Shutterstock
The pressure to be involved throughout your academic career carries on all throughout college. Especially in your high school years because college applications are just around the corner. You might have impulsively signed up for various clubs and sports because you want to show colleges how active and versatile you were in high school.
You were most likely told at some point or, several times during high school that extracurricular activities look good on resumes. Not only do they look good on resumes but they also boost your chances of getting accepted to more colleges. Students often hear this information from teachers, parents, and other authority figures. How important are extracurricular activities for college acceptance according to college admissions offices, though?
Read on to find out all you need to know about extracurriculars and which ones you should be taking for college admission into undergraduate institutions. This new knowledge should help you get into the college of your dreams.
How Important Are Extracurriculars?
Shutterstock
High school students going into the college application process with a confidence that participating in a plethora of extracurricular activities will hopefully increase their chances of admission to a selective undergraduate institution.
However, college admissions experts say that the quality of a college hopeful’s extracurricular activities matters more than the number of activities he or she participates in. In other words, experts are saying that merely participating in an extracurricular activity is not enough to impress admissions committees at prestigious colleges. These colleges typically seek students with significant extracurricular accomplishments in addition to strong academic credentials.
Cynthia Crum, director of college counseling at The Episcopal Academy, a private high school in Philadelphia encourages students to participate in activities that will help them clarify their career goals and guide them toward the undergraduate degree program that’s the best fit. Crum says that career exploration activity helps students demonstrate self-awareness and maturity in their undergraduate applications.
What Extracurricular Involvement Are Admission Committees Looking For?
Shutterstock
According to U.S. News, experts said that High school students who have a personal passion project they are working on independently often impress colleges because their commitment to a successful solo endeavor conveys initiative, self-discipline, and originality.
“For example, a student with an interest in entrepreneurship could demonstrate skill and potential by starting a profitable small business,” Olivia Valdes, the founder of Zen Admissions consulting firm, wrote in an email. “A student with a passion for arts and education could demonstrate skill and potential by teaching a painting class at a community center that attracts larger numbers of students every session.”
Going off of commitments to solo endeavors, commitments to specific clubs or sports is favored over a college application with scattered interest and involvement over four years. For example, a student that runs track and sings in the choir throughout four years of high school shows passion and commitment. Whereas, jumping around to various extracurricular activities looks flakey. Also, keep in mind there is a difference between being well-rounded and simply just taking different extracurricular activities because you’re not seriously dedicated to finding the right ones.
In summary, college admissions want to see what your true interests are! Find out early on what you’re interested in and try to stick with it throughout high school.
