High school extracurricular activities: signaling quality to colleges

One of the reasons high school students engage in extracurricular activities is that they believe these activities will improve their college admissions prospects. This is a form of signaling -- participation and accomplishment in extracurricular activities signals information about the applicant to the college admissions officer. If this information distinguishes the applicant in a positive manner from other applicants in the pool, it improves the applicant's college admissions prospects.

KEEP IN MIND: This page specifically looks at high school extracurricular activities in the context of signaling quality to colleges. There are many other motivations for and benefits of engaging in extracurricular activities. For a bird's eye view, please see our summary of factors to consider.