Admissions Survival Toolkit: Which Extracurricular Activities Do Colleges Want to See?

But we knew it would get your attention because that’s the question everyone always asks. They also ask, “How many extracurricular activities should I have?” This also is the wrong question.

Admissions committees don’t think like that. What they want to see displayed throughout your activities are unique examples of what we call the 7 Core Attributes — “The 7 C’s”:

1. Challenge — growth as a result of challenge or hardship
2. Creativity — initiative
3. Curiosity — a seeking nature, contributing to intellectual development
4. Character — generous and ethical
5. Commitment — demonstrated interest in and dedication to what you find important
6. Collaboration — ability to work with and lead others
7. Cultural Intelligence — ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds

Your college application has to tell a coherent story about who you are — one that makes sense to an admissions committee.

You need to think about what your activities demonstrate — what “story” they tell about you. How do you do this? Here are the steps — we’ll give you the tools. Use our Current Activities Assessment Tool below to help you do this exploration.

• Do the step-by-step analysis of where you stand, using our Current Activities Assessment Tool below
• Figure out where you want to be — what story do you want to be able to tell? What additional experiences do you need to make your story compelling and impressive?
• Fill in the gaps!