demonstrates both commitment and well-roundedness.

Joining lots of clubs early on and then narrowing down your choices looks smart. However, what looks terrible is if you suddenly join a bunch of clubs when it's time to apply to colleges.

Leadership Positions

In addition to committed involvement, schools want to see a student who's taken on some kind of leadership role in an organization. A leadership position doesn't need to be as prestigious as the student body president or the editor of the school newspaper (although these kinds of positions certainly look impressive).

A student can demonstrate leadership by taking on any role that involves extra commitment and responsibility -- like an organizational officer or a committee chair, for example. Be sure to emphasize the leadership roles you took, especially if they don't come with a title and aren't obvious. This kind of involvement in school activities demonstrates work ethic and responsibility -- qualities that admissions officers look for.

Cohesive Applications

Admissions officers like to see student applications that show cohesion -- that is, they tell a story about a student where all the pieces go together. They want to see students who are involved in high school activities that "match" their future academic and career interests. For example, if you plan to major in communication and hope to have a career in broadcasting, it looks great if you've been involved with the school television or radio station.

This doesn't mean everything on your application has to match. If you join an activity for no reason other than the fact that it's fun, that's not going to hurt you. However, it's to your advantage to tie together as many of your activities to your future plans and interests as possible. If you can also tie together volunteer activities and work experience, that looks even better.

Time and GPA Considerations

One very important thing students need to consider when choosing extracurricular activities: you need to make sure the time you spend in these activities isn't interfering with your ability to get good grades. Yes, admissions officers are looking for extracurriculars. But a stellar list of activities isn't going to matter much if you don't have excellent grades in challenging classes. The best thing you can do to bolster your application is to focus on your grades -- first and foremost.

Remember, when it comes to selecting extracurricular activities, choose quality over quantity. Get involved in one or a few organizations for a long time, and take on leadership positions. An application padded with lots and lots of activities isn't impressive -- and you're bound to lower your GPA by doing this, which hurts more than anything.

Commit Yourself to Extracurricular Activities

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds