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How to Write the Harvard Extracurricular Activities Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Elias Miller in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered:

Purpose of the prompt, example answer, showing vs. telling.

In this post, we look at Harvard University ’s supplemental essay focusing on extracurricular activities. For more information, check out this article on how to get into Harvard . 

Harvard’s second supplemental essay prompt reads, “Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.” 

This prompt enables you to focus deeply on one of your extracurriculars to showcase your involvement. With a 150-word limit, your response will be brief, but it should say something profound about you. Choose an activity that is important to you, but avoid discussing something that you’ve already talked about in detail elsewhere in your application. Try to weave in a personal anecdote, but avoid using gimmicks or unnecessary fluff in your response.  

Let’s look at an example answer to this prompt. 

As I crashed into the final chord, I broke into a satisfied grin. I had just played the epic third movement of the “Moonlight Sonata,” a longtime dream of mine. Only four months ago, I had considered this feat impossible. The movement is long and its tempo impossibly fast. It features the most fragile and intricate melodies I had ever encountered. With the end of the school year last June, I was free to determine my own musical path: either finally learn the piece or let it defeat me for the third consecutive summer. During the following months, I spent countless hours practicing until the notes burned a permanent place in my memory, creating a soundtrack for my dreams. Despite my success, I know I haven’t mastered the piece. I am now eager to take the next step and add in layers of nuance to make my performances even more expressive. 

This response is incredibly well done. It’s well-written, not overly flowery, and free of grammatical errors, and it gets the point across. The writer leads us in with a bit of a hook, beginning their response in media res , in the heat of the action. We accompany the writer as they finish their performance of this difficult piece, then we go on a journey with the writer as they talk about their grit, determination, and perseverance to overcome struggles and learn this score. 

Another positive aspect of this response is that the writer doesn’t declare that they’re now a piano genius. Instead, the applicant’s takeaway from this experience is that they have so much more to learn. Playing all the notes of a piece is just the first step in a long journey toward musical maturity and eventual mastery.

The writer doesn’t say, “I’m very determined,” or “I’m very mature,” or “I care a lot about piano.” They don’t have to because they’ve shown these things through writing about this experience. From their journey of learning this piece, we can glean for ourselves how committed, determined, and mature the applicant is. Showing rather than telling is critical in college essay writing.

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How (and why) to write a college essay about your extracurricular activities | guide + examples, what to write about.

Brad Schiller

😢 Won’t anyone think of the college admissions readers? 😢

In our work as college essay coaches , we’ve lately been delighted to learn that many people are in fact worried that college admission officers might be bored — specifically due to redundant college essays that rehash all the stuff that’s in the Activities List in prose-form.

Ugh! That would indeed be horribly boring. (And it does indeed happen.) 

[Shaking head.] Poor admissions readers.

But — little nuance — you don’t have to rehash what you put in your activities list. You could instead expand upon what’s there by either: 

• Talking more about the impact you had and the actions you took to achieve that impact ✨, or 
• Showing how the activity relates to your personal brand as an applicant who will succeed in college and beyond. ✨

Bottom line: writing a Common App Personal Statement (or supplemental essay) about a meaningful extracurricular activity is often a great idea. Read on for how to do it right.

In fact, many college applications specifically ask students to describe an activity or work experience — proof that colleges are interested in learning more about them. 

What you *don’t* want to do: Redundancy & the dreaded “it makes me feel alive” trap 

While the idea that you shouldn’t write about activities in college application essays is a pernicious rumor, as college essay coaches , we must admit that this territory does come with some real danger. 

The danger is that, instead of writing an essay that sheds light on how you’ll succeed in college and beyond , you talk about the activity in a way that adds little to nothing over what’s already in your Activity List. 

Here are some approaches that have been known to tempt those facing the terror of the blank page:

• “I love soccer so much. The thrill of the game is my favorite thing. I feel so alive when I’m on the field. One time, I scored this amazing goal. [Brilliant writing describes this amazing goal in gorgeous detail.]”
• [Same as above, except substitute “music” for “soccer” and “in front of an audience” for “on the field,” and so on.]
• “Debate is my passion. I began in ninth grade knowing nothing. But I worked hard at it, and won my first award as a freshman, even though it was only 9th place. As a sophomore, my skills really improved. I came in 3rd in the Semi-All Around [editor’s note: does that sound like a believable award?]. Finally, my junior year, I came in first in the National Regionals!”

Let’s analyze.

In the first two types of essays (the “[activity] makes me feel alive!” essay) the problem isn’t necessarily writing style. You could write a beautiful piece of prose about that amazing, game-clinching goal, with drama and stakes, reveals and surprises, and soul-plumbing moments on par with something out of Squid Game . 

But if the essay doesn’t say anything about your potential to succeed — elements we’ve boiled down to the 5 traits (more about them below) — it’s not going to matter to the college. 

Lots of students love music. Lots of people are passionate about sports. 

Those things aren’t enough (on their own) to make anyone stand out. 

The last type of essay is more of an obvious clunker. This student may be brilliant at Debate, but they can’t write for their life! The issue here is that they’re just laying out everything they’ve done — the admissions officer isn’t learning anything new. All of it would fit better in their Activities List.  

At least this example shows that college essays aren’t about “showing off.” You don’t need to have insane accomplishments to write a great essay. (Great accomplishments shine better in Activities Lists — although even there, it’s easy to undersell yourself. Here’s how to sell yourself in Activities Lists .)

Rather, it’s perfectly possible to write a great essay about a smaller moment or experience, so long as the essay focuses on your character traits, and how they’ll help you succeed. 

Speaking of which, let’s move on to ...

What you *do* want to do: Show how your activity connects to your potential for success 

Alright. Here’s the good stuff.

Yes, you can absolutely write about your extracurricular activities (including paid work). You can do this to great effect either in your personal statement or in a shorter supplemental essay (or even both!). If you still don’t believe us, here’s an example of a student who got into Harvard by writing about an extracurricular activity. 

Here are some reasons why activities make great essay topics:

• Fun! You probably enjoy these activities, so you might likewise have fun talking about them.
• Experience! Even if you don’t love the activity (maybe a job), you spend a lot of time at it, so you likely have lots of interesting experiences to choose from.
• Authenticity! Activities are usually something that can represent the “real you” easily.
• Potential!! Activities are great for showing off the 5 Traits that colleges look for in essays. 

That brings us to the 5 traits.  

If you’ve read almost any of our other articles, you know that the 5 traits that colleges look for in applicants are:

• Drive (aka Grit)
• Contribution
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Diversity of Experiences

These traits show you’re someone who has it in them to succeed. They’re more important than any one success or achievement. Because, if we’re being honest, one success or achievement in high school isn’t that impressive. But having a trait within you that leads to success? That actually is impressive. 

Let’s rewrite those essay types above with the 5 traits in mind:

• “I couldn’t believe it. My soccer team was discussing whether or not to schedule an extra practice during the upcoming long weekend. “Of course, yes,” I was thinking. But, shockingly, the room was not with me. A quick consensus formed around no added practice. It was my tipping point — I finally saw that I needed to convey to this team that settling for mediocre was not an option, and that none of us would regret doing what it takes to win.”
• “Nobody is musical in my family. Piano is something I made happen all by myself. I begged my mom for my first lessons as a freshman. The lessons soon got me fascinated by music theory, which I started studying on my own, since our school doesn’t teach it. Later, I found a Saturday class where I now study it.”
• “I started Debate Club just because I thought I needed an extracurricular activity for my resume. It didn’t mean much to me. It was only at the end of freshman year when I delivered an unsurprisingly lackluster performance in our final trials — and saw the look of disappointment on my teammates’ faces — that I realized I was letting everybody down, most importantly myself. After that, I …”

Let’s analyze. 

These examples turn the admissions reader from outsiders to insiders. 

Your Activities List was a teaser trailer, heavy on the special effects and with the greatest moments edited together to pack a wallop. Now, the college wants to know more . They’re metaphorically willing to cough up movie fare and schlep out to the theater (of course donning a covid mask) to learn the full story of what created this awesome list.

In an essay centered on one or more activities, they want to see what actions you took that led to these accomplishments. They want to see what traits within you caused you to take those actions. They want to see if you have what it takes to succeed. 

For the soccer example , we’ve tossed the game-clinching goal cliche out the window. Instead, we’re focused on rare, valuable traits — in this case Drive (aka Grit). This person gets things done. No matter what. Who would you rather have on campus? A student who’s great at soccer and has scored some extraordinary goals? Or … the person who rallied an apathetic team into adding work and improving their results? 

In the musical example, you see both Initiative (challenging the status quo) as well as Intellectual Curiosity (being excited about learning). This person doesn’t just love music, they made that love of music happen, and they got deep into it. What a cool type of person to admit to a college!

Finally, in our Debate Club example , you’re seeing some Contribution (giving back, helping others) in the form of a person wanting to do better by teammates, as well as perhaps some Drive and Intellectual Curiosity , both of which likely come into play later in the essay, as this person turns their performance around. 

Another thing you might want to do: Tell a fuller version of the impact you had and how you achieved it   

Another way we, as essay coaches , have seen students successfully discuss an activity is when the 150 characters allotted for each of your activities isn’t quite enough to tell its story. 

Let’s take this Activities List description as an example:

• Won a series of 6 deadly contests without losing my humanity. Subverted VIP expectations and made possible the redemption of a teammate gone evil. 

(Yes, this is Squid Game , and no there are no spoilers up there. I mean, you know one of them is going to win, right? It’s a very mild spoiler. Email us if you’re upset.)

Well, there might be a lot more to say here about this person’s participation in the Squid Games. About …

• Drive — How they kept at it despite long odds (game #2 springs to mind).
• Initiative — How they found new ways to defeat the odds (bringing in a welcome spirit of camaraderie in an otherwise dog-eat-dog atmosphere).
• Contribution — so many examples.
• Diversity of Experiences — if emerging victorious from the Squid Games doesn’t give you a unique outlook, I don’t know what does.

If you’ve got some great accomplishments under your belt, why not elaborate beyond 150 characters? There’s almost certainly much more to explore that admissions officers would find impressive.

Just make sure that you’re focusing on your actions and how they relate to one or more of the 5 traits. Avoid going on overly long about your deep feelings for the activity or simply recounting “facts,” such as awards or achievements (that clinching soccer goal) — the college wants to know what enduring traits are behind those fleeting achievements.

More articles on Prompt.com’s admissions-boosting methods:

• Work with a college essay coach
• Strong essays increase your chance of admission by up to 10x
• Don’t let influencers influence your college essays
• Should I apply test-optional?
• Early admissions: Everything you need to know
• College Essay Help Center

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, amazing extracurricular activity examples for college applications.

Extracurriculars

Extracurriculars are a great way to participate in an activity you enjoy and meet new people, and they can also be an important part of your college application.

What makes an extracurricular activity particularly impressive to colleges? How do your extracurriculars measure up?

Read this guide to see four amazing extracurricular activities examples. I'll discuss why they're exceptional and how you can participate in similar activities to boost your own college application.

What Are Extracurricular Activities and How Are They Useful?

An extracurricular is any activity you participate in outside of class. It can be associated with your school, such as a sports team or club, or completely separate. They also include any jobs or internships you have had, as well as volunteer work you have performed. Extracurriculars cover a wide range of activities and interests, from painting to science to helping the homeless and more.

Why would you want to participate in an extracurricular? There are several ways they can benefit you:

They Let You Do Something You Enjoy

Extracurriculars let you participate in an activity you enjoy, whether that's playing football, painting, or another activity. Practicing this activity regularly will help you get better at it, and you may be able to develop new skills that you find useful in the future. Doing something you enjoy not only makes you happier but can also give you a much-needed break from schoolwork.

They Introduce You to New Friends

Students often make many friends through their extracurriculars because they see other members regularly and have a shared interest.

They Are Important for College Applications

Extracurriculars can also be included in your college applications to show your interests and talents. Read on to learn more about the importance of extracurriculars when applying to college.

How Are Extracurriculars Important for College Applications?

