What is the best extracurricular activity for college admissions? This is another one of those questions that I constantly hear. The quick answer is that there is no one perfect extracurricular activity. But the full answer requires some more explanation.
It is true that colleges don’t care what extracurricular activities you are involved with in high school. What they are looking for is a commitment to a particular activity. This can be shown by years of involvement in the particular activity. Colleges need students involved with sports, drama, music and a myriad of other activities. Find what you like to do and start doing it.
Now it may be that the soccer goalie is about to graduate so the college needs a replacement. In this case, assuming you have the grades and test scores, you may be an attractive candidate if you are a soccer goalie. However, trying to plan your extracurricular activities years in advance to accommodate this type of situation is virtually impossible.
The best extracurricular activity for you is the one that you like to do.
Should National English Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Girl Scouts, Key Club, and French Club be listed under Extra-curricular Activities or under Community Service on a college application? My daughter is filling out an on-line application to a major university and the allowable space under Extra-curricular Activities is limited and so small that she filled it up just with her Drama/Thespian Society activities. She wants to list the other activities under Community Service. What should I tell her to do?
Beverly,
There is no set answer to this question. Often it is just a matter of where things fit. In general terms, I think of community service activities as those that help others in some way as opposed to just having meetings as is typical with most French Clubs.