Applicants feel pressured to showcase impressive extracurriculars

“Hi I’m gonna be explaining some of them if the club is only at my high school cuz u lwk don’t wanna get dox lol. But I wanted to ask what are some good EC that stand out or some overall good EC that you should have (Ik ec are different for everyone and there isn’t some formula and you should do smth based on ur interests, but u want some option and maybe i can choose from their). Im planning on applying as a bio major in cal only (that my current plan) - UC, CSU (ik they don’t need EC), and cc (”

“Title + how important are letters of rec for T20s and T50s? I'm overthinking and feeling really anxious about my brag sheet, and my perfectionism is kicking in way too much. This has caused me to procrastinate it or go so slow to the point where I don't even know if I can submit mine in time for my teachers to write my rec letters before the EA documents deadline. Is a rushed brag sheet better than rushed rec letters? How much of the advice and tips available online are actually helpful”

“I have a general idea on what I want to put in my Brag sheet but I just don't know the layout of it. Stressing out over this because what if i either put too much or put irrelevant things on it or put too little. I need like some sort of example or layout for it that would really help me and I would really appreciate it. Another thing is how many recommendation letters should I get from my teachers since I heard having way too much is super messy. submitted by /u/Wooden-Comedian1”

“The thing is i dont have any at all. well i do have some inter school sports competitions ive been to and i dont have anything eye-catching or worth to put on my portfolio, what do i do? i need to start applying to colleges soon and im worried my lack of extra-curriculars and gonna make it hard for me to get into anything submitted by /u/rrchuii [link] [comments]”

“I have some achievements and extracurricular activities from middle school so can I mention them in my application and are we suppose to mention in which year I did. submitted by /u/coldheartedgirl23 [link] [comments]”

“Hi guys. I am a sophomore biochemistry at SUNY geneseo (1st semester of second year). I am graduating a year early (so in 3 years) and taking two gap years. I always feel anxious about not doing enough with my time outside of classes. What activities do you all reccomend I pick up during undergrad? I do plan to do things during my gap years, but I'm wordering how I can maximize my time here in undergrad. Current activities with 18 credits: - Research lab (6 hours a week) - 2 eboard positions”

“I know for sure most of the comments will be saying how this is resume padding, and I know, but I’m genuinely curious because ive noticed a pattern within my school that kids are starting up these ”clubs” and stacking last minute leadership positions. is it so they look better on college apps? also I was thinking about applying to become an officer for key club at my school but we have to pay to even apply first so Im not so sure about it. Realistically if we have long term commitments, can that”

“I have four extracurricular that I'm planning to put on my common app I'm a senior Leadership club (since junior year), Art (since middle school) Playing chess (since sophomore year) I'm only applying to state schools with acceptance rates of 70% or higher My stats are in their range of accepted. I know this because of my schools gpa/Sat chart thing. I have. 3.3 gpa.(upward trend) And I took 5 AP classes so far. My high school isn't that competitive either. I got a 980 on SAT and”

“any good high impact ECs i can do/start to do right now? i'm like 3 years away from applying to college so i want to get started now or i'll be too busy later. i write & read a lot and have won a quite prestigious competition but in no way do i see myself majoring in anything like english lit/creative writing. in addition to being a senior leader to my school's reading (?) team - have been in the team since primary so like 5 years? and then 3 years of leadership up to come so qui”

“I'm really unsure of the order I should put my honors in or which ones I should or shouldn't include so I'm going to put them here and ask for suggestions. Thanks in advance! AP Scholar (2025) AP Scholar with Distinction (2026) 1st Place Art Academic Octathalon (2025) Freshman Region Band (2023) District Band (2024) Region Band (2025) National Recognition Program School Recognition Award (2025) National Honor Society (2025-Present) Science National Honor Society (2025-Present) Spanis”

“I don't want sound boring with all the usual ECs like research and businesses and robotics, etc. And I also want to show some personality in my list do you think it would be fine to put like group leader of my friend group on it? submitted by /u/Sorry-Agent4795 [link] [comments]”

