How Extracurriculars Can Boost Your College Application

At we meet many students with stellar college admissions profiles. But those who set themselves apart do so through their extracurricular efforts. College admissions officers use GPA and standardized test scores as metrics to determine how well a candidate stacks up to their school’s admissions criteria, but neither area offers much in terms of ways to truly differentiate your college application. An outstanding extracurricular profile can truly set your application apart from the pack. It is important to use extracurriculars as a means to genuinely convey to admissions officers who you are, and where your interests, strengths, and passions lie. You may already be involved in a wide range of extracurriculars early on in high school, and if so, that is excellent. Depending on your continued enthusiasm in each one of them, it may be a good idea to take time to consider if it would be in your best interest to explore some new areas in addition to or instead of the areas in which you are currently involved. One practical way to approach this is to take a broad look at the extracurricular opportunities your school community and communities outside of school offer. Self reflection and an open mind can help you discover areas that you have a real interest in exploring. If you happen to be involved in certain activities that you either no longer enjoy or feel as though are not helping your personal growth and future goals, it is completely acceptable to let these go. Simply choosing for the sake of adding another activity to your resume is not the approach to take. It is far more advantageous to pursue a few highly focused areas that you are passionate about and make a strong impact than it is to involve yourself in more areas merely at a surface level. Admissions officers see right through resumes that are padded with activities just for the sake of pretending that a great deal was accomplished over the last four years. What they are looking for is demonstrated interest in areas that are central to who you are and what you can bring to their campus. When you sign up for our program, we carefully pair you with the perfect admissions specialist based on your current academic and extracurricular profile and the schools in which you’re interested. Your personal specialist will help you with branding, essays, and interviews, and provide you with support and guidance in all other aspects of the application process.