Extracurriculars can be a key part of your college application. Most applications have a section where you can list all the extracurriculars you were involved in. If a certain extracurricular is particularly important to you, you can also write about it in your personal statement and have the people writing you letters of recommendation discuss it so that it is a more prominent part of your college application.

Why do colleges care about extracurriculars? Colleges like to admit students who are involved in their communities, interact well with others, and work to develop their talents and passions. A student who participates in extracurriculars is more likely to do each of those things than a student who has no extracurriculars.

Also, there is more to college than simply going to class; colleges are full of opportunities to be active, interact with others, and give back, and schools want to admit students who will keep their campuses connected and interesting. Great extracurriculars can also help you stand out from the thousands of applications colleges receive by highlighting a particular skill or interest of yours that makes you unique and memorable.

How competitive your extracurriculars need to be depends on how selective the colleges you're applying to are. For Ivy League and other top schools, strong extracurriculars are usually required. For more information, check out our guide that explains how to develop extracurriculars that will help you get into Harvard and other top schools. If you're applying to your state school, you likely don't need your extracurriculars to be exceptional, but if you do have awesome extracurriculars and decent grades, then you have an excellent chance of being accepted.

What Makes an Extracurricular Activity Great?

While colleges like to see a student with extracurriculars, not all extracurriculars are considered equal. There are specific qualities that colleges look for in extracurriculars that will make them more impressive and boost the applicant's resume. Having one amazing extracurricular on your college application is more impressive than a list of activities you had little interest in or impact on. One great extracurricular can give your college application a significant boost.

However, getting an amazing extracurricular is not as simple as choosing a particular sport or club you think colleges will find impressive. When applying to college, what activity you do is not nearly as important as why you are doing it or the effort you put into it. There are three qualities admissions look for in particular when they review extracurriculars:

Leadership experience includes any time that you have been responsible for leading a project or guiding, motivating, or instructing others. Colleges want to admit students who have a history of leadership experience because they are hoping those students will continue to be leaders and have a significant impact on the world in the future.

You don't have to be team captain or club president in order to get leadership experience. You can show your leadership skills by helping to organize an event, mentoring younger members, or developing a fundraiser.

Are you participating in that activity because you truly want to or just because you want to include it on your college application? For colleges, there is a huge difference between the two. Admissions officers want to see you doing activities you are interested in and passionate about, not just as a way to impress others. Passion is a critical contributor to success, and colleges see genuine passion as an indicator that you are more likely to succeed than someone who's just going through the motions.

Great extracurriculars show what your passion is. This can be accomplished by having multiple similar extracurriculars (such as being part of multiple science clubs), or showing a deep commitment to a particular extracurricular, often by pursuing it for many years and spending a significant amount of time on it.

Colleges measure impact by looking at how you influenced the activity you participated in and how it influenced you. The strongest extracurricular examples clearly show that you have changed and improved as a result of participating and that you also had a lasting impact on the activity as well.

Colleges want to admit people who will have a positive and lasting impact on their school, so they look for students who already have a history of this in their extracurriculars. Having an impact on an extracurricular can include recruiting new members, expanding a club's focus, or developing a way for the club to reach more people. Colleges also want to see that your extracurriculars made you a better person. Are you more responsible? A better team player? More confident?

Colleges love to see confident applicants.

To get a better idea of what good extracurricular activities are, read on to see examples of outstanding extracurricular activities.

Great Extracurricular Activity Examples

Below are four fictional examples of great extracurricular activities. For each, a paragraph is written from the student's perspective. Most college applications don't allow much space to discuss your extracurriculars, but you will likely want to include a more condensed version of the same kind of information. For a more in-depth take on this topic, take a look at our guide on how to write about extracurriculars on your college application .

Each example also includes a breakdown of what makes it a great extracurricular, as well as ways for you to pursue similar activities.

Example 1: Elizabeth the Ballerina

I took my first ballet class when I was three years old, and ever since then I have known that I want to be a ballerina. During the school year, I would take ballet classes six days a week, and beginning in middle school I spent summers at intensive ballet camps. When I was 14, I was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet's pre-professional program, one of the most competitive youth ballet troupes in the country. I have now spent three years in the pre-professional program, which involves practicing and performing roughly 30 hours a week. I have also auditioned and been selected for roles in 8 company productions that are seen by hundreds of audience members each night. I have loved ballet nearly my entire life, and I plan to continue working as a ballerina and mentoring children and teenagers who are interested in ballet.

Why It Stands Out

The main thing that causes this extracurricular to stand out is Elizabeth's clear passion for and dedication to ballet. Elizabeth has been practicing ballet since she was a toddler, and she practices many hours each week. She gives specific numbers (30 hours a week, 8 company productions), to help admissions officers get a clear idea of her work and the impact it had.

She makes her talents clear by stating that she was accepted into a competitive program and was chosen to perform in company performances. This helps show that she is exceptionally skilled ballerina and helps her stand out from other applicants who may just pursue dance as a fun hobby.

Finally, Elizabeth states that she would like to teach others about ballet and act as a mentor. This both shows her leadership abilities and lets schools know that she would like to continue her extracurricular as a college student.

How to Have a Similar Extracurricular

Is there a hobby or activity you have practiced for multiple years? You don't need to have practiced it as long as Elizabeth has, but sticking with one extracurricular for a long time can show colleges you have a deep interest in it.

This activity doesn't necessarily have to be an official club or sport either, having a hobby you are passionate about and practice regularly also counts as an extracurricular. If you've been interested in art since you were young, you can expand that into a strong extracurricular by taking art classes, getting your work displayed in your community, and developing a program or class that introduces kids to art.

Example 2: Scott the Volunteer Leader

I have been a member of my high school's volunteer club since my freshman year. During my first year, I enjoyed tutoring elementary students and painting houses with the club, but I thought students should have more options for volunteering. As a sophomore, I spoke to club leaders and proposed five new locations where students could volunteer including a hospital, animal shelter, and homeless shelter. After getting my suggestions approved, I contacted the organizations and arranged for them to form volunteer partnerships with the school. This included developing activities volunteers could do, getting the organizations approved by the school, and arranging volunteer times and transportation. Other students in the volunteer club were excited about having a bigger impact, so I continued to look for new opportunities for volunteers. I am currently president of the volunteer club and in charge of developing new volunteer activities. Under my direction, the volunteer club has grown from 30 to over 100 members and quadrupled the number of places where students can volunteer. I'm proud that our club is continuing to grow and help more people each year.

This extracurricular clearly shows that Scott is a leader who knows how to take initiative and get things done. Scott clearly describes the work he did to expand and improve the volunteer club, from proposing ideas to club leaders to working with organizations to establish volunteer programs.

Like Elizabeth, he gives concrete numbers to show his impact on the volunteer club and how he contributed to its growth . The fact that he worked to expand the volunteer club and provide more volunteer opportunities for other club members also shows that he cares about volunteering and believes it can have a positive impact on both volunteers and the people they help.

Scott's extracurricular is great because he took initiative and worked to improve it, even before he had a leadership position. You can do the same thing with any of your extracurriculars. Is there a club you enjoy but think could be better? Perhaps you are part of an art club but wish members had more opportunities to showcase their work.

You could contact a local library or cafe and organize a display of artists' work for the community to enjoy. Perhaps you're on an academic bowl team and wish there were more competitions. You could contact other schools and set up an invitational tournament to help teams get more practice competing. The main point is to take initiative and lead a project that will improve your extracurricular, no matter what that activity is.

Example 3: Jessica the Scientist

When I was 15 years old, I decided to get a part-time job to help pay for college and have some spending money. Because I was already part of my school's Science Olympiad team and plan on majoring in microbiology, I applied to be a lab technician at a local science lab. My work primarily consisted of preparing chemicals and cleaning equipment, but after speaking to my supervisor about my interest in microbiology, I was able to begin conducting some simple experiments for the lab. This past summer I became a full-time intern at the lab and took on additional responsibilities. I asked to work with a team doing a microbiology project that studies self-assembly properties of polypeptides. During my internship, I ran different chemical tests and analyzed data results for potential use in cancer research, and I have continued that work into the school year.

From the above paragraph, it's clear that Jessica's passion is science. She is a member of science clubs, she plans on majoring in biology, and she applied for a job in a science lab. Jessica took a not-too-exciting job, where she mostly cleaned lab equipment, and was able to grow it into an internship where she contributes to cancer research. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment for a high school student. She took initiative to increase the responsibility of her part-time job and turn it into something that has a meaningful impact and gives her useful experience for her future.

Jessica's part-time job didn't start off all that impressive; she worked to increase her responsibilities and impact. You can do the same with any job or activity you have. Think of ways to expand your role, or ask your boss or club leader if they have any ideas. For example, if you're a lifeguard, you could start a program that teaches kids basic first-aid safety at the pool.

I have a friend who worked at a grocery store in high school and planned on being a dietitian. She created a monthly group where kids whose parents were grocery shopping could stop by a part of the grocery store, have some snacks, and learn about which healthy foods they should eat. That's a great way to take a typical high school job and turn it into an extracurricular that shows motivation, hard-work, and leadership skills.

Example 4: James the Soccer Player

When I started high school I thought it would be a good idea to join a sports team since my family had just moved to the area. One of my classmates suggested I try out for the soccer team. I made the junior varsity team and stayed on it for two years until I joined the varsity team as a junior. I love playing soccer and the feeling I get knowing I'm a member of a team. Being part of the soccer team helped me make friends and feel like I was part of the school's community. Because my soccer team helped me so much, as a junior I proposed a mentoring program where experienced team members helped freshman players adjust to high school. The mentors would make sure the freshman weren't feeling overwhelmed, had people to talk to, and found activities and classes they liked. The program was a great success, with many members commenting on how much they enjoyed it. This year, I helped three other sports teams implement the program. Doing this has helped me become more confident and better at public speaking. My high school dean has also asked that I speak to other teams in the hopes that, eventually, each of my school's sports teams will have a similar mentoring program.

Unlike Elizabeth, the highly-skilled ballerina, James is not one of the top high school soccer players in the country. While making varsity team does show he's talented at playing soccer, there are thousands of high school varsity players across the country, and unless you are playing at a national level, simply being a varsity athlete is not enough to make an extracurricular outstanding. What makes James' extracurricular exceptional is not his soccer skills but the mentoring program he started for athletes.

James took his experience of being the new kid and used it to help others avoid feeling lonely and isolated in high school. He decided to create a program that helps new students and bonds the team together. This shows leadership, as well as consideration for others. Colleges want students foster a positive atmosphere by working well as part of a team and being the kind of person other students want to be around. James' commitment to his mentoring program makes him seem like that kind of person. He also states how working on the mentoring program made him a more confident person . Similar to previous examples, James took initiative to start a new project, and he continues to lead and expand it.

James' extracurricular shows that you don't have to be the best at a certain activity to have it be a strong extracurricular. James wasn't team captain and didn't make the varsity team until he was a junior, but he still had a significant impact on improving the soccer team and helping out other students at his school.

If you aren't the top athlete or best science student at your school, you can have a strong impact in another way. A great way to do this is to foster relationships among your classmates. If your school has several science clubs that don't often interact with each other, you can suggest hosting a science event together that can include cool science demonstrations for kids and help the science clubs become more connected. You can also start a mentoring program similar to the one James created.

How to Create Your Own Great Extracurriculars

In none of the above examples was a student handed an amazing internship or club membership; they each had to put in time and effort to create exceptional extracurriculars. It will likely be the same for you. By following the steps below, you can develop great extracurriculars that will show the passion, impact, and leadership abilities that colleges love to see. If you have already chosen your extracurriculars and simply want to strengthen then, you can begin at step #4, although you may still find reading the previous steps useful.

#1: List Your Interests

Colleges want to see you participate in extracurriculars that you are passionate about, not ones you are only doing to impress others. Doing an extracurricular you are interested in will also make it more enjoyable (which is really the point of an extracurricular) and will likely also make you more willing to pursue leadership opportunities and increase your impact.

Make a list of all your interests. This can include your favorite classes, hobbies you enjoy, sports you've wanted to try, or what you plan on studying in college, basically anything you think you would enjoy spending more time doing.

