How Important are Extracurricular Activities for College Applications?
It is no top-secret that the extracurricular activities you pursue in high school can meaningfully affect your college admissions experience. But it’s true that not all activities are created equal, and some could have an unequal effect on your chances of getting accepted to your ideal college.
There are no exact extracurricular activities that will magically unlock the Ivy League gates or guarantee admission to a particular university. Good colleges and universities are besieged by academically strong students. What they desire are students who can contribute to the campus community.
The significance of extracurricular activities is that they cast you as a complete separate with interests beyond grades and test scores. What you select to do with your free time speaks volumes about what you value in life.
College applications ask you to share a story about yourself and the kind of person you are. Your extracurricular can exhibit the truth of your narrative.
- Freshmen:If you are a freshman in high school, do not fear about choosing the right activities.
- Sophomores:As a sophomore, focus on doing a small number of activities well.
- Juniors:As you approach your junior and senior years of high school, remember that paid work counts as an extracurricular activity.
- Seniors:By senior year, you should be finalizing your college applications, consolidation your test scores and polishing your admissions essays.
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