“I'm applying to a lot of T20 schools and some of the Ivies, but I don't necessarily have a lot of honors that lie at the international/national level. I come from a southern state and a pretty competitive urban HS. I've made DECA state 1st place for 3 years, concertmaster at an orchestra event between schools in my area, and AP Capstone. I also have a few other awards from College Board, but that's about it. Not sure what to do. I would say my ECs are pretty decent, and my test s”

“Hello, I am always confused about what to put as I don't do a lot. My main concerns are about how to not include paid programs or whether to put something in the honors or activites. Here are my honors in order (idk if these are even in the correct order) DELE Spanish Proficiency Certification, A2 and B1 (International, 10th and 11th) Cecchetti Grade 3 and 4 Student Exam Pass (National/International not sure, 9th and 11th) - this is the one im not sure if i should put in activites instead Se”

“Heya, currently a sophomore thinking about how to be more competitive for college apps, and I would like healthcare / medicine extracurriculars that involve more individually helping people instead of leading, and I really want to do more of it once I get my drivers' license! Freshman I just did Scioly and some tutoring... :/ This year, along with some APs, I plan to volunteer long term at a nursing home and at a tutor organization, get a CNA and/or EMT certification, continue Science Olympi”

“I have completed a lot of community service and a lot of sections when applying to colleges on common app ask you to provide details about an extracurricular/volunteering that is meaningful and why’s it’s important. I’m not sure what I should write about and would appeal to college admissions the most. I have completed - 32 hours of volunteering at my schools blood drive to help donors and those eligible for a scholarship ( I started this last year) - I have volunteered at 2 different church com”

“I'm making a brag sheet for one of my reccomenders and I not only want a good letter but I want to make her job as easy as possible. So far I have a thank you at the top, my favorite memories from her class, my future goals, my biggest accomplishments, and the date I need it by. Is there any other info I should sprinkle in there? submitted by /u/Agitated-Cup-7109 [link] [comments]”

“hi, if I’m going to be committed to joining a couple long term research projects in senior year, should I list that on my application? If so, how should I best communicate future impact and work I’ll be doing? submitted by /u/squishy_cheeseball [link] [comments]”

“Worried my extracurriculars are too scattered and it will look like I was doing random bullshit. Academics are good (35 ACT, 4.0 UW with most demanding curriculum) but I'm applying to a few T5s and am worried my activities/awards will be weird. My major will be Meche/Environmental E and I have the classes to support that. From a very underrepresented state Activities: 1. United States Senate Page Worked at an auto mechanic shop for the last 3 years Volunteer Student Researcher at local uni i”

“how important is the Girl Scout gold award in college admissions? earned by starting a community service club sophomore year, biweekly meetings, avg 30 ppl/week submitted by /u/Ok_Construction_1878 [link] [comments]”

“So, I'm a rising 10th grader in the BPC NYC area (not actually, you think I'd doxx myself?), and I'm trying to get ahead on college as quickly as possible. I'm incredibly interested in biology and bioinformatics but finding stuff to pursue that (both in and outside of school) contribute to that is hard. I've considering CC, like Harvard EDX, but I don't have the money for a completion certificate, and a lot of their courses require much prior knowledge. Right now, I'm”

“For context, i'm a senior looking to apply for environmental science/horticulture: The listing order in Common App is quite intimidating and confusing in a way. I'm not sure how to rank them, and whether they are even so called "good" ecs the people speak of. Am i in good standings as a hopeful environmental science/horticulture applicant? Extracurriculars: -Internship with urban tree organization 10-12th grade, planting trees, pruning and various preventive actions -Independen”

“I'm a rising junior! I really want to get into a decent college (t25?), and my ECs are definitely lacking. I really want to do things to help make me stand out, so what can I do to help make my ECs more distinctive and unique? For reference: GPA 3.9/4.1 UW/W A decade of piano (but no awards/comps) A year of debate, leader of one of the IEs in the club (won a couple tournaments this novice year and can probably grab all-american title by senior year... Might have to hammer this one) MUN deleg”

