A System for Evaluating Your Extracurricular Activities

Applying to College
1

<p>Have you ever wondered if your activities really define you as a person and whether or not they are truly unique? Is your application going to seem like another run of the mill, laundry list of activities?</p>

<p>Someone just gave me this idea, and I thought it was pretty good. </p>

<p>-Write a summary of all your extracurricular activities in or outside of school, jobs, sports, summer programs, competitions, and whatever else you would put on your application. Make sure this list does not go into very specific details, just the general idea of each activity. </p>

<p>-Go on CC and look through the "chance me" threads and make a various compilation of student extracurricular activity "profiles." Look for threads that include a good variety.</p>

<p>-Print out these various profiles, and include your real one somewhere in the middle.</p>

<p>-Now give it to someone who knows you well* and see if they can choose your profile among the pool of extracurricular profiles.</p>

<p>* Make sure it's NOT someone who knows you **too* well like a parent, or sibling or BFF. It will give it away too easily*</p>

<p>What does this prove? If they can pick out your activities, then that most likely means you have unique ECs that relate to YOU and define you as a person. If they stand out to people that know you, they will stand out in the admission process, and will blend well with the rest of your application.</p>

<p>For example, no one can determine who does the following:
*
Concert Band - 4 years
Varsity Tennis team - 3 years
School play crew - 4 years
volunteer work at homeless shelter - 250 hours
Math tutoring - 3 years
Vice president of Speech club
*</p>

<p>Activities like that are just too generic and can apply to anyone. They will impress no one. You must actively pursue things that give you character, and make you different from your classmates.</p>

<p>If you don't have anyone that you can give your list to, then just do it yourself. Examine and analyze what you have been doing with your life. Is it unique? Is it genuine? Will someone identify you as an achiever who has the life skills necessary to succeed in the world? </p>

<p>Most people won't care about this, but whatever
I thought it was a good idea haha</p>

2

<p>but i feel like we cant go pursuing something just to make ourselves stand out. i’ve played varsity tennis all of high school but if it makes me like any other applicant…then so be it. at least i love what im doing. but i guess if you find something that makes you stand out AND that you love, then that’s best. but if you want to do something that makes you stand out but you dont love, you’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.</p>

3

<p>Well it’s not about just making yourself stand out. The point is, you do what you do, and that should make you naturally stand out. It is not an artificial process. </p>

<p>There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing tennis. I love tennis. It’s a fun sport and I play from time to time on the weekends with my school’s tennis team. (I have my uncle’s old Bruline racket haha)</p>

<p>The point is what else do you do that makes you special</p>

4

<p>This is a great idea.</p>

5

<p>hahaha i get what you’re saying, i wasnt being defensive :slight_smile: i just think that when people start doing stuff they DONT love just to look different for college its a waste. and sadly, i feel like college admissions these days are turning a lot of people into that</p>

6

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<p>No. I am very happy to report that my extracurricular activities do not define me as a person. As for their uniqueness, I really couldn’t care less.</p>

<p>The extracurricular activities people put on their college applications do not encompass the full scope of their personalities, and are therefore useless as a measure of personal worth.</p>

7

<p>Ghostt, I think you need to closely examine what is meant by activities. These are things that you have done in your life. Goals which you have set, ambitions ardently pursued, and plateaus reached only by hard work, effort and dedication. </p>

<p>To say that you don’t care about the uniqueness of your activities is appalling. The things you do or have done are what indicate the progress in your life. Your activities are a culmination of you intellect and desires - essentially, what your life has boiled down to. </p>

<p>They may not “define” you as a person because at such a young age, we are all, relatively speaking, undefined. But activities are nevertheless, a huge indicator of what you have been doing with your life.</p>

