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How Admission Officers Actually Evaluate Your Extracurriculars, Clubs, and Activities

Updated: Jan 24



How Admission Officers Really Evaluate Your Extracurriculars (and How to Fill Your Resume with The Best High School Extracurricualrs!)
How Admission Officers Really Evaluate Your Extracurriculars (and How to Fill Your Resume with The Best High School Extracurricualrs!)
 

Over the last 15 years, I have heard every wild claim, directive, and mistruth out there about what admission officers and application readers are really looking for in an application’s extracurricular or activity section. 


There are those who claim you must be well-rounded. Academically and extracurricularly balanced in the humanities and science. 


There are those who claim an application that lacks playing at least one instrument, participating in at least one sport, and dedicating hours to community service cannot earn admission. 


And, perhaps the most dangerous of all, those who believe without major accolades, awards, and achievements at the national or even international level denial is inevitable. 


Let’s level set on a few important things. 


  1. The requirement to be well-rounded is a myth.

    If you are, great. If you’re not, that’s OK too (sometimes even better, actually)

  2. There is no checklist of extracurriculars that must be on an application.

    There are not certain extracurriculars that earn automatic admission and there are not those that when absent spell denial. 

  3. "Normal" extracurriculars get admitted.

    Student are admitted every year to universities of every rank and profile doing “normal” activities in important and meaningful ways. 


So, what are admission officers and application readers really looking for when they evaluate extracurricular activities, high school resumes, and common application activity sections? 


What are the best high school extracurriculars to have on your high school resume?


Here are the three things application readers and admission offices are seeking to understand from each applicant.


 

Purpose

Admissions officers value students who move through their academics, extracurricular activities, and communities with purpose. They seek applicants who bring energy, enthusiasm, and engagement to whatever it is they choose to do. 


Remember: Your extracurricular activities are a record of how you choose to spend your time. It should reflect what you are most curious about, dedicated to, and excited about. 



Growth and Change

High school is a time to try new things, and … spoiler alert… sometimes things change!  


When you take interesting classes, join various high school clubs, and participate in sports, you are learning more about who you are, what you care about, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Almost all of the college essays you are asked to write will center around the them of personal growth, the process of learning, and how you have become who you are. 


PRO TIP: Whenever you complete a school year, wrap up a major project with a club, or finish a summer program, take time to do some self-reflection. How have you changed? What have you learned? What are you going to do next?


Your Unique Story

Colleges read thousands of applications, and students often look similar on paper because many of the after school clubs, activities, and sports high school students participate in are the similar, no matter where you are geographically located in the U.S. 


It’s your unique combination of activities, the learning moments you have experienced in them, and how you are leveling up, layering in, or doubling down on what you care about most. 

Maybe your application shows an aspiring computer scientist and a dancer, or a future nurse who loves speedcubing. How you tell that story and how you demonstrate your skills learned through the process is how you win in the extracurricular profile process. 



Final Thoughts


The best high school extracurriculars (for your high school resume or the Common Application activity section) tell a more robust story about who you are which helps university and college admission officers better understand how you might continue to spend your time when you are on their campus. 


You extracurricular activities show what you choose to spend your time on when you have the option. 


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