#2: Research Extracurriculars

Once you have your list of interests, find extracurriculars that relate to them. Look at clubs and sports your school offers, local jobs and internships for teens, and volunteer opportunities, and make a list of extracurricular activities you might be interested in. If you need ideas, we have a complete list of extracurriculars that includes hundreds of different options.

If you need more help, ask your guidance counselor, classmates, or local community members. You can also try doing an internet search for "your interest" + "your hometown" to find nearby activities you can get involved with. If your school doesn't offer an extracurricular you're interested in, you can start a club yourself, which is a great way to show initiative and leadership.

#3: Choose and Narrow Your Extracurriculars

If you are able to, choose several extracurriculars that you think you will enjoy. After participating in them for a few weeks or months, you can narrow them down to one or a few that you feel particularly passionate about and want to devote more time to. Colleges are more interested in depth than breadth, so having a few extracurriculars that you put a lot of time into and have a significant impact on is more impressive than a laundry list of clubs and sports you don't really care about.

Narrow down your interests in order to choose the best extracurriculars

#4: Increase Your Impact

Now that you've chosen your extracurriculars, it's time to strengthen them to help your college application stand out. First, look for ways to increase your impact. Like the examples mentioned above, this can include recruiting more members, creating new events, expanding the club's focus, and more. Try to leave your extracurricular better than it was when you joined it.

#5: Gain Leadership Skills

After you have started to have a larger impact, work to become a leader in your extracurricular. This doesn't always mean being club president or team captain. You can gain leadership skills by mentoring other members, leading a project, or developing a new activity.

Once you've started applying these five rules, you'll be well on your way to developing a great extracurricular to include on your college applications.

What's Next?

Want to learn more about community service? We have a guide that explains what community service is and how it can benefit you.

Are you thinking about doing an extracurricular or volunteer work in a foreign country? Read our guide on volunteer abroad programs and learn if they're really the best option for you.

Not sure if you want to go to school in a big city or small town? Read our guide to learn if you should go to a rural, urban, or suburban school.

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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The College Extracurricular Activity Essay

Mark montgomery.

• July 25, 2023

How will you write your college extracurricular activity essay?

The Common Application used to ask you to “elaborate” on one of your extracurricular activities in 150 words. Now this essay is not quite as common. At least it is no long required on the Common App.

However, many other colleges do require it, either as a part of their application or as a “supplement” the Common Application .

Either way, this short paragraph can be an essential component of your entire presentation as an applicant.  In just a few sentences, you must convey something personal, meaningful, and interesting about yourself.

Seems impossible, right?  “How can I sum up my experience in my favorite extracurricular activities in just a few sentences?”

Well, it’s time to tackle the impossible. These tips may help you decide which activity to focus on, and how to write a well-structured paragraph that gives the reader a deeper understanding of your motivations and your priorities.

Choose the Right Activity

Don’t necessarily pick the activity that looms largest on your resume or activity list. If you are a star tennis player and a possible recruit for a college team, that fact will be clear on your activity list. If you are the best clarinetist in the city, then your activity list should reflect that fact.  Remember, the prompt asks you to “elaborate” on the activity. It doesn’t say you have to choose the one that takes up the most time, nor does it say that it must be the one that is your primary extracurricular focus.

More specifically, it may be that the activity in which you have achieved or excelled the most is not the activity that will be the best to elaborate upon in this short essay. Consider the other activities that may help to round out your application and present another view of what motivates and interests you.

Consider which activities carry the most personal meaning to you. Look back over your resume or activities list and ask yourself, “Which of these would I miss the most if I could no longer do it?” Perhaps it’s that annual scouting trip, or the weekends skiing with your family. Or maybe it’s that concert you organize at the nursing home twice a year that brings you particular joy. Choosing the right activity is the first step as you write your extracurricular activity essay.

Your “Hidden” Activities

Consider elaborating on an activity that is not on the activities list or resume. For example, perhaps your extended family shares Sunday dinner together regularly, and this ritual has had a big influence on you and helped to shape your feelings about family. Maybe you actually enjoy mowing your lawn every week, making it look nice by paying attention to details. Perhaps you ride your bike to school every morning, and you use that time to notice details on your route and get your head together before and after your workday.

Not Necessarily Your “Best” Activities

Consider taking one of your activities and giving it greater specificity and detail. As you know, the space on the application in which to elaborate on your activities is very, very limited.  So use this short paragraph to pull out some details. For example, perhaps you mention on your activity sheet that you have done volunteer work at a hospital, and that you have several responsibilities. But perhaps there is one responsibility, in particular, that you most enjoy. That one responsibility could be the focus of your extracurricular.

To take another example, perhaps you are a guitar player, and your activity list indicates that you’re fairly good, but not great. However, there I some particular aspects of playing the guitar that you enjoy. Perhaps you don’t mind playing scales over and over in order to improve your technique.

Or maybe you go to a music store on Saturdays where a bunch of bluegrass players get together and jam, and you join in, despite the fact you aren’t the best player; or you are a huge fan of Andre Segovia and have listened to every piece he has ever recorded. These sorts of details can say a lot about the depth of your interest in an activity, even if it is not where your greatest accomplishments lie.

The Focus: “Why?”

Your activity list or resume should address the questions of “What, When, and Where?” (the “who” should be apparent:  you!). This list explains your accomplishments and the range of your commitments. But it doesn’t explain your motivations or your priorities. This short essay-ette gives you an opportunity to do some explaining.

As with your primary college essay and with the supplements, the aim here is to give the admissions officer reading your file a bit more information about yourself.  What you convey in this short paragraph is something that they won’t find in the essays, and that they won’t really know from reading your activity list. This is another opportunity for you to present another interesting and important facet of your personality. All the essays give your application depth and dimension. Don’t throw away this opportunity to tell the reader more about yourself.

Tips for Writing the College Extracurricular Activity Essay

Start with a list of reasons you participate in this activity. What do you get out of it? Why do you enjoy it? Why would you miss it if you suddenly were unable to do it anymore?

Remember that not every aspect of your participation may be enjoyable. Are there reasons you participate in this activity that actually help you accomplish something else that is, in fact, even more enjoyable? For example, weight training may not always be fun, but it can make you stronger. Practicing the flute may be enjoyable in some respects, and not so much in others—but practicing makes you a better player.

Once your list of reasons why you participate in this activity, pick the top three. Write your essay in 5 sentences. One to introduce the activity, three to explain why you do it, and 1 to spare, either as a conclusion or as an elaboration on your introduction.

Some Prompts to Get You Going

If you are having trouble, try completing these sentence prompts to get you going.

• When I participate in this activity, I feel ___________.
• I originally got involved in this activity because ____________.  And now I continue this activity because ____________.
• My favorite aspect of this activity is ____________.
• My friends think this activity is ___________.
• I take the most pride in this aspect of the activity: ___________.

The College Extracurricular Activity Essay – Final Notes

For most of us–adults as well as teens–our activities are good reflections of our priorities, talents, and motivations. We often demonstrate excellence through the things we do outside of school (or outside our jobs or professions).

This Common App supplemental extracurricular activity essay is a great way for you to share more about who you are as a person. If you focus on WHY you engage in these activities, you’ll be able to convey those motivations and priorities.

You have fun engaging in your extracurricular activities. Now enjoy writing about one that is especially important to you.

Need Help With Your College Extracurricular Activity Essay?

If you are having trouble putting together your college essays, including your college extracurricular essay for the Common App, then you might want to consider giving a call to the folks at Great College Advice.  We help students with every aspect of the college admissions process, and we would love to guide your toward your educational objectives.  If you’d like to learn more about what we do, contact us .  We’ll be happy to chat with you!

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How to write the ‘Extracurricular Activity’ essay

How to write the “extracurricular activity” college essay.

Bonus Material: Examples of real supplemental essays that worked for schools like Princeton and Yale

If you’re in the process of applying to colleges, you likely already know that many universities (especially top-tier schools like Ivies) ask you to write essays in response to supplemental prompts. 

When it comes to selective schools, these supplemental essays make a huge difference! Some schools even prioritize your supplemental essays over your Common App personal statement. 

One of the most common supplemental essay prompts asks you to expand on an extracurricular activity you’ve been involved with. This is what we call, for obvious reasons, the Extracurricular Activity essay . 

While it might seem simple, many students misunderstand what colleges want when they ask this question. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through what you need to do to write this supplemental essay in a way that gets you to stand out to elite universities. 

As universities get more and more selective, you’ll want to make sure you do everything possible to ensure your admissions application is perfect. At PrepMaven, that’s exactly what we do: for years, our expert tutors have guided students through the college application process, helping them land acceptances at schools like Princeton, Harvard, and MIT. 

Read on for our guide–backed up by years of experience–on how to approach the Extracurricular Activity essay prompt. 

Download 50+ Real Supplemental Essays for Ivy+ Schools

Jump to section: What is the “Extracurricular Activity” essay? Examples of “Extracurricular Activity” prompts What are colleges looking for in this supplemental essay? How to write the “Extracurricular Activity” essay Example of a successful extracurricular essay Analysis of a real extracurricular essay How to choose the topic for the extracurricular essay Next steps

What is the “Extracurricular” essay?

This is pretty much what it sounds like: many universities will, as one of their supplemental writing prompts, ask you to expand upon an extracurricular activity you’ve been involved with. 

But while the directions are pretty clear, what top colleges actually want from you here can be harder to figure out. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about the Extracurricular essay prompt: what the prompts look like, what admission officers want, and how to structure your essay. 

In addition, we’ll break down a real sample essay and analyze how it effectively checks all the boxes for an incredibly strong Extracurricular supplemental. 

After the “Why us?” prompts (on which we have a detailed guide here ), this is one of the most common supplemental essay prompts you’ll encounter, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re ready for this one well ahead of the application deadlines. 

Below, we’ll walk you through what these prompts look like, and what you need to do to answer them effectively. 

Examples of “Extracurricular Activity” prompts

Lots of schools ask a version of this question, but each university has their own spin on it. Take a look below for some examples from the 2023-2024 application cycle: 

Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (Harvard) Most students choose their intended major or area of study based on a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time – what passion or inspiration led you to choose this area of study? (300 words, Carnegie Mellon) What academic areas are you interested in exploring in college? (200 words, Emory University)

As you can see, each of these looks a bit different, but really they all want to know the same thing: what interests you, and how have you gotten involved with it?

What are colleges looking for when they ask about extracurriculars?

Simply put, they want to see whether you’re really passionate about something. Almost nothing is as impressive to college admissions officers as real, demonstrated passion for some particular interest. 

In our broader guide on the college application process , we talk about the importance of highlighting your extracurricular profile for elite colleges’ admissions committees. While that happens in your Activities List, of course, the Extracurricular essay is your biggest opportunity to show them how you’ve engaged deeply with a particular activity. 

But admissions officers don’t just want to see you’ve been involved with something .

What they want to see in your extracurricular profile are: 

• Initiative 

These may feel like buzzwords (they are), but they really are how admissions committees evaluate your extracurricular profile. 

Did you just compete in a robotics activity, or did you win a state championship? The former is nice; the latter is excellence . 

Did you start volunteering at a local homeless shelter this year, for an hour a week? That’s good, and colleges will appreciate it. But compare that to someone who’s been volunteering for years, dedicating multiple hours a week to the same task: that’s dedication . 

Leadership is more or less self-explanatory: did you participate, or did you hold specific positions, with demonstrated (positive) effects on the club/team/organization you were a part of?

Initiative can be murkier, but it basically has to do with how much effort you had to put in to pursuing your extracurricular in the first place (this often intersects with the other three categories). For example: did you join an existing club, or found your own because of your intense desire to pursue what interests you?

In a nutshell, then, the extracurricular essay prompt gives you the rare and valuable opportunity to show admissions committees one or more of these traits. As you write your essay, think about it in those terms: how can you show your excellence, dedication, leadership, and/or initiative in whatever activity you choose to write on. 

