Extracurricular activities are a good way to give admissions officers a glimpse of who you are as a student—and as a person. In my recent Facebook Live Q&A, I provide my insider tips on everything from listing extracurriculars on your college applications to what matters most to admissions officers and more.
In case you missed it, here’s a recap with a list of the questions I answered and the full video of my session!
HERE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS YOU'LL SEE ME ANSWER:
- What is recognized by colleges as an extracurricular activity?
- Should a student be well-rounded or develop a passion for one thing?
- What is the best way to show your impact?
- How far back are you allowed to list an activity?
- Is it okay if an activity is not a year-round activity?
- Is it more important to list what you spent the most time doing, or what was most meaningful?
- How many activities can you list on your application?
- Should a student submit a resume with their application?
- If a student is not getting recruited to play a sport, does that sport matter in the college admissions process if it’s an extracurricular?
- For homeschoolers who are focused on a single sport, how many other extracurriculars do colleges expect the student to participate in?
- What if a student doesn’t play a sport?
- If a student doesn’t want to major in music, can they still get a scholarship in music if they are qualified?
- If the student has opened a successful business in the community using his/her talents as the service provided, how can it be best showcased?
- Can a talented student still submit a portfolio if they don’t want to major in art?
- If your student takes orchestra as a class during school (and performs in the concerts), does that count as an extracurricular?
- How can students provide evidence for their interest and ability?
- My son, a sophomore, thinks he would like to be a finance/business major however, he would rather do Model UN at school than DECA. Is this okay?
- How can a student make being an Eagle Scout stand out on their applications?
- If a student has a YouTube channel, can they list this as an extracurricular?
- My son likes computer games, robotics, and general video games and enjoys creating them. How would these interests be viewed for college admissions?
- Is a part-time job considered an extracurricular activity?
- How important is it to be a member of National Honors Society? And how important is it to list this as an activity?
- How do you report volunteer service hours when you have a lot to report?
- What should a student do if they are academically high achieving with not much time for anything outside of academics?
- Should students write their college essay about an extracurricular activity?