“Hi, I'm asking this question on behalf of a friend. She wants to know: "For girl scouts, should I put my girl scout experience and my girl scout gold award as separate activities in the "activities and experience" section of my application? I've been a girl scout since I was 8 plus I did the bronze and silver awards, but I feel like the gold award should be separate since it's a larger and more recognized thing, but I wanna be sure. Thanks" Any help would be appre”

“Hey all, I’m a Junior and looking to apply to the US and the UK. Was just wondering what would be the best things to do/focus on this year? I’m working on a few essay comps but am always looking for suggestions of other ones to try. I have a pretty good SAT already 1580 SAT (800 RW 780 Math), grades and rigour are also there, but I don’t have any awards other than some school ones and Duke of Edinburgh Gold. My ECs are okay too, I run a bunch of stuff in school and am pretty involved with MUN le”

“I’ve sent brag sheets to my teachers but I’m not sure what I can send to my nonteacher writing my rec letter. For context, this is for one of my research mentors and also my doctor submitted by /u/InternalAfraid3708 [link] [comments]”

“I have no idea what extracurriculars to do and I don’t think I have anything specific that I will focus on. I think some inspiration would do me wonders because maybe I will get some motivation and a general idea on how crazy extracurriculars are. I feel so lost and don’t know where to start, and thank you to anybody who replies. submitted by /u/Capable-Hyena-8864 [link] [comments]”

“Hello guys, I'm coming into my senior year with a 3.0, 3rd year in volleyball(Co-captain this year) participated in 2 musicals done alot of outside activities and some community hours any tips can help also my college personal essay as a black women submitted by /u/ari1010dj [link] [comments]”

“i am currently in the process of starting two personal initiatives. one is sorta finance related (not really a generic financial literacy thing) and the other is an arts initiative (and yes im passionate about the goals behind each initiative its not solely a resume padding thing im tryna do). For the finance initiative my main goal is to be able to scale it nationally and have teams of students/chapters within the initiative and for the arts initiative my main goal is to be able to work with no”

“I’m a parent of a rising sophomore and we just started looking into colleges and the application process. Freshman year 1st semester she played a fall sport 4x/week and kept up her musical instrument training. 2nd semester she was in the school musical which took an insane amount of time (it was fun but had we known in advance the time commitment after school I don’t know that we would have agreed to it. She decided not to do it this year because it dominated the entire spring.) So when we see t”

“Hi everyone! I had seen all over the internet that my extracurriculars should just be something I'm passionate about and that I'm dedicated to. Also, I have seen that you shouldn't just resume-pad your application with extracurriculars that sound impressive but aren't actually. I was wondering how will AO's actually notice the difference Ex. I make an app that gets 50-100+ users before applications end. I started building it this summer and am releasing/marketing it this mont”

“okay so i planned for my main rec letter to be from a club advisor of a club i'm a part of, and i asked him before school ended. he told me he didn't want my brag sheet because he didn't want to simply list off what was already elsewhere on my application and instead to write a "one-pager" about what i wanted him to say and to sort of like point him in the direction that i wanted this rec letter to go. i don't know what to put on this one pager to help him write a good”

“I am planning on getting in more volunteering hours and doing an internship with my friends mom, and also I'm going to try and write a research paper before November so I have a few more to add before ED and EA. I also sew so I might try and start a non-profit sort of thing where I sew clothes and all proceeds to go a local charity or something, because annoyingly a lot of school's don't have EA, so I'll have to apply RD, so I can include this one for RD. But this is my Ec list s”

“I’m currently a high school student, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to do more than just take difficult classes. I want to actually develop skills, work on projects, and hopefully have some meaningful extracurriculars by the time I apply to college. Right now, I’m thinking about using sophomore year to learn coding and build up some technical skills. After that, I was thinking about trying to find a mentor by cold-emailing professors and hopefully working my way toward doing legit”

“Hey, I'm currently in sophomore year and I was wondering if i still have a decent shot for an ivy league. I recently started analyzing ivy league accepted profiles and found that almost all of them have some sort of passion project that contributes positively to their community. I think I have an idea of how i can create something similar, but all im concerned of now is wether i still have time to create depth. I would love some brutally honest opinions and no sugarcoating :) submitted”