Below, we’ll run down what one of these essays needs to have to wow admissions officers. Although this guide should give you the information you need, there’s never a substitute for a real college essay expert who can help you with your essay live–we always recommend reaching out to one of our essay coaches if you want to maximize your chances of admission.

How to structure an Extracurricular supplemental essay. 

Although every essay is different, there are certain things that the Extracurricular should always do, and there’s a straightforward structure to help you do it. Below, we’ll break down each step of the structure and analyze a real example. 

Generally, though, these Extracurricular essays follow a similar structure: 

• Start with a story
• Give an overview
• Show your passion
• Reflect on how the activity has shaped you

Below, we’ll get into each of these in detail, so that you can have a more precise understanding of what’s expected of you when it comes to this supplemental essay. 

This is often the advice with all college essays, and it’s no less true here: you want to start with something that grabs the reader’s attention. The best way to do that is, more often than not, by throwing the reader right into the middle of a scene or moment. 

As you most likely did in your Common App essay, try to begin with a short paragraph recounting a moment that showcases you in action. Perhaps it’s you in the lab, working on a hypothesis about plant nutrition. Or maybe you’re an artist, and have just dragged your easel and canvas into the forest to paint a landscape. Whatever you do, don’t just tell us–show us you in action. 

The story exists to hook us in, but it won’t tell us everything we need to know. Set aside a small part of the essay to give a broader background for the activity you’re describing so that admissions committees can understand more about the activity itself. 

This part of the essay won’t be the most exciting or flashy, but it will let you convey a lot of information very quickly–making it an excellent place to highlight things like your dedication or initiative when it comes to this extracurricular. 

What does the “overview” part of an extracurricular supplemental look like? We’ll actually take a look at a real sample essay later in the post, but we can describe it briefly here. 

Say you’re writing an essay about performing in musicals. 

The first section (the story ) of your essay might describe you on stage, about to belt out some showtunes. 

The second section (the overview ) might begin something like, “Since the age of 7, I’ve leaped at every chance to perform in musicals: at schools, in local productions, and even with a touring theater troupe.” In just one sentence, you can show us how long you’ve been engaged with the activity and what some of the highlights were. Then, you can continue on by describing more about what your involvement in this extracurricular entails: your role, how your involvement has changed, that kind of thing. 

A word of caution: don’t turn this into a list of your accomplishments and awards. That should already be reflected in the Activities Section of your Common App. But also, it won’t make for a very good essay, and it’ll sound like you’re bragging. Only include accomplishments if they naturally integrate with the story you’re telling. 

Not sure how to balance an overview so that it conveys the right information without becoming bloated or braggy? The best way to be sure is to work with someone who has experience wowing admissions committees themselves. That’s why we always recommend getting a bit of professional help from one of our many Ivy League essay tutors and checking out or collection of real supplemental essays from successful applicants below 

We say it in almost all of our essay guides, but it’s true: nothing makes an essay stand out to admissions committees like a believable, personal description of the passion you feel for what you do. It’s human: we love people who really love what they do.

Whatever you choose to write about, the next section of your Extracurricular essay should focus on conveying the passion you feel for this activity or the satisfaction you gain from it. As always, specific details are key!  

Don’t just say “I love to ride dirt bikes.” It’s not specific, it’s not detailed, it’s not convincing: do you really believe that the person who has nothing more to say than that really loves what they do?

Connect the passion to specific details or moments that you’ve experienced while pursuing this extracurricular. Maybe it’s the specific sensation of dirt showering on you as you land the bike from a jump; maybe it’s the moment a student you tutor turns to you and says how much you’ve helped their confidence. 

Convey your passion by integrating it with the unique details that only you can recount. That’s what makes the difference between a generic, ChatGPT-style extracurricular essay and a compelling, personal one that can wow college admissions committees. 

As always, the extracurricular activity essay isn’t just about the extracurricular activity: it’s about showing how something you’re deeply involved with has affected who you are on the cusp of college. 

What does that look like? It could be a lot of things! Maybe your extracurricular activity actually shaped what you want to study, or how you live your life–if so, great. But it’s also no less important if your extracurricular activity is simply a source of peace or joy, something that takes you away from the stresses of school or other obligations. 

In any case, it’s important to show that you’re the kind of person who thinks about how the things in your life shape you. This section doesn’t have to be long–a sentence or two will do–but it should show the admissions officers what it is you’ve gained from the pursuit of this hobby, passion, or job. 

Example of a successful Extracurricular Essay

Below is an example of a really excellent response to an Extracurricular essay prompt. This sample actually comes from our guide on how to respond to the University of California’s supplemental prompts, but it’s the kind of essay that could easily be used to respond to any college’s Extracurricular supplemental essay prompt. 

The stall horn blares, and the plane sways under the control of my feet. Shoulders tense, I look outside to maintain balance: even a small tap of a foot or shift of the stick could throw the plane into a downwards roll. The plane begins to shake- my cue to recover. I pitch the nose down and push the throttle full forwards. Despite high-stress situations, piloting is my dream career. Whether airliners or navy jets, I know I will be happiest in the air. I started out building model airplanes out of paper and pencils at Civil Air Patrol meetings, which first introduced me to basic aviation principles: pitch, roll, and yaw. From there, a presentation in my computer science class taught me about Joby Aviation, a local startup working on electric gyrocopters for everyday travel. Already knowing I wanted to fly, I felt inspired to work with aircraft as an engineer as well. I decided to enroll in flight lessons and subsequently took a job as a receptionist at my flight school. When flying, time passes by as fast as the air around me. As warnings blare, pilots chatter over the radio and the plane’s glass bubble gets swelteringly hot. There’s a lot to be aware of, but I’ve learned to multitask and focus amidst distractions. Similarly, being at the airport quickly thrust me into the world of aviation. I found myself fascinated not only by aerodynamics but also by fuel chemistry, avionics, and materials. Sumping fuel from the fuel tanks, I wondered, how do different fuel textures affect planes’ engines? Running my hand along the propeller, I pondered: how would the aircraft fly if this were wood? Plastic? I became fascinated by the specificity and variability of aerospace materials and eager to learn more about them. My love for aerospace is part of why I am eager to study engineering. I imagine myself designing new aircraft and optimizing the ones I fly. Whether I become a pilot or an engineer, the lessons I learn flying will be beneficial in any future paths I take.

Analysis of a real Extracurricular supplemental essay

Take another look at the above essay, and notice how it actually neatly follows the structure we’ve been talking about. 

The essay starts suddenly, and with a ton of detail: a stall horn (what’s that?), a plane swaying, a lot of tension. 

It’s important that the story is, itself, hooking and attention-grabbing. But that’s not the sole purpose of the story: the real key here is that it shows the writer in action. They’re not a passive observer or someone along for the ride. They’re making decisions and taking control of a situation, displaying both confidence and competence. 

Those elements together are the key to a successful opening for the extracurricular essay: get our attention, and show us you in action. 

Notice how the second paragraph feels totally different. It’s no longer a pulse-raising story: it’s a quick but detailed overview of how the writer got involved with and pursued this extracurricular activity over a long period of time. 

What do we learn from this overview? The writer started simple, with models at Civic Air Patrol meetings; they continued pursuing this passion through a compsci course and a local internship; they took flight lessons and got practical work experience at a flight school. 

It’s all super quick, and super efficient. There’s some nice details in there (the models, the gyroscope), but the primary function of this section of the essay is just to put the story in context. Think about it as the background that explains how we got to the story in the first place. 

The next paragraph immediately begins by conveying why this activity is so meaningful to the author. We learn that time (literally) flies, that the author learns how to multitask and stay focused under pressure, and that all this leads to a fascination with the science and engineering behind flight. 

Remember when we talked about specifics being the key to conveying passion? Here’s what we meant. The author doesn’t stop at saying what fascinated them. They go way further, posing multiple hyper-specific questions that convey the author’s real, sustained engagement with this activity. 

• Reflection/change

As you can see, this section can be super short! It really just needs to wrap up the essay by showing us how this extracurricular affects the writer. In this case, it has helped shape what the student wants to pursue, even if the student isn’t yet 100% certain about what that path will look like. 

But this essay could have worked just as well if this student wanted to be an English major. The essay would simply have ended with a different kind of reflection, one about the value or lessons that they’re able to take away from the experience of flying. 

At heart, these essays aren’t complicated. But that doesn’t mean they’re easy. Writing the perfect Extracurricular supplemental essay can be incredibly challenging: how do you balance the story, the overview, the passion, the lesson? And all within a very short word count! 

Taking the right approach can mean the difference between boring an admissions committee and stunning them, so it’s not the place to take risks. It’s why we recommend working with a one-on-one PrepMaven essay coach. Not only have our tutors been accepted to the most prestigious schools in the country, but they’ve helped countless students get their own acceptance letters. 

How to choose the topic for an Extracurricular essay

This is a crucial decision, and you don’t want to take it lightly. 

Many students simply pick the activity that they’ve excelled most in, or the one they spend the most time doing. 

That’s often the wrong choice. Not always, of course, but often!

The key consideration is what activity will add the most to your application when described in essay form, as opposed to merely being summarized in 150 characters on your Activities List. 

Sometimes, that really is the same thing as the one you’re most active in; sometimes it’s not. 

For example, let’s say you’re an absolutely amazing athlete who has won titles and awards and all sorts of stuff. Your activities list can, if you’re careful with word count, convey all of those titles, awards, etc. If you were to write a whole essay about your sport, would you really be able to add much that the admissions committee won’t already see?

On the other hand, let’s say that in addition to being an all-star athlete, you’re also a tutor or mentor for a younger student. On the activities list, that won’t look impressive: so many students do peer tutoring that an admission officer’s eyes will glaze right over. But what if you actually developed a strong relationship with a student you mentored? There’s no way to convey that in 150 characters, but it might make for a nice story in 150 words. 

Wherever you can tell the best story, that’s your topic for the extracurricular supplemental. 

Before writing, you should always spend time reading through sample essays. We’ve collected over 50 supplemental essays from our tutors in response to prompts from Ivies and other elite schools. They’re totally free, and you can download them below to see what worked for past applicants. 

Though the steps here might seem simple, they can be astoundingly hard to pull off in just 250 words or less, which is usually the word count for this kind of supplemental essay. But if you can thread the needle and do everything listed above on this kind of essay, it can make a huge difference for your application. 

Most people don’t treat the supplemental essays as if they were particularly important, but they absolutely are: each college has put time and resources into coming up with these supplemental essay prompts because they want to see what you have to say. 

If you’ve read this guide carefully, then it’s time to start drafting! If you want to ensure that you’re writing the kind of essay that can get you into a top tier school, however, it often pays to get a second opinion. Our college essay experts have helped thousands of students get admitted into their dream schools, and are ready to help you do the same as soon as you’re ready. 

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, extracurricular essay tips.

Hey guys, I'm working on my college applications, and I feel kinda lost about how to write a strong extracurricular essay. Can anyone provide me some tips on how to stand out and highlight the impact of my activities? Thanks!

Hi there! Writing a strong extracurricular essay is all about showcasing your passion, dedication, and the impact you've created through your activities. Here are some tips to help you write an essay that stands out:

1. Focus on one or two main activities: Choose the activities you're most passionate about and have spent a significant amount of time on. These should ideally be Tier 1-3 on the 4 Tiers of Extracurriculars scale, demonstrating strong achievements, leadership, or personal growth.

2. Show, don't tell: Use specific examples and anecdotes to demonstrate your impact and involvement in the activity. For instance, if you've launched a club at your school, talk about the steps you took, the challenges you faced, and the results (e.g. how many members joined, events you organized, etc.).

3. Be personal and authentic: Share your personal story and why the activity matters to you. Describe how it has shaped your life, values, or future goals. Make sure your voice and personality shine through.

4. Highlight skills and growth: Reflect on the skills you've developed through the activity and how they've contributed to your personal development. Talk about how these skills might be transferable to your college experience and future career.

5. Structure your essay: Start with a hook to grab the reader's attention and introduce your main activity. Follow this with the body of the essay, focusing on the impact, skills, and growth you've experienced. Conclude by tying the activity back to your interests and future goals.