8

<p>This is kind of stupid. If a friend can pick your EC’s out of a list of about 15 different people. That’s not being unique, that’s being vocal to your friend and letting them know your interests. I don’t see the general point in doing this. If someone had an internship with a cancer research center or something, they’d probably tell their friends because it is cool and sounds awesome, not because it makes them look unique on a college application (unless of course they’re conceited morons only doing it for college app padding). I do quiz bowl, played baseball and have done various community service opportunities. Most of the people I know, know this, because you talk about these things. Being unique is being one of a kind to the average person who doesn’t know you (such as a person on an admissions board), not someone who you talk to about your daily routine in life…lol.</p>

9

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<p>lol, wrong on so many levels</p>

10

<p>So if a kid has to work at McDonald’s after school to put some savings away for college, burger flipping is the culmination of his intellect and desires. Got it.</p>

11

<p>I understand what you are getting at…Tennis four years…to make it stand out, how about also helping at a VBS, or JCC kids camp teaching tennis to kids. Tennis marathon week-end to raise money/ awareness for the charity of your choice. The earlier post wasn’t suggesting doing more EC for the heck of it to put meat on your application. Admissions sees through that sort of thing. If your passion is tennis, then tennis it is! Now make it shine! For the fun of it, be the President and founder of a tennis fan club. Have a Wimbledon meeting with strawberries and cream, discuss the science and technology changes to equipment with racquets and shoes, etc. Your essay could be related to tennis as well. An Ivy accepted student wrote about a challenging match. Another about the political issues between two opponents. If tennis is indeed your passion, it should be the common thread connecting you, your field of study, and the ap. Good luck!</p>

12

<p>MommaJ, that is not what I’m getting at. Your assumption is unfair and biased. A kid who has to work to put some savings away can still apply himself farther then the extent of burger flipping at McDonald’s. For example, I’ve had high ranking jobs in the food/bev/hosp industry throughout my high school career, earning as much as some adults in particular circumstances. That “kid” can do the same thing and apply himself and find a GOOD job.
Also, a job at McDonald’s is not a practical way of raising money because they pay minimum wage. Try saving up college tuition at $7.25 an hour…</p>

<p>Another point, your “culmination of intellect and desires” is what else you do. If you have to work, then so be it, many people work. But what have you been doing that is unique about your life? If you have no answer to that question then…</p>

13

<p>I think working at McDonald’s shows your intellect in another, non-traditional way. You are willing to work hard for your money. I have a question. What if you do have that one passion, and do several activities revolving around it (me: graphic design, won a global logo contest, designed logo for a local band, designed 2 club t-shirts, art displayed in district gallery, job held for 2 years on a graphicS website in grades 6-7 - does this count? - 2 content websites created and maintained for 4 years, yearbook editor, pages submitted in Jostens Yearbook Design contest, photography featured in school publication that 2500 people viewed, and will still view), but want to major in something rather than my “passion?” I want to go to Stanford (so much!), and want to major in something other than graphic design, computer science perhaps, because it does interest me and I feel I have the skills (math, problem solving, and coding experience with my websites) to pursue it (plus the pay). What does HYPS/UCB think of this? Can I put my major as undeclared on my app until I decide? Thanks!</p>

14

<p>The activities, vol work, jobs, etc, are a measure of your awareness of opps around you, your motivation to engage and your get-up-and-go. Hopefully, you show depth of committment (length of time and level of responsibility) to various efforts, plus your compassion and your sense of relevance. </p>

<p>Now, since colleges like well-rounded kids, they like to see a nice selection of activities- depth and breadth. Try to see this in 3 categories and find a balance: 1. what you do for yourself or to pursue your own interests, academic or otherwise. 2. what you do for the group- eg, your hs community. 3. what you do for others, to benefit them in some way. If you can cover the basics, then you can go for a few unexpecteds.</p>

<p>IME it’s not having an unrecognizable pattern that matters- it is having an interesting pattern that somewhat covers those three categories. And, remaining committed to those activities over time, having some level of responsibility and making relevant choices. The college is trying to match you up, in a sense, against their profile of what sorts of kids fit and thrive there. Help them like you.</p>