Ivy League and top colleges across the world have expected students to engage in extracurricular activities for students throughout their 4 years of high school. While what students achieve in classrooms are of utmost importance with high GPAs; the strength of the curriculum; rank and AP/IB courses, Admission Officers want to see students' unique extracurricular activities outside of the classroom. They look for how students have challenged themselves in their areas of interests and passions, what they have learned from those challenges, how these experiences have shaped them and contributed to their leadership skills and intellectual curiosity.
Having said extracurricular activities are important, many students make the mistake of pursuing activities which they think would be important in the eyes of college admission officers and end up getting frustrated, minimizing their chances at selective colleges.
Here's an article by Austin Horn titled https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/29/884630628/what-more-than-300-college-admission-deans-are-looking-for-during-the-pandemic The statement from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education "What We Care About in This Time of Crisis" says applicants should not feel stressed if they are not in a position to complete community service, a traditional aspect of college applications. They will assess these contributions and services in the context of the obstacles students are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students are still required to work on their extra curricular activities examples. The only difference would be that these best extracurricular activities need to be done largely on virtual platforms (based on the COVID situation) and would require creativity & perseverance. So don't get stressed out. It's absolutely possible to build a strong & differentiated candidacy through online extracurricular activities in this virtual environment.
Here are some extracurricular activities ideas which students can undertake under present circumstances:
- Bolster your positive online image and social media presence through a website, YouTube videos, blogging, etc.
- Continue online meetings for your initiatives and show leadership
- Understand challenges in your community and society. It can be taking care of the elderly or building an app to deliver groceries to quarantined people. Be innovative – identify challenges and take initiative to solve those, demonstrating high-character behavior
- Leverage free online courses and resources like Coursera, Khan Academy etc. to enhance your academic profile
- Take language learning classes to enhance your language proficiency
- If you have an engineering aptitude and passion, think about building your own tech device or pursuing robotics, programming, coding or hackathons
- Tutor or mentor underprivileged children who are forced to skip classes due to financial constraints
- Look for remote internships, virtual tours and workshops to gain experience Get involved in activism, political campaigns, charity work, crisis hotlines, citizen science projects or other volunteering opportunities
- Cultivate your self-starter mindset by pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities
- Explore your talents and interests in areas like painting, dance, music production, photography, graphic design, animation, filmmaking, creative writing, journalism, etc.
- Engage in fitness, nutrition, wellness, and meditation to support your physical and mental health
The key is to be authentic in choosing extracurricular activities that align with your true interests and passions. Colleges want to see intellectual curiosity, leadership, and high-character behavior shine through in your activities and how you present them in your college applications. Focus on the quality of your involvement and the impact you make, rather than just the quantity of activities. With some creativity and initiative, you can still develop an impressive extracurricular profile that will bolster your candidacy, even in the age of COVID-19.