“I’m entering sophomore year soon but I know I need to start doing some stuff that’ll help me get into good universities. I’m especially aiming for biology courses in the US like Harvard, Stanford, California Berkeley, etc. I’m starting to rush a bit because I know time is ticking but idk what to do. All the other prestigious people open small businesses, non-profits and charities which I have no clue how to start. Also, I’m planning to take 4 A-levels and 2 AP classes. I think I do have decent g”

“My son is starting his junior year. He has all A's with a course load of AP/Honors classes at a large public school. However, he is not a member of any clubs, primarily for to social anxiety issues and being on the spectrum. Up until this year he played club hockey, but he gave it up to focus on classes this year. His goal is to get into a UC school. Any advice on what we can do this year to build his ECs and round out his application? Thanks submitted by /u/Motor-Acanthisitta75”

“I have very limited extracurricular options within my country and my school and I'm PANICKING (I'm Grade 10. Sophomore, if you want an american term). I'm going to be studying Computer Science (or perhaps a type of Engineering if I feel more ambitious in the future) for Uni/College but a lot of my interests are more Humanities related rather than STEM. If you're wondering why I'm choosing CS or Engineering if my interests lie in Humanities it's because I do have a passion”

“So basically, I have a whole chunk of extracurriculars I’ve done both through school and independently, as well as Olympiad/essay awards, leadership experience, etc. The university I applied to takes grades into consideration, which I have covered, but I’d also like to submit these other things because I want to be considered for scholarships. From what I understand, you’re automatically considered for scholarships when you apply, and I emailed the university to ask about this. They said they’ll”

“I have a few experiences that I did in undergrad that are kind of scattered and random and I'm not sure if this will reflect badly on me when I apply. I was an anatomy and physiology SI leader (basically a group tutor who led review sessions) my Junior fall. Probably 150 hrs. I had to quit because it was a crushing amount of work and started to impact my grades, but I really enjoyed it. I also was a gen bio TA for one semester sophomore year. Upcoming in my senior spring, I will be an anatom”

“Hello I am a rising junior this year and I am seeking advice when it comes to ECs I can do to enhance my applications next year. I come from a small town and there isn’t much I can take part in to allow for me to compete with other people applying. I am interested in going to college in either chemical engineering or chemistry. My school doesn’t offer anything related or STEM in general. I am still taking part in 2 clubs at my school as well as regular and jazz band. I am still nearby 2 larger c”

“I’m a sophomore but I’m starting to worry because I lowkey have done nothing especially compared to most people who get into top 20 unis, I really want to be in the medical field so does anyone have extracurriculars they would recommend? submitted by /u/Odd_Molasses_3686 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve seen people say list being a member of something like NHS/Beta Club but not a leadership role should go in honors, but I’ve also heard otherwise about that. I also won best of photography (best in class) at a state fair over the summer, should I put that in honors or in the description of photography as an ec? Does it matter? I don’t have many awards so would that be a factor in deciding at all if I need to take up space? But I also don’t want to put something that’ll look like I’m desperat”

“I am currently a rising junior, but I have no awards except being on the principal's honor roll for two years. I really want to achieve an award that is related to medicine or STEM to put on my application for my senior year. Does anyone have any advice I could follow? submitted by /u/ImaginaryPlatform485 [link] [comments]”

“I am going into sophomore year and was wondering if I should be prepping or doing anything else. I am going to be taking AP precalc, ap chem, and ap world. Some competitions here and there, got some leadership roles too. Thinking about make a club about neuroscience or along the lines of that. I rlly like doing science fairs and researching, have done a couple independent research projects. I am doing science olympiad. Im in environmental science club too where i got some leadership. Might do ho”

“i'm asking my local gov official to write me a letter of rec. she's a big fan of me, likes my work ethic and initiative (i've done a lot of stuff with her department). she's a bit older so i definitely want to have a brag sheet, but i'm not exactly sure what the best way to guide her is? i can of course put the stuff i've done, but i'm sure she remembers it mostly? how can i encourage her to write about my qualities without literally saying "consider writing abou”