A strong transcript and excellent extracurriculars are key to building a great college application. When it comes to extracurriculars, there are multiple reasons why you would want to take the time to find the right activities and commit to them. 

Having a good set of extracurriculars means you’ll have a lot of great material to use in your application essays. A lot of schools will also award “participation” points, meaning that simply having been active in a club or group will be enough to boost your chance for admission. The most competitive schools will look for big national recognitions in application packages. And lastly, having ample exposure to a variety of extracurriculars will help you avoid the dreaded “major change” at college. Not everyone will end up with a nationally recognized achievement through extracurriculars, but if it helps you uncover your true passion and you’re able to have fun and discover things, it will naturally lead to a more focused and authentic experience for college admissions.  

So make sure to really look for a field of interest that genuinely interests you. Once you’ve done that you can find local events related to that field.

As you get started, keep these three things in mind:

Start with the basics

Many students don’t know how to get started because the first steps are different for everyone: Is there a club at your school related to your interest? Do you enjoy working with other people? Do you know how to find a sponsor? Can you meet at your library? Who makes the website? The logo? What is your club going to do? … and the list goes on. This is why students that don’t like extracurriculars avoid them – they seem stressful and feel like something too big to take on. 

That’s why you should start with the small things. First of all, be honest about how much time you can commit and then stick to it. The problem with doing extracurriculars is that you still have to do school on top of it. Some of you might even have part-time jobs in addition to your schooling. This may make it seem impossible to do anything extra for your application package. If all you have is 30 minutes per week to do short online global challenges, do that. And, write about it. If you have four hours per week, that’s enough time to build a team to go out to the big competitions. The first few meetings or attempts will always seem weird and you may not be able to see the clear benefits. But it is a process, and through this you will gradually gain the experience you need.

Remember that most often, the stress from extracurriculars comes from lack of planning. If you try to figure everything out at once, you will feel overwhelmed and flustered. But once you’re past the start, you’ll be able to map things out one step at a time. The scale will get bigger and more fun as you see things come to life.  

Create focus  

Having a lot of extracurriculars is always good as long as your GPA is high. In some cases, having outstanding extracurriculars can be used to overlook a GPA that isn’t quite perfect, such as artists with stellar portfolios. However, having lots of unrelated activities on your application will not make it very competitive when it comes to the strongest packages among the best schools. Top schools react best to students who have top GPAs, great standardized test scores, and amazing essays, but the content of the essays will contain those extracurriculars. 

Ivy League schools want students that have been able to create a vision for their educational future – their activities will all tie back to some kind of expressed interest. For example, a student interested in getting into an Ivy League school as an individual interested in business might have musical awards included in their package. The best packages would include essays that analyzed the business aspects of their musical activity: commitment, values, or marketing. They may also have toy drives for local orphans that they wanted to do just for the charity aspect. But, they will include business concepts such as expansion and networking in their essays to make the connection back to the business interest they wish to express to their target schools.

As you think about what type of extracurriculars you want to take on, remember that having a sense of focus will always make the activities shine even more. Do not jump into random activities without thinking about how you’re spending your time, and what the results will look like on your college application down the line. 

Follow through 

Throughout high school, your attitude towards different subjects will change, further compounded by the personality of the teacher instructing the class. As you discover new subjects that you enjoy learning, expand on those topics – ask your teacher, counselor, parents, siblings – any older person who might have some useful insights about how you can connect the dots and turn that interest into a new challenge for yourself. Remember that your genuine interest and passion will be the greatest strength in creating the most compelling extracurricular activity.