So, I’ve posted a few times, and I know Extracurriculars are really important for colleges, especially highly selective ones. The question is, which ones should I list? Only the ones that will pertain to my major? I hope to go to Georgetown SFS, Princeton or Uchicago to Major in International Poltical Economy with a minor in Arabic.
Here are my ECs:
Studied Arabic in Morocco for two months via state dept scholarship (NSLI-Y)
President of my School’s cultural club
Governmental Affairs intern at the Council on American-Isalmic Relations (CAIR)
Volunteer at local refugee center
Varisty football and track (Good, but not recruit-able)
In school’s model UN team
Have a job at Old Navy
A mentor at a local elementary school and teach leadership and provide a good example for 6th grade boys (boy’s council)
Should I list all of these things (I’m still involved in all of them, except for NSLIY, of which I am now an alumnus), even though they aren’t all related to my potential major?
Use your ECs to help build a story about you. The best ECs are activites that have been more than just participation, where you can list accomplishments or show how they contribute to your unique character.
Leadership is always good. I see you have some leadership roles.
This list doesnt seem to long to me, so you could certianly include all of them.
Its helpful if your job experience is in your career interest but I cant think of too many ECs that align with most students careers, so I wouldnt worry to much about that.
Definitely include them…I see that you do community service, show leadership, have had a job, can be on a team, are interested in culture…what a great picture to share with the colleges.
But don’t just say “President of my School’s cultural club” …show what you have accomplished.
Cultural Club, President. 9-12 grades. 4 hours per week. Students share their culture with other students through food festivals, movies and outings. I organized the international food festival for school where 100 people attended with 20 people providing food. As President, membership increased by 30% and we provided 2 more events than last year.
You have less than 10 activities, so you can definitely fit them all on the common app.
For Georgetown, they only allow 3-4 activities that you can elaborate on, so I would recommend attaching a resume if possible.