Remember, the goal of the extracurricular essay is to demonstrate your passion and the meaningful impact you've made, while also showcasing your personal development and future potential. For more information, there are many resources online that you can take a look at, but you might want to start with this detailed breakdown from collegevine: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-most-important-extracurricular-supplement-essays

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Writing About Extracurriculars in Your College Essays

Are you a high school student gearing up to apply for college? Are you unsure how to effectively showcase your extracurricular activities in your college essays? Join us for an informative webinar designed to help you master the art of writing about your extracurriculars in your college applications!

Former admissions officer Stacey Tuttle will delve into the importance of highlighting your extracurricular involvements and the significant role they play in your college admissions process. She will provide you with valuable insights and practical tips to ensure that your essays truly shine.

Key Learnings to Expect:

• Understanding the role of extracurricular activities in college applications: Discover why extracurriculars matter beyond academics and how they can help you stand out among other applicants.
• Identifying your unique story: Learn how to identify and articulate your most meaningful extracurricular experiences, demonstrating your passions, leadership skills, and personal growth.
• Crafting compelling narratives: Explore effective storytelling techniques to engage admissions officers and make your essays memorable.
• Showcasing impact and personal development: Gain insights into showcasing the impact you’ve made through your extracurricular involvements and how they have influenced your personal growth and character development.
• Avoiding common pitfalls: Understand common mistakes to avoid when writing about your extracurriculars, such as vague descriptions, generic statements, and lack of focus. We’ll provide you with strategies to ensure your essays are authentic and impactful.
• Tailoring your essays to different colleges: Learn how to tailor your extracurricular stories to match the values and interests of specific colleges, making your application stand out in the highly competitive admissions landscape.
• Leveraging supplemental essays: Discover how to effectively utilize supplemental essays to delve deeper into your extracurricular experiences and provide additional context to your application.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain invaluable insights into writing about extracurricular activities in your college essays! Join us for an engaging webinar that will equip you with the tools and knowledge to present your extracurricular involvements in the best possible light. Register now and embark on your path to college success!

Webinar Transcription

2023-07-18 – Writing About Extracurriculars in Your College Essays

Anesha: Hi, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I am a senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator today. Today’s webinar is, “Writing About Extracurriculars in Your College Essays.” Before we get started, I just want to orient everyone with the webinar timing. So we will start off with the presentation, and then we will answer your questions in a live Q&A.

On the sidebar, you can go ahead and download our slides. questions in the Q&A tab. Now let’s meet our presenter for today, Stacey. Hey, Stacey, how are you?

Stacey: Hey, uh, thanks for the introduction, Anesha. Um, I’m really excited to be here tonight. A little bit about myself. My name is Stacey Tuttle. Um, I went to Yale University for my undergraduate degree where I focused on psychology with a concentration in neuroscience.

I then got my master’s of public health at Southern Connecticut State University, a local university near me, um, where I focused in health education and promotion. I worked in life science consulting for a time. And before I moved back to academia, where surprise I went back and worked at the School of Medicine at Yale, um, and then later to the School of Public Health at Yale, um, where I got all of my admissions experience.

Hence why I’m with you today. I’m a former admissions officer, um, at the Yale School of Public Health. I’m still at the Yale School of Public Health today as the Director of Student Affairs, um, and I, um, Love, you know, college advising. I was a first generation college student. I’m really passionate about talking about these, talking through these topics and providing resources to students who might not otherwise have them.

So I’m really excited to be here.

Anesha: Excited to have you. Um, and I always, I always forget you went to Yale and I’m like, why don’t we have more of a rivalry? We just ignore it, but I think, I

Stacey: think this is fine.

Anesha: We’re

Stacey: like really good friends. We got a Harvard, Yale match over here.

Anesha: Yeah. Um, I forgive you. No. Um, okay.

So we’re going to do our first poll. So for folks in the audience, let us know what grade level you are in or the grade level that you will be starting in the fall. So we want to know, so to give context on how Stacey can help you where you are in the process and where you are thinking about your extracurriculars.

Do you have? An extracurricular that stood out for you that you wrote about in your application, Stacey, all those,

Stacey: yeah, thanks for asking this question. It was the topic, the main focus of my personal statement when I applied to college, um, with theater, I was heavily involved. I actually didn’t know I was interested in theater when I was in high school.

Um, until my sophomore year, um, where I then got really heavily involved and it really changed my life. Um, and that’s why it was the focus of my essay. Which I will talk a little bit more about in a bit.

Anesha: We are kindred spirits. My essay was also about theater, but not, but I was like tech theater. So I was like stage manager, light design.

So we, we, we should put together a show one day. Okay. We’ll go ahead and close our poll. The majority of folks who are with us today are seniors. So about 67 percent of those in the room with us are seniors, followed by about 22 percent are in the 11th grade. We have one freshman. Welcome. We’re excited that you’re thinking about this question so early.

And then, uh, About 10 percent of our folks are, um, in the 10th grade. So the majority of folks are in the writing mode, getting ready for supplementals, um, or so it seems. So I will stop talking. I’ll hand it over to you. I’ll be back a little bit later.

Stacey: Thank you. All right. So let’s get started. Um, number one question to begin, where in the application can I talk about extracurricular experience?

And so obviously the, the title of this webinar alludes to the fact that you can certainly talk about these in essays, but, uh, the very first spot you’ll actually be talking about your activities is the activities list in the common application. Um, and so this is a specific area where you can list all of your relevant activities.

There’s a limited number of spots. spots to do this so that you do have a limit of 10 in the common application spots where you can describe your relevant activities. This might put some students into a whirlwind of panic because they may have a lot more than 10 activities, or they may even be working toward a lot of activities thinking that will help them in the college application process.

The truth is, it’s quality over quantity in reality. So you want to have. experiences that are meaningful to you and not just, you know, 20 experiences that are sort of meaningful, but you haven’t really engaged in them fully. Um, and so I think having a limit of 10 is actually a really good thing. It allows you to really focus in on those activities that are important to you during your high school career, um, without that pressure of needing to list more.

Um, and I always recommend. You know, focusing on those things that are most interest to you and of true passion for you, um, rather than if you will, extracurricular collecting, um, which can cause a lot of stress for students. So that’s the 1st area where you will list your extracurriculars. Uh, there is a 150.

character limit, um, in those activity sections, so you don’t have a lot of space to write about them, hence why you might decide to spread out where you talk about your activities, um, throughout your Common App. Another section that you might talk about your activities is actually in the Honors and Achievements section, so if you have a limited number of space to talk about your activities in the Activities List section, then you You won’t want necessarily to talk about an honor or an award that you got related to that activity.

You can actually separate that into the honors and the achievement section. So you can really spend the meat of your activities description talking about the activity itself and then talk about the awards and honors. If you got an award or honor related to an activity in that honors and achievements section, then, of course, what we’re going to talk about today, the personal statement and supplemental essays are also areas that you can talk about your extracurriculars, and we’re going to talk a little bit more about why you might do that specifically in those areas.

And then finally, letters of recommendation. Students don’t often think about this, but you can certainly, um, ask for letters of recommendation from Faculty or teachers or instructors that advised you, um, in an activity or extracurricular, perhaps your research, perhaps they, perhaps they advise you in a club or help you get a hub started.

Um, and those can be really powerful ways to elaborate further on your extracurriculars outside of, say, the classroom. the essays. What different extracurriculars can students describe in their activities list? So this is actually the complete list of activity categories, if you will, that you would see on the common app.

There’s a number of different categories that you can choose from that, um, you’ll select one when you’re describing your activity. So you choose the category, you describe it, and then there, there’s an area to elaborate, um, in 150, um, characters. So some of these will be intuitive. You might Be involved in debate or speech, dance, bands, music.

Um, you might have religious activities that you’re engaged with. You might be involved with robotics or math club. You might be involved in student government or athletics. Some categories I want to highlight for you today that you might not consider. Um, When you are entering your activities are family responsibilities.

So this is a way for you to talk about any activity that you’re involved with with your family life that involves a significant amount of time, a significant amount of commitment from you, for example, taking care of younger siblings or elderly family members like grandparents. Some students have, do need to spend the majority of their time doing, um, those things and having those responsibilities and you can certainly list those, um, if they do, uh, compose a significant amount of time during your week.

Another, uh, category that you might not consider, When you were completing the activity section is paid work. I worked heavily in high school and so work was an important part of my activities list. I certainly included that and you should too. Um, students often, um, exclude that from their list, uh, not realizing that it absolutely can be included.

And then finally, other club activity. This is really an all encompassing category where if you do something in your spare time that takes up a lot of time and commitment for you in high school, that really doesn’t fall into any of the other categories. You would select this option and describe that further.

So for example, I have an advisee right now who spends a significant amount of their time running a jewelry business and making jewelry. That doesn’t really fall into any of the other categories here very nicely. Thank you. And so that other club activity option might be selected. And many of you might have what we call passion projects, projects that you do out of your passion for the subject matter, the area of interest, and they really don’t fall nicely into any of these categories because it is a project that you have been inspired to pursue.

So that might be something you need to consider. Okay, so why does it make sense to write about your extracurriculars, particularly as it relates to those essays? Um, so first and foremost, the, the major reason why you would be talking about your extracurriculars in your essays, um, is to further emphasize, excuse me, your most genuine, your true authentic passions and interests.

So, You might have activities on your list that are not justified in terms of the time, the commitment, what they mean to you, uh, in that brief activity section, and really not captured well anywhere else on the application. But for you, it’s really important to convey to that admissions committee what that activity meant to you, um, and how that shaped you as a person.

And so that would be a major reason. to discuss that in your essay. Another reason that I actually don’t have listed here, um, is if there is a supplement that asks you very directly to talk about an extracurricular. And so those would be reasons to talk about your extracurriculars in your essays. Um, there is a word limit, right?

But keep it in terms of the activity section and the essays, um, and the supplements. The supplements are even shorter than the essays themselves. And so, um, while you might want to convey your extracurricular activities in an essay format in some kind of narrative format, you won’t be able to do that for all of your extracurriculars that might be meaningful to you.

So you really wanna hone in on the one or two that are the most meaningful to meaningful to you, or the ones that really answer the question being asked, right? You always wanna go back to that essay prompt. And make sure you’re actually answering that question. Um, because if you’re, you know, going on and on and on about this extracurricular, that’s great.

If you’re not answering the question, you’re not actually writing a strong essay or a strong response. And keep in mind, again, you won’t be able to elaborate on all of your extracurriculars, so if there are more than a few that you really want to talk about in more detail, keep in mind that you can leverage those letters of recommendation I talked about.

Um, see if somebody can really talk about, say, your leadership, and Or qualities on that you were that were brought forth because of your participation in a particular extracurricular like teamwork or, um, You know, communication skills or, um, management skills. Those are all things that a supervisor of that club or activity who is writing that letter for you can really touch on.

How can students write meaningful essays about their activities? So first and foremost, do not simply reiterate what is already shown in that activity section. The admissions office already has that information. You gave it to them. You wrote it. Uh, they have it right in front of them. They don’t need that information again, and that’s not a good use of the 650 word limit that you have in your common app essay or even shorter supplements.

Uh, so make sure you’re using that space wisely and elaborating on your activities further and giving more information And then what the officers already have. So, if you’re choosing to include an extracurricular or two in your essay, ask yourself these questions. I talked about this earlier. Does this actually help me answer the essay prompt at hand?

Again, go back to the essay prompts when you’re done writing that initial draft and ask yourself, Did I actually answer the question? Are all parts of this essay relevant to and important to me answering that essay prompt? Um, so does this contribute to secondly contribute to or help progress the narrative at hand or Is the information i’m providing more filler or excess information that doesn’t really add much it doesn’t add value Then it might not be useful and does that admissions committee member get more about you?

Run the information you’re providing and is that more information you’re providing important to your identity and your story and your narrative? Excuse me one second. If your essay focuses on an activity be sure to tell that story So don’t just reiterate the activity and what it was and what you did have a beginning a middle and an end So a common mistake is writing about the activity how you got involved and what the activity involves You And a story about kind of how you interacted with the activity or people with the activity or event that happened to you.

