Do colleges ask your High School to confirm extracurriculars?

In my applications I listed a couple clubs that I go to every once in a while. However I got lazy, and I never turned in my school’s activity sheets for these clubs. Can I be accused of lying on my college applications because of this?

For the most part, they take you at your word. A few colleges, like the UC’s ask verification from a small percentage of the applicants. However, particularly for your key EC’s, expect that your GC and/or your teachers will mention them in their recs.

Sometimes colleges call the GC to discuss an applicant. It could come out then. But what is this activity sheet thing? My kids’ HS did not collect anything about participation, except volunteer hours (a minimum required at each grade level). I have not heard others on CC talking about activity sheets, so am thinking it is not common.

It’s a sheet you need your parents to sign and turn in whenever you join a club or activity. I’m assuming it’s mostly a code of conduct sort of agreement, but I wasn’t sure.
From what you guys are saying though, it sounds like I should be fine. Thanks for the quick replies!

You are probably fine.

Schools for whom ECs are really important also expect to see significant achievements associated with them. But these tend to be the most difficult schools to get into. For less competitive schools, I don’t think it matters much.

They won’t check. The EC’s are useful in getting to know you and rounding out their class.

I dont think that colleges would bother , they get 30 applications a day and they wouldn’t waste their time checking if Sam really did participate in the school play two years ago or not

Some colleges do spot checks.

Here’s a fact that shallow HS students seem to ignore:

  1. if the activity/honor is big enough or recognizable enough to actually BOOST one’s application, it’s easily searchable (published author, appeared in TV/Movie, won national competition, All-state athlete, etc.).

  2. if it’s more localized (lying to say one was the President vs secretary of a club, or saying they “founded” some charity walk vs. simply attended or lying to say 200 hours vs. 25 hours) then colleges SIMPLY DON’T CARE and the lie is worthless anyways!

If you are the president of 6 clubs, all related to one fundamental passion or interest, and you founded a charity walk, is that not more impressive than just being a member of those clubs, and happening to stroll in to the charity event as a participant? Founding a charity walk is actually a decently big deal in my opinion, especially if it raised a lot of money.

You see— I cited those examples exactly b/c HS kids think that it makes them unique. Doesn’t the fact that I can roll off “president/vp or founder” of clubs A, B and C. and the “founder” of charity walk or walkathon X, Y or Z like my grocery list tell you something?

These are the EXACT kind of things that HS students do all the time to make themselves unique. If they and 1000s of other Stanford wannabes are doing them all the time, how unique are they?

Wanna be unique? It’s not a finger snap. Kids I know that get admitted to my alma mater are the ones where universally, every kid and faculty member said: “Oh yeah. If anyone gets into college X, it’s HIM or HER”

No kidding. And this person normally isn’t the massive resume padder/“founder” of multiple orgs/uber volunteer either.