So I don’t know if I’m fabricating this problem but how do colleges verify my extracurriculars? I’m worried because I wrote my extracurriculars down on my application but I didn’t tell my counselors or teachers about most of them. I heard that colleges will call to check if I’m telling the truth?
If a certain EC is what tips you into the accepted pile the college will verify it. If they can’t then it will be ignored. Any EC with that power should be easily verified and your GC would know about it without you having to tell him/her.
In general, they don’t. It’s just not that critical to confirm.
That said, ECs that are super important to you would likely be mentioned in one of your recs. Any EC that is incredibly prestigious is able to be googled.
I think many AOs do Google about applicants. If you were to Google about my kids, their important ECs would most likely show up. My kid did track for one year and it was on the internet. She listed a science conference she was selected to participate and it showed up. I think they also check for reasonableness. If you show 20-30 hours of ECs/week without meaningful leadership or recognition then AOs may wonder.
They typically don’t, though some have reportedly started to sample application for verification, given recent scandals.
Claiming a significant accomplishment without supporting evidence in other ECs or recommendations is probably a trigger for verification.
E.g., you claim to have qualified for AMO but have average math grades/scores and no mention in your math teacher’s recommendation. Someone will probably be curious and check with MAA.
One of my kids was an elite level athlete (not a college sport). She applied and was accepted to a NESCAC school where the AO actually called the governing body of her sport.
Some schools formally verify ECs such as the UC system
And as you wrote, some colleges do more informal verification where they call and chat with your GC. If the GC does not know they will likely ask you who they can contact to verify your participation