Extracurricular activities show colleges who you really are
What your extracurriculars say about you
- You're a forward thinker. Try to be involved in something that will set you apart from other applicants, such as planning your own fundraiser. "[Colleges] recognize which activities you can simply 'join' and which ones required a great deal of effort to plan and get off the ground," writes Jay Brody in Extracurricular Activities: Strategies.
- You're a humanitarian. Colleges love to see students give back to their community. Volunteering at a local homeless shelter or retirement home is a great way to give back.
- You're a leader. Being a leader of an activity shows the hard work and time you put into it. It will also show you are more involved. For example, being on student council is good, but colleges will assume you are more involved if you are student council president or treasurer.
- You're focused. You may be involved in several extracurricular activities, but by your junior year try to narrow it down to those that you enjoy the most, even if it means you have to drop involvement in other activities: It gives colleges a better vision of who you are and what you like to do best.
The truth is, there's more to getting into college than just test scores and grades.
While test scores and GPAs may be the first things colleges look at, they still want to see those extracurricular activities. That's because it's your activities outside the classroom that give colleges a better idea of you and your interests and passions.
Extracurriculars can also make the difference when it comes to scholarships. For example, Asbury College in Wilmore hosts a scholarship weekend for students who have high test scores and GPAs.
However, because all of the students who attend that weekend are very strong academically, it's the extracurricular activities that can make a difference in determining who gets the scholarships.
Ron Anderson, director of admissions and financial aid at Asbury, said extracurriculars also come into play when an applicant's test scores and GPA are on the borderline for admission. The review
committee looks at the whole package
and specifically looks at the student's extracurricular activities to see if the
applicant will be a good fit for the college.
