When planning your extracurricular activities (ECs), it's smart to look at what the most selective universities value in their graduates. By examining what Harvard, Princeton, and Yale expect their students to achieve by graduation, we can reverse-engineer these expectations to create a strategic roadmap for high school activities. These top-tier institutions clearly outline their desired graduate qualities, offering valuable insights for high school students designing their extracurricular portfolios. Rather than guessing what activities might impress admissions officers, we can use these universities' stated values as a practical guide for choosing meaningful ECs.

Analyzing the graduation conditions of top-tier universities' alumni alongside our students' experiences, we were able to consolidate them into 8 areas of ECs:

• Science, Technology, Engineering - Activities demonstrating scientific understanding/logic.

• Language, Expository Writing - Activities showcasing writing skills.

• Humanities & Social Science - Activities related to the humanities.

• Arts & Athletics - Activities involving sports or arts.

• Communication & Leadership - Activities showcasing leadership and communication skills among peers (students).

• Culture - Demonstrating the ability to embrace diversity, a highly valued aspect nowadays.

• Quantitative Reasoning with Data - Activities related to handling data, such as computer science or statistics.

• Volunteer - Volunteer activities.

We believe that engaging in approximately 6 out of these 8 EC areas enhances the chances of highlighting one's strengths when listed on a student's EC list, potentially increasing the acceptance rate.

Let's match each of this student's ECs with the corresponding area:

• Debate Team Leader - Corresponds to the Communication & Leadership area.
• USACO-Bronze, Congressional App Challenge-Winner, Robotics Team-Vice President - Correspond to the Quantitative Reasoning with Data area
• Violin: All States Orchestra and JV Volleyball - Correspond to the Arts & Athletics area. Tri-M Music Honor Society - Teaching corresponds to the Volunteering area.

You can see that this student's 7 activities match 4 areas. However, because they haven't engaged with our suggested 6 areas, we consider it lacking.

So, what ECs should this student supplement? 

Emphasizing again, within the 8 areas, we suggest including the following 3: 

• Science, Technology, Engineering - Activities demonstrating scientific understanding/logic. 
• Language, Expository Writing - Activities showcasing writing skills.
• Humanities & Social Science - Activities related to the humanities.

As this student lacks activities in these 3 areas, there's a concern.

This student needs to supplement their ECs in those emphasized 3 areas! For detailed discussions on these areas, check the link in our video comments, connecting to 4 different videos focusing on each area. We highly recommend watching these for a thorough understanding.

Now, what would be good to supplement in the Science, Technology, and Engineering areas?

 

Science/Research List

We recommend Research! The best scenario involves conducting research on a topic both in school and externally, further developing it. Participating in higher-level science fairs after being part of an affiliated science fair, engaging in related high-level camps, or conducting research externally while having ongoing school research are all beneficial activities. The aim should be achieving notable results in significant summer camps or regional science fairs rather than solely focusing on publishing as the first author.

For instance, ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) is highly esteemed and favored by reputable universities. Exploring its website and selecting one of the 21 research areas, further segmented into about 100 subtopics, can be a great start. Aim to participate in a regional science fair as a goal.

While aiming for ISEF is excellent, even participating in a regional science fair can be a valuable experience, so don't be too hesitant and give it a try.Next, the EC this student needs to supplement is Language and expository Writing.

Humanities List

For Humanities & Social Science-related activities, the following list might be helpful.

• National History Bowl
• United States History Bee
• International History OLYMPIAD
• The Concord Review
• International Social Science Conference for Youth
• John Locke Essay Competition
• JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest
• JOSEPH S. RUMBAUGH HISTORICAL ORATION CONTEST
• GEORGE S. & STELLA M. KNIGHT ESSAY CONTEST
• World Historian Student Essay Competition
• Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest
• Voice Of Democracy
• National History Day
• Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition

If you want to know more detailed information regarding extracurricular activities, reach out to us at A-One Institute for a more detailed discussion. Thank you