But then there’s no ending. So an ending should answer the question, so what? Meaning, so what? What does this mean for you in terms of your future, your career goals, your educational goals, your personal growth as a human being? It’s great that you had this experience with this wonderful activity that you’re involved in, but I want to know what that means for you as a person.

And so without that self reflection point, that essay is really not complete. And so always end your essay answering the question, so what, what is that next conclusion or step for you as a person beyond what you’ve told me about the activity? All right, Anesha, back over to you.

Anesha: Thank you. I’ve been trying to answer some questions.

in the chat. So I might ask you one as we get moved forward with this next poll question. So the question is, where are you in the application process? So I’m assuming some folks are getting application materials together, working on essays or starting to work on essays. Um, so let us know how far into the process you are.

And the question that I’ll pose to you, um, that someone asked because you mentioned passion projects. I said, No, but it gave a little bit of detail, but I asked a lot of does the does does your passion project have to be related to your major?

Stacey: It does not. Um, and I’d love your input on this to your passion project is very much that it’s a passion project.

So you can pick a topic. That’s of interest to you, of passion to you, um, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your major choice. Almost any activity you pursue can have relevant skills that you can then relate back to the major that you’re choosing. Um, leadership skills, um, team building skills, like I said, person, personable and communication skills.

These things can come through a passion project without the passion project directly relating to major. Also, keep in mind that universities are looking for well rounded individuals, how you’re going to contribute to campus, not just your academics. And so they’re going to be looking for ways that you might be involved on campus and that might be directly relevant to your passion project.

Anesha, what are your thoughts?

Anesha: Yeah, no, I said that passion projects can be a lot of different things. I was like, they could be art, they can be poetry, they can be community service events, they can be, um, Um, whatever you kind of want them to be. So long as you demonstrate and you could talk about why you’re passionate about that thing and, um, that you’ve put in a lot of time and thought into creating it.

So, um, it’s great if it is, but I have, I was giving some examples. I’ve had students who did murals. I have a student who’s doing a children’s book, um, you know, because she was inspired by a younger sibling. She does not want to go. She wants to go into law. So, um, I think, um, it can really be whatever you want it to be.

And also, I think, to push back on, like, don’t feel the pressure to do it if there’s a project that doesn’t come to mind for you. That’s the other piece, too. It’s like, it’s something that has to, yeah, it’s something that you want to be meaningful for you and not just, I think colleges can sometimes tell if you’re just kind of doing it to fill the space.

So, um. All right, we’ll, we’ll have more time for questions, but I’ll stop rambling, um, and go ahead and close our poll. Um, and just so you know, so about 31 percent of folks, or sorry, 13 percent of folks have not started, 35 percent are still in the researching phase, uh, 32 percent are working on essays, and so I’m assuming the folks, those folks are who this is mostly for, and about 19% Are getting their materials together.

2 percent are almost done. Congrats to those 2 percent of people who are we’re nearing the end so early on Um, but yeah, okay. I’ll stop talking and we’ll hand it back over to you and be back for our Q& A a little bit

Stacey: Thank you. Okay on to the rest of the presentation here. Um, did I skip a slide? No. Okay, great Um, what are some tips to describe your extracurriculars in the best light possible?

So talked about different areas where you can talk about your activities. Um, for the activities section, use action verbs and it’s very similar to a resume. You want to be as concise and clear and specific as possible because again, you have a word limit, um, for the activities description. Um, and actually, it’s really a character limit.

So you don’t have a lot of space, uh, to talk about each of the activities. So you want to be very purposeful in the words that you’re choosing. Nothing can be fluff. You need it to be relevant and consider again, what can be included elsewhere in the application to cut down on word counts. So you can certainly include honors and awards in the honors and achievement section as opposed to in the activity section.

For essays, you’re going to want to paint a picture. And again, this goes back to what I was talking about earlier. You want to be descriptive. You want to give more than that information that was provided in the activity section alone. And during that picture painting process, we talked about the beginning, the middle, and the end.

So that, that painting, the picture, is really towards the beginning and the middle of your story. The end is that self reflection. And I say it’s an end, but it could really happen throughout your essay, um, where you self reflect on what that moment, that event, that activity meant to you. And there’s two potential areas of impact that I always talk about when you self reflect.

The impact that you had on the activity, and the impact the activity had on you. So it could go in both directions, and you can talk about both, one or both. Or. You know, um, if it’s in one direction, that’s fine. If it’s in another direction, that’s fine. Um, if it’s in both, that’s fine, but you should be talking about impact.

You should be reflecting on impact. Um, how was that impact relevant? And what did that mean to you? Don’t forget the, so what? Right. So what does this mean to you? What, what is that next step for you, given everything you’ve learned? And finally, when activities are talked about in the letters of recommendation, make sure that they’re mentioning, um, perhaps leadership that wasn’t necessarily highlighted or needs to be further emphasized from what you already included in the activities list.

Your letters of recommendation can also highlight leadership that couldn’t We included in the activities list. So maybe leadership, um, academically, for example. And qualities that you brought to the activities that you’ve engaged in that aren’t self evident in your descriptions. You might not want to, um, include details about yourself.

Like I would, I was a really great communicator, um, in this team activity. But your letter’s recommendation can certainly say that about you. So definitely have those conversations with your letter’s recommendation writers. And make sure they have, you know, those key anecdotes about you ready and prepared so they can customize your letters appropriately and make them very strong.

I can’t tell you actually how many times I’m reading an application, and it’s a good application, but then I get to letters of recommendation, and a letter, a good letter of recommendation can really push a student toward the admissions goal, um, as opposed to not. So it’s very important to have those letter of recommendation conversations.

What are some things to avoid? Again, do not just reiterate what is on your resume or already in the activity section. You want to think really critically about whether talking about the extracurricular in an essay adds value to your application. Ask that of yourself. When you read that essay back or that supplement back, did you add value to your application in providing that information?

If not, um, maybe that wasn’t the best choice of topic for your essay at hand. I hate to say it like that, but you might go through multiple drafts, multiple topics that you want to touch on, um, when you’re addressing the common app and personal statement specifically. Uh, and, you know, reflect, reflect, reflect is my main advice here.

Spend less time talking about the activity and talk more about you. Again, if you’re not self reflecting, or if you’re having a hard time self reflecting, so you’ve described it, but you’re not really able to make those connections about impact and what this meant for you, maybe that’s not a good topic for your essay.

Maybe that’s not the topic that’s gonna make you the most introspective. Maybe you need to choose a different topic as a result, and it doesn’t have to be an activity. Um, and so, When I say spend more time talking about you and less about the activity, really think about the number of words you have available to you, and think one third about the activity itself, two thirds really about you.

That’s the goal. You really want to talk more about you than you’re talking about the activity, and I find that really giving a student a limit on how much they can talk about the activity helps them avoid talking about the activity too much. Of course, you want to have enough, um, detail to cover everything that’s relevant, but it’s good to kind of use that as a compass.

Um, and note that sports is one of the most overused essay topics. I’m really sorry, um, to say that. I know a lot of students really love their sports and they’ve had really great experiences. It does not mean you can’t talk about this. It just means it’s a very common essay topic and you really need to work hard to make that stand out for you Okay, so you want to be very specific you want to dive into the anecdotes?

You want to bring the admissions officer into your shoes very vividly, um, and really bring your, uh, your takeaways from your sports experience to a personal growth level, you know, um, take it to that next level, take it to the next step, really relate to that. To other things outside of sports, um, in order to kind of step out of that commonality.

My experience in reviewing extracurricular essays, again, I talked about this in the beginning. My own essay was about an extracurricular and, you know, really beautiful experiences can come from. Those very meaningful activities in your life. That said, a lot of admissions officers actually advise against, um, writing about extracurriculars because it’s very easy for students to fall prey to those common mistakes where they just talk about the activity.

And they never talk about themselves. Essays that are not successful are ones that describe the activity and don’t say much about the individual. And essays that are successful describe how the activity impacted them and or how they impacted the activity in a meaningful way. And they go beyond the activity.

They go beyond the surface level description. And show that introspection. All right, last advice, um, for students today. Similar, it’s similar advice, um, I think that I’d like you to take away for any essay writing. Be specific. All of your words should have a purpose, right? Ask yourself, every sentence, ask yourself, does this bring value to the essay?

Be concise. You don’t have a lot of words to write in, so you want to make sure you’re being as clear and concise as possible. Be your authentic, true self. You know, you’re going to put a lot of pressure on yourself when you’re writing these essays. Uh, everybody does. It feels like a very major step and in some ways it is.

If you are being true to yourself, if you are listening to that voice inside you, um, telling you what’s meaningful for you, what’s important for you as a person, then finding the right essay topic As it relates to your identity won’t be as hard. The hard part is the writing and so give yourself a lot of grace and be open to that writing process.

So a couple of notes here, spend time brainstorming ideas in response to those essay prompts with the help of a counselor, a mentor, a friend, whatever that looks like. They can give you feedback on the initial ideas because if you’re thinking about this in a silo, it’s You’re not getting that active feedback loop, um, and therefore might make decisions around your topics in your writing that might not be perceived the same way that you think you’re perceiving them.

Um, and so it’s important to get that outside perspective. Also ask others to review your essay drafts, not just your ideas, your drafts, but not too much help. I do think students often get into this whirlwind, of asking for too many editors, too many readers, and then it kind of waters down the essay to some degree and it causes unnecessary, uh, stress on the part of the student incorporating all that feedback.

So I recommend two to three readers max. Advice specific to writing about your extracurriculars, um, goes back to all, you know, all of my prior slides. Tell a story, tell a narrative, okay? Um, don’t just describe the activity. Put me in your shoes. Tell me about an event that happened. Tell me about a specific person you interacted with.

Tell me about a specific day that really made a difference for you. Self reflect, you know, bring it back to you. Reflect on what that meant for you as a person, how it helped you grow, what it meant for you in terms of how you’re going to approach the world, your education and your career goals. And overall, um, challenge yourself to question the added value you’re bringing to the application by talking about an extracurricular in your essay versus another topic.

All right, over to you, Anesha.

Anesha: Okay, so that is the end of the presentation portion of tonight’s webinar. We are going to switch over to the Q& A. Remember that you can download the slides under the Q and a tab. And if you do have any, I’m sorry, you can download the slides under the handouts tab. And as your questions come in through the Q and a tab, I will read them aloud and then pay some of the public chat so that others can see them and give Stacey an answer to respond.

Any challenges submitting questions. Double check that you logged in through the webinar custom link in your email and not from the webinar landing page. If you are having challenges, you might have to log out log back in. We’ll still be here to answer your questions when you get back. Okay, the first question that I have for you, Stacey, is.

How important are, and you spoke to this a little bit, but how important are extramural leaders in the overall holistic admissions process? process.

Stacey: That’s a great question and I love that you use the word holistic because that is directly related to how I would answer this question. The admissions process is holistic by nature.

So to give you some insight into how I would typically read an application, I start with the academics first. So I’ll look at the transcript and the test scores if they are submitted to get a sense of where the student is academically. I often look at the major choice and then look at relevant course work, do that major choice to see how the student performed.

Also to the relevant text sections. After I review the academics, I go on to the extracurriculars. Um, and that’s where I’ll get a sense of kind of the student interests and their passions and how they’re spending their food time. So it is an important component, but it’s only one component. Component.

Then I move on, um, to the essays where. Even a deeper dive into the student’s personality. I get to hear their voice, right? I know it’s not me actually hearing it, but I get to hear their voice by reading the narrative they provided, the narratives they provide in those essays. And then finally I review the letters recommendation, which either, you know, add, reinforce, Um, or sometimes they don’t add much at all to the application So it really depends on how those letters of recommendation are written Um, but that’s typically how we read applications and we you know I I shouldn’t say we but you know, most admissions officers would review it in a similar way where they’re reviewing all Um, um admissions teams do get a plethora of uh, Applications and so often the academic review is the first Um, component for a reason because they might, you know, um, cut off at the academic thresholds that are expected of the students of the incoming class.

