Depth Over Breadth
Students often come to me in a panic, worried they aren’t “doing enough” to impress admissions officers. They are under the impression that colleges are looking for students who are involved in a million extra-curricular activities with exceptional performance and leadership across the board.
Understanding What Colleges Look for in Extracurricular Activities
The truth is colleges are looking for depth over breadth. What does this mean? Admissions officers aren’t interested in you joining every single club your school has to offer. They want you to demonstrate deep commitment to a small number of extracurricular activities. Ideally, these activities align with your academic and/or career interests.
Crafting a Cohesive Application Theme
Think of your college application as having a theme that you can sum up in a single sentence. I’m going to use a real student as an example, though I will change his name—let’s call him Ben. Ben is an A, A- student with strong standardized test scores. He has played hockey his whole life but isn’t planning on playing at the varsity level in college. He isn’t sure what he wants to study in college, but he is interested in psychology and neuroscience. What’s his theme? Dedicated hockey player who is interested in psychology.
Demonstrating Commitment Through Application Materials
How should Ben present himself in his college application? Using his personal statement, supplemental essays, activity list and resume, he will demonstrate his deep commitment to hockey and highlight his pursuit of psychology. Not only has Ben played hockey for many years, waking at 5AM to attend practices and games, but he coaches younger student and plans to travel with youth hockey teams this summer. To enhance his dedication to psychology, he will participate in an online psychology course this summer. He will ask his psychology teacher, with whom he has developed a close relationship, for a letter of recommendation. We have also brainstormed other clubs and organizations he might partner with moving forward so that he can continue to enrich his involvement in his interest areas.
Balancing Depth with Personal Growth
You don’t have to be a champion athlete, winner of every science fair, captain of the debate team AND class president to impress admissions officers. Pick one or two or three areas that are important to you and go deep, not wide.
This strategy will foster your personal growth and help you get into a college of your choice.
