What Are the Best Extracurricular Activities?

If you're applying to a college with holistic admissions, including the great majority of schools that use the Common Application, your extracurricular involvement will be a factor in the college admissions process. But what exactly are colleges looking for on the extracurricular front? Prospective college students and their parents frequently ask me what extracurricular activities will most impress college admissions officers, and my answer is always the same: the activity that shows passion and dedication.

What Do Colleges Look for in Extracurricular Activities?

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What Counts as an Extracurricular Activity for College Admissions?

By Allen Grove

As you think about your extracurricular involvement, keep these points in mind:

• Don't be a dabbler. Colleges would rather see the depth of involvement in one or two activities, rather than a large number of extracurricular activities that reflect superficial involvement. It will be more impressive if you are involved with theater for four years rather than theater for a year, yearbook for a year, chorus for a year, and debate team for a year. Show that you are dedicated to developing and deepening your skills. Similarly, with sports, colleges would rather see an applicant focus on a sport for four years and progress from modified to JV to varsity. That student will bring more skills to a college than someone who never spent more than a year testing a sport.
• Whatever you do, do it well. If you are doing what you love to do, doing it well and taking the lead in the activity, you have found the perfect extracurricular activity. Something quirky like being an expert at Rubik's Cube can turn into a meaningful extracurricular activity that will be attractive to college admissions offices.
• The actual activity doesn't much matter. No one activity is better than another. Drama, music, sports, yearbook, dance, community service...Any one of these can be a winner on a college application if you reveal dedication, leadership, and passion. Colleges offer a wide range of sports, clubs, musical ensembles, theater groups, and student organizations. The college wants to enroll a group of students with diverse interests.
• Make sure your activity aligns with the college. Do your research so that you know what extracurricular activities are offered at the schools to which you apply. If you are a virtuoso on the violin and your college application discusses your desire to continue violin in college, you'd better make sure the college actually offers opportunities for playing violin (or make sure the college has opportunities for you to start your own string ensemble). Colleges aren't simply looking for students with meaningful extracurricular involvement. They are looking for students whose meaningful extracurricular involvement will be an asset to the school.
• Leadership comes in many forms. Leadership in extracurricular activities doesn't mean standing in front of a group and giving orders. Leadership can involve designing the set of a play, being section leader in the band, organizing a fundraiser, starting a club related to the activity, designing a group's website, or, of course, serving as an officer for a student organization.
• Work experience counts. Finally, keep in mind that colleges are also happy to see work experiences on your application, and schools understand when your work schedule prevents you from being as involved in extracurricular activities at your school as other students. Here, as with other extracurricular activities, some work experiences will be more impressive than others. Have you won any awards for doing your job well? Have you been promoted? Did you accomplish anything innovative for your employer?

The bottom line: Any extracurricular involvement is good, but your dedication and level of involvement is what will really make your application shine. The table below can help illustrate this idea: