Finding Your True (Extracurricular) Love

Last year, I explained how impact or passion projects can help applicants to highly selective colleges. But I neglected the importance of finding that “passion” and cultivating it outside high school.  By participating in extracurriculars they love and that relate to their future academic major and career, students set themselves up for admissions success.

In last month’s two-part series on deferrals, I included excerpts from emails I’d received in the previous weeks.  They expressed a desire to learn what students could do to turn a deferral into acceptance.  If your high school senior is in this position, email me right away.  But if your child is in middle or early high school, NOW is the time to follow these four extracurricular tips to avoid deferral altogether!

Image by Jesús Rodríguez on Unsplash

Tip #1: Join Extracurriculars Related To Your Intended College Major

Consider another email I received from a former student last week:

[D]ecisions came out, and sadly, I was deferred…. [I]t's incredibly demotivating… I believe that the "gap," in my application, was the disconnection between my chosen major and extracurriculars. I chose computer engineering, and didn't have any extracurriculars that really pointed to that major.

This student is a delightful, thoughtful young man. His grades and SAT scores were good.  The essay he wrote under my guidance was excellent.  He participated in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, from track to journalism to working at a local fast food restaurant.

Thirty years ago, colleges would’ve adored this applicant’s breadth. During the 1990s when I went to Harvard, highly selective institutions sought well-rounded applicants.  My own list of extracurricular activities included everything from drum majoring to taking a college chemistry course to varsity swimming.  Yet, my intended major was international studies.  

Today, however, colleges seek well-rounded classes filled with students who specialize. They prefer the intended music major to have performed in the school orchestra, taken music theory, and perhaps started their own band outside of school. They want the international studies student to have taken AP Government and Human Geography, learned one or two foreign languages, and participated in a study abroad program during the summer.  In short, they want a student’s extracurricular activities and high school coursework to demonstrate passion for their intended college major.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg in 2023. Photo by Ainali on Wikimedia Commons.

Tip #2: Leading Extracurriculars at Your High School Alone Won’t Cut It

My hypothetical examples above show students engaging in their extracurriculars at school and outside of it.   Demonstrating extracurricular leadership outside high school scores you even more points in the college admissions game. In this video, I share four examples of former students who followed their passion to become leaders in their communities and beyond.

This type of impactful extracurricular leadership helps students get accepted to college for several reasons.  First, they provide rich fodder for college essays.  The old adage, “Write what you know” crystallizes among these students when I coach them through the writing process.  Second, when admissions officers read those essays, they believe the impact that student will make on the campus because the student has done it before – beyond the protected walls of their high schools.

Tip #3: Finding Your Passion and the Right Extracurriculars Can Take Time

Some kids have known what they want to do since early childhood.  It’s easy for them find and lead in extracurriculars tied to their intended major.  For others, however, it’s not so clear.  These students need encouragement to try different activities as early as possible. Elementary and middle school’s not too early to start exploring!

If your child is a sophomore without a clear passion, don’t fret.  But if they have their sights on a highly selective university, they need to start engaging in a variety of extracurricular activities right away.  Hopefully, by junior year, they’ll figure out which is the one they want to make an impact with at and beyond their high school.

Tip #4: Sometimes Talking to Someone Who’s Not a Parent Can Help

If your child is in high school and hasn’t found their passion, it’s probable that you’ve already tried helping them find it.  If you think a one-on-one counseling session might help, please feel free to email me.  As eleventh grader Andres’ mom wrote after his college counseling session, “Andres had a very positive [college counseling] session; he seemed more interested in the application process and getting ready for the SAT than ever!”  Sometimes, hearing from an adult who’s not Mom or Dad can make all the difference to a reluctant teen!