High school extracurricular activities: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:38, 27 April 2014

Colleges are flexible when evaluating student involvement in extracurricular activities. Students who are unaware of this flexibility may mistakenly over-optimize their profile of extra-curricular activities for what they believe colleges are looking for, at the expense of personal growth, fun, and value contributed. Or, to put it bluntly, they may spend hours on activities that are boring, teach them nothing, and contribute no lasting value to society, but with no payoff in terms of college admissions.
There is a wide range of extracurricular activities that people may not think of as extracurricular activities, but that are good from a wide variety of perspectives: they enable long-term personal growth and learning, they can be used to signal quality to colleges, they can be fun, and they contribute value to the world.
Participating in online communities may be one overlooked category in extracurricular activities, and you should seriously consider such participation if the type of activity you are interested in is amenable to that.
The key ingredient in using an extracurricular as a signal of quality to colleges is how convincingly you can demonstrate your passion for, and in some cases and achievement in the area.

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+* Colleges are flexible when evaluating student involvement in extracurricular activities. Students who are unaware of this flexibility may mistakenly over-optimize their profile of extra-curricular activities for what they believe colleges are looking for, at the expense of personal growth, fun, and value contributed. Or, to put it bluntly, they may spend hours on activities that are boring, teach them nothing, and contribute no lasting value to society, but with no payoff in terms of college admissions.
+* There is a wide range of extracurricular activities that people may not think of as extracurricular activities, but that are good from a wide variety of perspectives: they enable [[human capital|long-term personal growth and learning]], they can be used to signal quality to colleges, they can be fun, and they contribute value to the world.
+* Participating in online communities may be one overlooked category in extracurricular activities, and you should seriously consider such participation if the type of activity you are interested in is amenable to that.
+* The key ingredient in using an extracurricular as a signal of quality to colleges is how convincingly you can demonstrate your passion for, and in some cases and achievement in the area.
-== Colleges are flexible when evaluating student involvement in extracurricular activities ==
+==Detailed pages==
-=== Quantity ===
+* [[High school extracurricular activities: factors to consider]]
+* [[High school extracurricular activities: signaling quality to colleges]]
-Some students are under the impression that outside of their school work, they should participate in as many activities as possible. A common reason for this is that students believe that colleges are looking for students who participate in as many activities as possible.
+* [[High school extracurricular activities: suggestions]]
-Our research hasn't turned up any evidence that supports this, and we've come across many indications that colleges ''don't'' look specifically for students who participate in as many activities as possible. Here are some representative examples:
-* Stanford University admissions department [http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/evaluate.html says]: ''Students often assume our primary concern is the number of activities in which one participates. In fact, an exceptional depth of experience in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs.''
-* MIT's admissions department says [http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/highschool says]: ''Choose your activities because they really delight, intrigue and challenge you, not because you think they'll look impressive on your application. Go out of your way to find projects, activities and experiences that stimulate your creativity and leadership, that connect you with peers and adults who bring out your best, that please you so much you don't mind the work involved. Some students find room for many activities; others prefer to concentrate on just a few. Either way, the test for any extracurricular should be whether it makes you happy - whether it feels right for you.''
-* The founder of adMISSION POSSIBLE [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-hansen-shaevitz/extra-curricular-activities-college-admission_b_3040217.html wrote]: ''When it comes to extracurricular involvements, it doesn't really matter what the content is. Anything from doing a major DNA research project to volunteering at a school that serves low income students to excelling at fly-fishing is legitimate fodder for college application grids. No matter the activity, colleges look for quality of involvement rather than quantity of activities. In other words, it is better to be consistently involved in one, two, or three activities and/or sports over a number of years, than superficially involved in eight, 10 or 12 for shorter periods of time. Simply said, activity laundry lists do not impress.''
-Because colleges don't appear to favor applicants who are involved in a large number of extracurricular activities, or specific extracurricular activities, you should take advantage of the opportunity to choose extracurricular activities that are best for your personal growth. If you're thinking about becoming a scientist, consider interning in a science lab. If you love music, consider focusing your extracurriculars around music. If you're an aspiring programmer, consider participating in online communities centered around programming, such as [http://stackoverflow.com/ Stack Overflow].