It is well known that colleges are placing more emphasis than ever on extracurricular activities. In this environment, it is extremely important to look beyond the classroom and join interesting activities.

What are colleges looking for?

There are three main pillars of activities that applicants take part in:

1. School Sponsored Activities
2. Out-of-School Activities
3. Self Made Activities

School Sponsored Activities

The main way to get involved in school-sponsored activities is to join a sport or club.

Athletics

Sports play an important role in college admissions. The best athletes are eligible for a wide array of scholarships and can get recruited into schools, but competing at any level can be a great boost to college applications.

Sports show great commitment, consistency and teamwork which are all traits that colleges look for.

School Clubs

Joining school clubs are also very popular options for showing out-of-school commitment.

Here are the main types of school clubs:

• Academic Clubs (DECA, FBLA, HOSA)
• Volunteer Clubs (Key Club, Beta Club)
• Hobby Clubs (Chess Club, Photography Club, Yearbook)
• Honor Societies
• Student Leadership

Getting a leadership position in any school club can be a great way to show to colleges that you are responsible and a great people leader.

What to do if you don’t have these clubs at school?

Talk to students and teachers and create your own club. Many students make successful chapters of national clubs or local hobby clubs. Being a club founder shows initiative and can be a great learning process.

How do I decide what to join?

Join clubs that you are interested in, and clubs that could relate to your future major. School clubs can be a great way to explore career paths or develop new skills. You can join a variety of clubs, but it’s recommended to be dedicated to 2 to 4 clubs, as that will make it easier to get leadership positions.

Out-of-School Activities

Part Time Jobs

Getting a job used to be the most common activity that teens used to do a few decades ago. Working a tutoring, fast food, lifeguard or babysitting job is still a great activity that can help your college application.

In recent years, more college admissions officers have been encouraging students to work jobs and include their experience on their college applications as it shows that students are responsible and ready for the workplace.

Internships and Research

While getting opportunities to internships and research is highly location dependent, there are still options for students to get involved even without a lot of resources.

Local science fairs offer students the opportunity to take part in research and present their findings. This can be great for students interested in STEM fields.

Internships are offered by local companies and colleges and it is possible to get industry experience by shadowing.

Volunteering

Volunteering used to be viewed as a requirement to get into colleges, but it is now more important to contribute to your community in a positive way rather than just “volunteering” for the sake of college.

Here are some tips for volunteering:

• Do not focus on the number of hours that you volunteer, but instead on your impact.
• Contact local nonprofits to get involved in volunteering.
• Use your unique skillset to contribute.

Self Made Activities

Highly competitive schools have many students participating in school sponsored and out of school activities. This makes it difficult to stand out, so many students are achieving this by making something called a PASSION PROJECT.

What are passion projects?

Passion projects are activities that are made by the student, and are typically very unique. Passion projects include running a business, creating a nonprofit or running a large event. It is difficult to give examples for passion projects as they look different for every student but they tend to be related to something that a student is interested in.

Do you need passion projects?

Passion projects are not required to get into any school, even if they are highly competitive. These self made activities are a way to stand out, but it is important to only pursue such activities if you have true interest in the project.

Summary

You can utilize the three pillars of extracurriculars to have strong and successful activities for college applications. Whether you work a job, take part in athletics or lead school clubs, you can develop your skills and make yourself more appealing to colleges by following this guide.