Obviously academics are the most important, but can some really really good extracurriculars really make or break your admissions? (Examples and ideas would be awesome thanks!)
There is no recipe for a really really good EC. If there was, a book would have already been written about it and then the recipe would be ruined by too many people copying it.
Think of the ECs as a way of showing the colleges what your values are. Perhaps it is playing soccer, enjoying a team effort, coaching little kids summer team, learning to officiate.
Perhaps your church youth group packs kits for the homeless with soap, shampoo, and a comb. Visiting the shelter you notice that there are families there. You get your class to gather all their children’s books and bring them down so that each child in the shelter has a book. You notice a homework corner and start volunteering as a tutor twice a week for the the entire school year.
Let things grow organically out of what genuinely interests you. As you progress through your high school years see how you can bring added depth to what you do. The goal is to become a better person regardless of whether or not an admissions officer values it.
What are your plans for this summer? The program applications are up now.
At Reed, e.g., involvement, such as extracurriculars and community service, are 20% of admission criteria, so it can be significant. They want to know that you will contribute to the campus community.
If you attend a high powered school, don’t get caught up in the arms race of each student trying to be more impressive than the other. That is no way to live.
Focus on being your most authentic self.
My kids grew up in a small town. Their high school summers were day camps, horse riding, and hanging out with family. Trust me, there were no chemistry labs in the garage.
Both of them went to top colleges.
@“Snowball City”'s post and @vonlost’s posts are helpful- and complementary: where ECs matter*, they matter b/c of what they tell the college about you. The specifics of the EC (with a very few notable exceptions) truly do not matter: what matters is that you did something constructive or meaningful with your time outside the classroom.
*there are some large state universities that seem to essentially admit on numbers
If you have the means, there are selective summer programs that definitely give a major boost. Some cost, some don’t. And way too many don’t offer much of a boost at all but are happy to take your money. You can look at things like RSI, TASP, Promys in general. But there are equally good and respected programs in things like creative writing, music, etc. Also, competitite ECs can help as well (not just playng an instrument, but competing; science and math competitions, writing competitions, etc.).
In general, the more a student does that shows amibition, passion, and drive (that also reflects who/what a student is about or why a student is different from the tens of thousands of other applicants), the more it will help. Once again, if you have the means, engaging in ECs outside of one’s high school can help too.
There is no magic EC in the end, however. To know that, we would have to be on an admissions committee. With that said, I bet there are a number of ECs that would be a real help to an individual student. It’s just not easy to predict in general.
It all depends on your college of choice. At Clemson, they don’t really weigh them at all for initial admissions, however they are important for Honors College (separate application) admittance, but even then your essays count the most.
Do what activities you are interested in. Push yourself a little do something extra for your self improvement and find out what the schools you desire to attend look for.
Some people would say that Academics are actually not the most important, esp if one of the first questions on the Common App is if you are a black or hispanic candidate.
The most important factor is are you a compelling candidate? Some would say that they are looking for minimum cut-offs for standardized test sores and grades, but they are looking most for student leaders.
The ECs are a place for you to show off your leadership and how you contribute to your community and what type of student you are (curious one).
You should google the common data set of each college you are interested in. If you look at section C it will show average academics of admitted students as well as how big a role each aspect of the application (ex. GPA, ECs, etc.) plays for that particular college.