That’s usually not the case. It’s not always the case. Um, and most of the time it’s holistic. Extracurriculars are important. It’s just one part. Alicia, do you agree? Is that your experience too?

Anesha: I mean, you’re coming from the AO experience. And so, yes, I feel like extracurriculars matter in there and they do take pieces into account.

I know that at least for me and my own application process, I feel like they were definitely a selling point for me because it showed my well roundedness and so I can’t, I can’t, I won’t speak to the holistic review process, but I know my students who have been able to thoughtfully convey the diversity of their extracurricular activities have been it.

Fairly like more, I will say, I wouldn’t say more successful, slightly more successful than my other students. Um, but that actually pivots into the next question that I had, but because someone raised for reasons, my kid doesn’t have a lot of activities. What are the alternatives?

Stacey: This is a great question.

So the, I do challenge you to consider what an activity is. How, how is your student, child, whoever that may be, whatever relationship you have, how are they spending their time? Okay. So if they’re not doing activities, what are they doing in their spare time for whatever reason? Um, and then, Whatever that particular thing is or things are that they are doing in their spare time If you can’t list that in the extracurricular section the activity section under that other category I would use heavily use your essays and your letters of recommendation to elaborate on The reasons why.

So I can imagine there might be a personal medical reason, um, involved. That might be something that you want to touch on, um, in some way, shape, or form. And one of the written components where you can elaborate, there’s also a section in the common app where you can explain personal circumstances. Um, there’s also an ability to upload supplemental.

Um, Documents if you need them, but I would definitely spend the The or use the main parts of the application to emphasize what is actually happening in that person’s spare time Um, you’re of course going to want to make sure that those components are strong You’re going to want to make sure that essay is really strong really well written Reviewed thoroughly that your letters of recommendation can really speak strongly to the person at hand Um, and that your academics are as strong as they can be You

Anesha: So there were a few questions following up on the passion project, and so someone asked what’s the best way to write about a passion project or a research project on the Common App?

Stacey: That’s a great question. So I think I probably have to approach this from a couple of perspectives. Um, the first would be, uh, in the activity section itself. So if you have a passion project, you’re going to want to, um, that’s important to you, you’re going to want to list it there. If you’re able to do that.

Um, there’s that other category that I would encourage you to use, especially if that passion project is taking a lot of your time. If you don’t feel like you want to include that in the activity section, um, then you’re going to end up touching on it elsewhere in the application. And again, I mentioned that there’s kind of two areas where you can do that.

One is in the essays, um, either the main essay or in the supplements. Keep in mind that not every school is going to have supplements. Okay, so it’s really important to you. I encourage you to focus on that in the common app personal statement, the main essay. Otherwise, if it’s a component of your identity that you can touch on in most of those supplements, that’s another way to do it.

And then finally, you can ask a supervisor, somebody who has worked with you closely on that passion project. Often students will, um, get help on their passion, passion project and advisement from a mentor, you can have that person write a letter of reference. And that’s a really great way to tie that in.

Anesha: Uh, this is an entry question, just kind of generally about extracurricular activities. Does an activity have to be something where you produce something or can it consist of reading and watching movies?

Stacey: That is a great question. Um, so you do not need an actual product from an extracurricular. And this was actually a question I got earlier today.

Um, the difference between an experience and an activity. So an activity, um, I would say is one of those, uh, pieces that is more action oriented. There’s less coming out of an activity per se. And I know this is confusing because it’s called an activity section in the Common App, where you might actually be listing a collection of activities and experiences.

The activity, I think, is a little bit more passive. So you’re doing the activity, um, But there’s not a lot going on beyond actually engaging in the activity. So some people might feel this way about playing a musical instrument, whereas other people might view playing a musical instrument as an experience, meaning that they are actually gathering something for themselves, learning something about themselves, growing as an individual as a result of engaging in that activity.

And so it’s kind of framed as more of an experience. Um, if you will. So I’m not sure if that helps answer the question. And Anesha, what are your thoughts?

Anesha: Um, yeah, I think you still have to talk about what you do. So I think you still have to think about what the action words are. And then I think to your point around the introspection, if it is reading, what are you learning from it?

from the books that you’re reading. How are you engaging with it? Is it expanding your thinking? If it’s films, that’s also fine. But I think you just have to then convey what are you taking away from those activities? I think you might have to focus a bit more on the introspection aspect of talking about these activities.

If it is a little bit more passive, it might be considered the experience versus like producing something. So,

Stacey: Sorry, Anesha, I interrupted. No,

Anesha: go ahead, go ahead.

Stacey: With something like watching movies, I think anytime you engage in media and you’re listing that as an activity, i. e., social media, TV, music, movies, the challenge for you really is to articulate why that’s different for you than every other person who engages in that media every day.

So are you engaging with movies that are of a particular genre and then kind of, um, you know, engaging in thoughtful processes around, um, the movies that you’re watching? Are you talking through them with a group? Um, are you researching more? About a particular genre. Are you hoping to study film studies one day?

And that’s why it’s relevant. Maybe that’s not where you should be listening it in the activity section then. Maybe you should really be talking about that in a, in the personal statement. Because while you might be watching the movies, if you, there’s not something you can really describe about it that is particular to you, um, then it might not, there might not be much to talk about in the activity section.

But there might be a lot to talk about in your essays. Thank you. So I think it involves some strategy discussion as well, hopefully with a counselor at hand.

Anesha: I think you sparked some things when you talked about letters of recommendation, because we’ve had a few comments there. So some folks said, for letters of recommendation, how do you ask them to write about specific activities?

Do you recommend that for letters of recommendation? Do you Do you recommend we do supplemental essays or, I guess, specific essays and asking for letters? So, Ken, I guess, I, I guess if you could speak to it, I feel like it was a suggestion and not a requirement, um, for what you just shared, but if you could add, I guess, a little bit more clarity to the interplay between activities and letters of recommendation.

Stacey: Absolutely. Okay. So on the common app, you’re typically asked for three letters. Um, or I guess references to should be your choice. Um, and typically those are high school instructors. The third is your guidance counselor. Okay. So the other two are very flexible. Um, but again, typically high school instructors.

And so I think the most successful Cool. Letters are from instructors that really work closely with you as a student in the course in question and or engage with you in some capacity outside of the classroom. A, E, I, E Extracurricular work and so a lot of students will ask For a letter of recommendation from an instructor who might have taught them.

I don’t know AP lit for example And then also help them start the English club That person can really talk not just about your work in the class, but also about how you started the club and how you engaged in the club and how you led the club and those qualities that you’ve exhibited both inside and outside the classroom.

Um, you can also ask somebody who is very simply a supervisor of a club or extracurricular that you’re engaged in. Um, I see a lot of pre med students asking, uh, a science instructor who might be helping them with research outside of the classroom. I see students who are asking, um, individuals who were, was, were perhaps an instructor for them, um, but then mentored them through their passion project as well on the side.

So somebody who can really speak to you beyond, um, again, what is presented are in your application as an admissions officer. If I look at your transcript, I know you got an A in that course, right? Okay. What is your letter telling me that isn’t, you got an A in a course, you know, what, how did you get the A in the course, what, what qualities did you exhibit in the classroom, um, that made you deserve that A and beyond.

Um, and then somebody who can really talk to your qualities, add something further to the application that is beyond what is already available to me. Um, And you should, did I address all components of the question or were there kind of additional specific?

Anesha: No, it was, I think it just was in reaction to what you had shared earlier regarding letters of recommendation.

I think you spoke to it. Um, I’m going to do a quick PSA before we move forward in the rest of our questions. So you all have a ton of questions that I’m trying to go through today. But for those of you who are. For those of you in the room who aren’t already working with us, we know that the process can be overwhelming and we do have a team of over 400 former admissions officers and admissions experts like Stacey and myself who are ready to help you and your family navigate the process through one on one advising sessions so you can take the next step in your journey and sign up for a free 45 to 60 minute strategy session with an admission specialist on the CollegeAdvisor.com team by using the QR code that is on the screen. During that conversation, we’ll review your extracurricular lists, your application strategy, discuss how everything aligns, and then outline some tools that you will need in order to stand out in the competitive admissions world. So we’ll keep that QR code up on the screen, excuse me, as we move forward with our questions.

Um, the next question I wanted to ask you, which was related to a topic we talked a couple minutes ago, but, um, this person said, my son is interested in game design. and computer science and plays a lot of video games, but I’m guessing that’s not a great activity to highlight. I kind of disagree, but um, I wanted to hear your take on it.

And you know, if you, if you don’t have one, I can share mine really quickly, but I thought, yeah, what do you think about this parent’s predicament?

Stacey: I, I actually love this question. And Anesha, I really would, I think your insight would be really helpful here. Um, but from my perspective, Um, if your student, your child, your student relationship, whatever that may be, um, is extremely interested in computer science, programming, and video games, um, there is, there are definitely ways to highlight on the application those specific interests.

Um, I think it just depends. I would have to know the student a little bit better to know how I’d want to frame that, um, and how I would advise that strategically. I feel like that Is a perfect topic for a personal statement, um, or supplemental essay, um, if that’s something they’re passionate about, and they can really relate how that, um, what that means for them in terms of their interest in their educational goals.

Anesha, what was your insight there? I’d love to hear it.

Anesha: Yeah. I mean, I think yes, like if that’s if your kid spends a lot of time playing video games, then yes, they should absolutely bring that up that it is an interesting topic to talk about. Again, it’s pushing for the introspection. Have they learned teamwork?

Have they learned communication skills? Have they learned design work? Are they drawing more? Are they creative? Like there’s a lot of different things. I think we often brush aside video games or things like that to say, Oh, they’re kind of childish, but I think kids are learning a lot from them or, or, you know, intrinsically or things that are.

as a parent to parents. And so it’s just kind of pushing, uh, pushing them to talk about it. I’ve had students who are into video games, then went into character design that made them learn a lot more about like, uh, I’m not sure even of all the programs, but a little bit into computer science, creating their own characters, going into animation.

There are a lot of different directions. So I think stepping back and talking to your kid about what they get out of the video games. And I think as an advisor, we would do the same of like, okay, this is a hobby. Why do you do it? What do you enjoy about it? What, you know, and then how can we think about an essay that could come from it?

So I, I don’t think it’s kind of a lost cause just because maybe you don’t value it as much or you don’t see the fun in it in the same way that, that your child might. So I think it just might be a deeper conversation about why they enjoy it and, and then thinking about how they can talk about it reflectively.

Um, that was my, that’s my gut response, but, um, Yeah. Okay. Moving on to our next question. Um, so this is more of a writing question, but this person has asked it a couple of times. So aside from extracurriculars, is it possible to write about personal life, personal growth as an essay topic? Um, maybe someone overcame a challenge or a struggle.

Stacey: Yeah, absolutely. Um, and so really the focus of this webinar was about how to approach the topic of an extracurricular in the essay format. Right. Um, so how are you doing that successfully? Many students choose to not focus on an extracurricular in their essays, and that is totally fine. The same advisement from an essay writing perspective still applies, right?

So you want to make sure you’re self reflecting on, you know, what that experience was, you know, what that meaning was for you, how you personally growed, as you alluded to, or grew, excuse me, And, um, what does that mean for you moving forward? You know, don’t, I think the common pitfall is students will write about that challenge that they’ve experienced and then not elaborate further, right?

They’ll say, this happened to me, this is what I learned, but the so what’s missing, right? So, okay, you learn this thing, what’s next? What does that mean for you? What are you going to do about it? Um, how are you going to approach the world differently? How are you going to approach your own goals differently?

Make sure you’re always asking about the so what.

Anesha: Yeah. Yeah. I think that really speaks to the, the introspection. They just want to see that you’re growing, you’re thinking, um, but yeah. Uh, okay. Oh, this is, this is a quick question. Could the events that take place as part of a school program be listed separately as an extracurricular activity?

Stacey: So the events that take place as part of a school program.

Anesha: This person said specifically international baccalaureate. I guess there’s something specific to the classes that they’re doing or maybe projects they’re doing.

