What's a good way to stand out for a college - you know, with extracirricular?

Answer 1

Leadership. Try to be the leader of a club. If you can, join an organization bigger than your school. In my city, high school students can join a forum to discuss issues in the school system. Even though I go to a private school, I was on the forum. That kind of thing would look really good on college resume.

Try to do a variety of things too. If you're looking to go into a music major, don't have all your extra cirriculars be like band, jazz club, choir, etc. Pick a variety of clubs, organization, and community service groups to join.

Answer 2

Increasingly, what colleges are looking for when they look at extracurriculars are dedicated commitment and depth in a few select extracurriculars. Joining a lot of clubs just because you think they might look good on your college applications is NOT the same as showing a dedicated commitment or depth. For that, you want to be an active member or contributor, and you want to also demonstrated that you have done more than just be a member.

I am an independent college counselor, and here is an example of a client of mine who has shown depth and dedication. She started volunteering at a nursing home a few hours a week when she was a freshman. She was assigned to work with many patients who had Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders, and she was very moved by their plight. She called the local Alzheimer's association and started volunteering there several hours a week as well. She also began researching about how Alzheimer's is viewed, and wrote some newspaper articles for her local newspaper and her school newspaper to raise awareness. In her junior year, she organized a talent show at her high school to raise money for Alzheimer's research. She put together a fact sheet on Alzheimer's to hand out at the show, got other students involved, organized the event, etc. She raised quite a bit of money and won several awards in her state for her efforts.

She had other extracurriculars on her application, but it was the depth and length of her commitment to Alzheimer's that stood out on her application.

Now, I am NOT advising you (or anyone!) to rush out and start working at the Alzheimer's association or in a nursing home. The truth is, doing any extracurricular just because you think it might help with college admissions WON'T impress admissions people. What WILL impress them is showing that you have a strong and sustained interest in an extracurricular that you do just because it excites you, challenges you, and satisfies you. It really doesn't matter which extracurriculars you get involved with as long as you show that depth and commitment.

So, the correct question you should be asking is not "what's a good way to stand out for a college?" but rather "what really interests me, and how can I pursue that interest?" Don't worry if you have to try some different things before you find your true interests - just keep an open mind, try different things, and, when you find something that really catches you, look for ways that you can expand upon it. THAT is what admissions officers love to see.
Good luck!
Carolyn Lawrence, www.AdmissionsAdvice.com