Best extracurriculars for Harvard or other prestigious universities in a rural area?

Do what is right for you. Students (and their parents) need to eliminate the words “impressive,” “better,” “best,” or similar words from their vocabulary until after college admissions decisions are made. It is the rare application/course schedule/EC that will “impress” admissions. Perhaps the AO that read Malala’s application was “impressed,” but she set the bar high.