Students are always asking how colleges look at extracurricular activities.

“Is it better to be involved in lots of extracurricular activities or concentrate on one or two?”

My professional opinion is that it is much better to concentrate on several key activities that you are truly passion about. Again, we’re going back to the big three – the three things colleges are most interested in – outside of your academics: passion, persistence, and leadership.

Participate in a few key activities over a number of years; assume leadership positions in them. Don’t merely be a participant in the organizations.

I know many students who joined every high school club they possibly could. They had a long list of activities, and they still were not accepted to their top-choice colleges. It is very difficult to add value to such a long laundry list of clubs and organizations.

Can you really be passionate about 50 extracurricular activities?

When you know how colleges look at extracurricular activities, you can structure your high school activities so that they form a consistent picture of who you say you are and what’s important to you.

When you are truly passionate about an area of interest, you develop as much proficiency and expertise in the area as possible. This frequently means that you might exhaust the offerings at your high school. In these cases, you must reach beyond what you school has to offer and pursue your interests in depth.

So if you love foreign languages, take as much as you can at your local high school, and perhaps study abroad during the summer or the academic year. Go to foreign language camps. Tutor students who need remediation in your chosen language. Assume a leadership role in the foreign language club at school.

Better yet, start a foreign language club if your school doesn’t have one. If you are interested in medicine, you should have some activities that relate to that goal – perhaps research and/or hospital related EC.

If you are an elite athlete, compete on the varsity teams that your school offers. Perhaps you can become a team captain. Maybe you might further develop your skills by joining an outside team or neighborhood club. This passion, persistence, and leadership shows that you are truly committed to excellence and willing to do what you need to do to develop your skills to the fullest.

If you want the guidance of a college admissions consultant to help you develop the perfect college application strategy, then schedule an appointment for one of my free consultations.

You can also sign up for my College Admissions 411 Home Study Course. It will help you get accepted to your dream college.