<p>Do any of the following activities count as extracurriculars?
- Learning a new language through Duolingo
- Learning to code through Treehouse and Codecademy
- Making video games
Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>Also, does writing a novel count(by participating in NaNoWriMo or otherwise)? Once again, thank you for your help!</p>
<p>Having worked in college admissions, here’s my perspective.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars are usually organized activities through school or some other organization. These sound more like personal hobbies and aspirations. A few of them (learning a language, learning to code) would be great to add, but probably in the skills section of your r</p>
<p>Okay, thank you! Does anyone else have any opinions?</p>
<p>I’m afraid I disagree with tysonluneau. Most students list organized activities in their ECs, but for some students their primary ECs are not organized activities: For my university, I’ve interviewed committed artists, future novelists, people who are deeply engaged in their churches, and hunters. I’ve also talked to people for whom helping out in the family business or caring for siblings while parents worked is their primary EC. You could call these hobbies - but I have yet to talk to an admissions person who thinks these people are ‘cheating’ by calling these ECs. They understand that there are lots of round pegs out there who don’t fit into the application’s square holes and they welcome the opportunity to read those applications as much, if not more, than your usual ‘editor of the school paper, community orchestra, math team, captain of the tennis team’ types.</p>
<p>Anything can count as an extracurricular - it just all depends how you frame it.</p>
<p>And it really helps to have something to show for your achievements. If you just put “Bowling” down, for example, how do they know if you’re a person who casually bowls two or three times a month, or if you’re the local alley’s Sunday League bowling champion? Try to find some way to channel your passion. You can put coding down if you want, but it helps if you have some sort of achievement to show for it. If you could find a coding event or language competition to demonstrate your talents, then it gives something tangible for the college to work with.</p>
<p>That being said, you don’t HAVE to have an achievement to show for it, but it helps admissions officers to determine the degree to which you devoted toward that activity.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>I have to agree with Tyson. A number of universities want to see you proactively participate on your campus. If you are going to sit in your room the entire 4 years, why should they admit you; you could just stay and home and do everything online.</p>
<p>Employers who have to work in teams need people who can communicate effectively. If you are stuck in your room and don’t venture out, why should they pay you to be a team member?</p>
<p>Most of my activities are organized activities, but putting down something else can still count, depending. For instance, I put down NaNoWriMo on my CA, but only because I spent a significant amount of time on it. If writing a novel is taking you 10 hours a week, by all means, count it! But if you are working on it for an hour a month, don’t put it down.</p>
<p>While extracurriculars need not be organized activities, you should have some way of measuring your success at them. If you wrote a novel, try and win a contest (Scholastics, YoungArts) with it. If you’re learning to code, participate in a Hackathon. Otherwise, schools–at least top schools–are unlikely to lend any weight to your activities, whether they consider them EC’s or mere hobbies.</p>
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<p>Extra-curricular means “outside the subjects comprising a course of study in a school” so yes they certainly are.</p>
<p>Now as glassesarechic said above, whether they are impressive to a college is a different question. If you taught yourself a language, did you take an SAT Subject or AP test in it, or publish something in it? That would help “prove” that you really put the effort in to get good at it. “Learning” could mean you stop in once a month or so and learn a few words, so figure out how to show that you have mastered or are mastering that language.</p>
<p>When you learned to code, did you write programs? I see video games…so are they online somewhere for download? Can they be sold or given away, do they have any value that you can quantify?</p>
<p>Thank you for your help everyone! Would NaNoWriMo be a valuable contest? For coding I guess I could try the Google Code-In. I am not participating in any organized activities because my school only offers Band and Drama Club; I only know a bit of piano and I don’t like to act.</p>
<p>I’ve also taken an interest in courses from edX and Coursera, and, I was wondering, wouldn’t ID Verified Certificates from these websites also count as extracurricular activities?</p>
<p>Or, in the case of edX, Honor Code Certificates as well.</p>