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GET THE EXTRA EDGE

By Elaina Loveland

Extracurricular activities aren’t just “extra” anymore in getting accepted to the college of your choice. Today, college admissions officers read thousands of college application essays from prospective students. Years ago, good grades, solid SAT scores and a quality writing sample were often enough to gain admission to many colleges and universities, even the most prestigious institutions. But now competition has stiffened, and a student’s initiative and leadership ability can set them apart from other applicants. One of the best ways to demonstrate this is by highlighting your participation in extracurricular activities.

High schools offer plenty of opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities. Various clubs, sports and performing opportunities for student musicians and actors are often plentiful. But extracurricular activities at school aren’t the only ones that count—activities beyond school walls are just as important. For example, if you are a talented artist or dancer and you have taken classes outside of school, you should show how many years you have studied and what you have accomplished in these areas, such as attending summer workshops, studying with well-known teachers, exhibiting or performing.

Get the Extra Edge Volunteering is an excellent activity to get involved with for personal reasons and to show your commitment to an interest you have on your college application. Better yet, if you can volunteer in an area that is related to your intended major, you are also showing your dedication to a subject, which can make you a more competitive applicant. For example, if you plan to study nursing in college, you could volunteer at your local hospital. Or, if you want to be a teacher, you could volunteer in an after-school program or at a daycare center.

It’s important to show continual commitment to at least one activity. Having a list of dozens of extracurricular activities during your senior year of high school doesn’t look as good as having one or two extracurricular activities that you have actively been involved in.

Many scholarships are available for students who participate in certain extracurricular activities. If you excel in one or more areas, you can compete for scholarships offered by the institutions you are applying to and private sources of funding as well. Exceptional student-athletes can qualify for scholarships, as well as exceptional creative students who want to study art, dance, drama, music or creative writing in college. For students who have a particular major in mind, showing colleges you already have a commitment to that field is paramount. This is especially important for students hoping to major in creative fields who apply to competitive conservatories or professional art schools. The best way to show this is to have continual participation in your chosen extracurricular activity.

Ways to Highlight Your Extracurricular Activities to Get an Edge.

• Discuss one of your activities in your admissions essay.
• Include a list of activities and highlight leadership positions and accomplishments on your résumé.
• If an extracurricular opportunity you are interested in doesn’t exist at school, create it yourself. For example, if you are interested in creative writing and your school doesn’t have a literary magazine, ask a teacher if he or she will sponsor a new literary club to start the magazine and help you start a campaign to raise funds to cover the costs of the first issue.

Colleges want to know the real you. Revealing who you are is part of what makes college applications unique. Beyond showing that you are a good student with a good academic record, you can take your application to the next level by helping admissions officers imagine how you would fit in their campus culture with your distinctive interests and talents that your extracurricular activities reflect. Take the opportunity to make your application stand out by showing admissions officers who you are both in and outside of the classroom. It could give you an edge in becoming part of the next freshman class at your top-choice college.

Elaina Loveland is the author of Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians, and Writers. Learn more about the book at www.creativecollegesbook.com.

*Story from Fall 07 issue