Stacey: Okay, I see. Yes. So, Um, I think, so I want to approach this, uh, from the perspective of the different parts of the application.

So if you had a significant activity in relation to a course that you took, um, and that activity involved you spending more time outside of the classroom. So in that sense, outside of your curriculum, it is an extracurricular. It should be included in the activities list. If that’s something that is important to you and you spend a significant amount of time on it.

If it really was part of the course itself, I wouldn’t include it in the activities section. I would, and it was important to you, I would elaborate on that in the essay and or ask for a letter of recommendation from that instructor who helped you through that academic pursuit or project. So those are two ways you can approach it that don’t involve listing it in the activity section.

Remember, your activity section is limited to 10 spots. Um, so if you feel like that. you know, that activity would be valuable and taking up at one spot. Great. Um, if you’re struggling, which with, with which tend to include, then maybe talk about that in an essay or in your letters of reference.

Anesha: Excuse me. The next question is if I’m starting a club that will begin in the fall, can I still, and I think this person is a senior. Can I still write about it in the activity section, even though it’s so recent and what if I don’t know the numbers in order to quantify the impact yet?

Stacey: Uh, what if I don’t know this by the thing I was qualified in?

Okay, I see. So yes, you absolutely can include in the activity section, but you will be expected to quantify it in some way. So you can’t list, you know, the way it’s phrased in the activity section is hours per week. And you know, that is certainly something that you can average or project, um, based on your experience starting into the school year.

A lot of applications will require you to submit, um, until mid fall at the earliest of October, November. At that point, you will already be into that activity for at least a month, and that’ll give you a baseline for how to estimate those numbers. You absolutely can include it. Just keep in mind that when you start an activity in senior year, um, it doesn’t show a long You know, long term commitment and show, you know, long term sustainability.

I wouldn’t start a, an activity for the sake of starting an activity. It should be something of interest to you, something meaningful to you that actually adds something to your own personal growth and your application.

Anesha: Uh, this is an international student question. So the student said, I will apply, uh, to college as an international student, but I’m living in the U.S. I’ve received a few honors and awards in my country. Would I be able to include those in my application?

Stacey: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, um, you know, there’s not a limit, uh, based on your time zone or country or location as to which honors and awards would be relevant as an international student. You should all the same advice applies.

You should focus on those things that are important to you that drive your passions that drive who you are, and those things should be included.

Anesha: Sorry, excuse me. Um, this is a quick question not related to writing, but how should we order our extracurriculars by importance, by time commitment, by how long we’ve been doing it?

Stacey: You should order by importance, and I believe this is actually even explicitly the instructions on the Common App. So number one should be, and really importance should equate to the activity that is the one you spend the most time on, typically, because that’s usually the one that is the most important to you.

So it kind of organically coincides with activities that you spend the most time on, are also the ones that are the most important to you. But I think if you’re going to, you know, get into semantics about it, it would definitely be an order of importance.

Anesha: Uh, this person said, my daughter is in an outside of school.

competitive dance class four days a week for hours a day, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for school activities. Um, how would that be viewed by admissions officer? And how can we best represent that activity in the activity section?

Stacey: That’s a great question. So this involves, I think I would actually encourage you.

I encourage all of you to take advantage of this. Um, Consultation opportunity with CollegeAdvisor. I think strategy discussions are really important to these very specific cases Um, if you have somebody engaged in dance, you might decide to in the activity section kind of break out what those Engagements are as they relate to dance So you might just, you might not just say dance as a category, right?

And then elaborate just on that. Um, and dance as, you know, one overall thing, you might have different types of dance. You might have different commitments in dance. You might have teaching, tutoring. Um, you might have competitions that you might less regular competition. So there’s different strategies you can approach to kind of breaking dance out as a major, uh, category.

commitment in that activities list. And then feel free to also talk about that in the personal statement. There’s no shame in that and reiterating that. Um, if again, the question is always, if you talk about dance in that personal statement, does it add value to the application? Does it tell, help you reiterate what’s important to your identity?

Does it help the admissions officer understand your goals and who you are? Um, and so if that’s true, you know, go on ahead and, and, and. you know, write about dance. Um, and I would imagine that your daughter would want to write about dance because it does sound really important to her and really challenge her to ask those questions, to be introspective, to be self reflecting throughout, um, because that will make for a strong essay.

Anesha: Yeah. There’s a similar question about someone who did an activity that was, um, This person’s talking about like chess. And I think to your point of like just talking through the different things they might have done through chess, uh, assuming that they just didn’t spend their time playing games, they were learning, competing, maybe teaching other people to your point, tutoring others, or, or doing that.

So try to figure out how you can expand that. the different ways that they were taking advantage of that opportunity, the competitions, the travel, and talking about the time commitment as well for, for the student in putting in that work of like practicing multiple times in addition to going to traveling to shows or traveling to competitions and things like that.

Sorry. I just wanted to add that cause someone also brought in a non dance related. So I think it applies regardless of the activity outside of school.

Stacey: I totally agree.

Anesha: Um, someone said, How can I connect my values to my extracurriculars in my supplemental essays? I feel like that’s a heavy question. But, um, any thoughts on that one?

Stacey: Yeah, I mean, again, I think this involves a little bit deeper of a discussion to Anesha’s point. Um, you so you want to, I think it’s going to happen somewhat organically when you’re writing. And you’re self reflecting, right? So you have an activity and it’s impacted you or you’ve impacted it in a specific way.

Um, What does that mean for your values? You know, how do your values um, align with the activity in question? How do how does the activity further inform which values are important to you? You can certainly answer those questions when talking about an extracurricular. Be sure to answer the prompt, right?

So when you’re talking about your values, when you’re talking about extracurriculars, that’s fabulous, wonderful. Go back to the prompt and make sure you’re still answering the prompt. And that would be my one word of caution.

Anesha: Um, this question is, will telling a sad story to show an extracurricular activity’s significance come across as unauthentic, inauthentic, or as a cookie cutter?

So I think people are, uh, trepidatious about writing sad stories. They’re trying to pull on heartstrings in, in essays. So,

Stacey: so the question, I just want to make sure I understand. Sorry,

Anesha: yeah. Will, will telling a sad story show, um, will telling a sad story as you talk about an extracurricular come across as inauthentic or cookie cutter?

Stacey: Got it. Okay. And I think this is also I understand the trepidation because I think this is also why sports essays are so common is often students who play sports experience, um, an injury, a life altering injury, or really substantially tragic, maybe potentially event in their life as it relates to that sport.

And you can certainly talk about a sad story. My, uh, because it might be important to you and your personal growth. My word of caution there is to avoid being overly negative in your description of that event, right? So you want to make sure you’re describing it as it occurred and you want to move in the positive direction.

You want to talk about, okay, this thing happened. It was terrible. Um, and there’s nothing taking away from that, right? What does that mean for you now? How does that make you want to move differently through life? How does that make you want to move forward? And as long as you’re moving in a positive direction from that story, then I think, you know, that’s going to be a successful essay.

And again, you want to ask yourself, is that story giving the admissions officer information that would make them want me to be part of their community. And it’s not that they wouldn’t want somebody who experienced this tragic event to be part of their community. They want to make sure they have somebody who will take tragedy, um, and demonstrate that they can turn it into something positive, right?

That demonstrate that they’ve turned it into something positive, demonstrate that they can overcome obstacles. Right. Um, and so you definitely wanna make sure you’re doing that self-reflection and not just talking about the story itself. Um, Anesha, do you agree with that approach?

Anesha: Yeah, I mean, I think it, it comes down to what you’re sharing, sharing about introspective introspection.

Like, I feel like we keep repeating that, but it is really important and I think to your, I, I like what you added about. It can start sad, but talk about the positive, what you learned from it, how you came through it, how you’ve grown from it. If it’s just a sad story without kind of resolution or growth or some kind of change, I think it won’t read as inauthentic, but it just won’t be as helpful to help for them to learn something about you and how you deal with challenges and sad stories.

So, um. Yeah, uh, this is, I think, a quick question but an interesting one. Someone said, for the description, um, should the tone remain formal or can you play around with other styles? I’m assuming this is in the specific, the activities list section.

Stacey: Oh goodness, I’d love to talk to this person a little bit more about what they mean by the, the playing around with the style.

style. Um, I think what’s most important again is that you’re clear and you’re concise. You don’t have a lot of wiggle room there where you really should be focusing on your voice. As an individual is in those essays and in those supplements, um, because you do have opportunity to be creative there and to really come through, um, clearly with how you would talk, how you would describe things.

Um, whereas you don’t have a lot of room in the activity section. Um, I, again, I would need to talk to you a little bit more about what you mean by playing around with style. It might not be a poor choice, um, by any means, but my advisement always is. to use action verbs, make sure every word counts, um, because you just don’t have a lot of room to play around.

Anesha: Um, we kind of already spoke to international students, but, um, the student is insisting on us answering this question. So if I just moved to the U. S. and completed high school outside of the U.S., But my country focuses more on academics and extracurriculars. Um, how do I show that on my application and how else can I make my applications stand out?

Stacey: Yeah. Again, I think this would involve more of a strategy discussion. Um, I think there are a lot of occasions where students don’t believe they have activities in their spare time that they should be talking about on their application when in fact that is not the case. I alluded to this a little bit, um, when we were talking about the case of where somebody doesn’t engage in a lot of activities perceptively.

And my challenge there was, okay, what are you doing in your spare time? How can we spend that to, um, complete your application in a meaningful way? Um, and for you, if you’re spending most of your time participating in academic, um, pursuits, then we want to think about what parts of those academic pursuits can be considered interesting to you.

areas of interest or activities that you can highlight on the application. And so again, a strategy session is probably needed. More discussion is probably needed. Each individual will be very different in how they have to approach things given their, their circumstances.

Anesha: Yeah. I just want to just do a quick PSA for some of the questions I’m seeing in the chat.

You do not have to write about your extracurriculars in your supplemental essays or in your personal statement. So today’s session is just if you choose to write about them, how can you do so effectively? But if there are other topics that are of interest to you, feel free to write about those things.

Feel free to write about any other prompt. Um, so someone asks, would it be better in the personal statement or better in the supplementals? It depends on the question you’re answering and how you’d like to answer the question, but don’t feel like you have, they will see your resume. They will see your activities list.

So you don’t have to do extra work to talk about extracurriculars. If they’re not asking that question explicitly. Um, one question. Sorry. No,

Stacey: no, no. Thank you. Thank you for that.

Anesha: What might be the last question is, is it bad? Is it a bad idea to include a religious extracurricular when applying to a non religious college?

Stacey: Absolutely not. Um, the, the question you should be asking yourself is, is this activity important to who I am and, um, my goals as an individual, um, and do I spend a lot of time participating in the activity? If all of those questions are answered, yes, include it. Um, and. You would be doing yourself a disservice by not including it.

Um, every campus wants to create a diverse community of people who are going to contribute in a variety of different ways, and that includes people of all backgrounds, um, and religions. So, definitely do not shy away from embracing religion as a part of your identity. In fact, there are schools that have whole majors, um, focusing on religious studies or a particular, a particular religion.

There are divinity schools that you may be applying to later in life. Thank you. Um, if that’s important to your identity, embrace it.

Anesha: All right, we will have to leave it there. Write about what is true for you and write about it in the way that you is best conveys how you’ve grown, what you’ve learned, um, and what you can contribute and bring to a college community.

I will say I will leave it at that. Um, and thanks so much, Stacey, for your thoughtfulness of your commentary tonight. Um, also, uh, we hope that you will join us for our future sessions. Uh, we Tomorrow on July 19th, we will have a session focusing on building a resume. So if you are thinking about how to really describe all of your activities on a resume, separate from the activities list, join us for that session tomorrow.

Also, on July 24th, we’ll be talking about Fine Tuning Your College List. So really thinking about how you find that alignment, how you built a comprehensive list. And we’ll end the month with advice from an admissions officer. I’m making a strong emphasis Overall, a college application on July 27th. So we do hope you’ll join us next time.

But until then, take care and have a great evening.

Stacey: Thanks, everyone.

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