Extracurricular activities

Hi! I was accepted to MIT as a computer science major, and some of the extracurriculars I had were multiple leadership roles on my school's FIRST Robotics Competition Team, a leadership role in our Computer Science Club, and a member of the Computer Science Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. I also volunteer with two learn-to-code organizations outside of my school. I think the main thing that schools are looking for is consistent dedication (a "spike") in your field of interest. During the summers, I had an internship as a software engineer. I think took the less traditional path of no competitions/research, which seems pretty common (please don't think research is necessary to get into college). Hope this helps!

Hey! I would say some good activities include having your own club, competing in stem related competitions, being part of stem related clubs, teams, and organizations, doing volunteer work, etc. That being said, you don't want to do so many that your grades fall/ you don't stand out in at least one. Definitely focus on math in school, and outside of school, and learn to code and complete at least one cs research project before you submit applications.

Some great things to do on your own is to develop some of your own projects and publish them on Github or Product Hunt, or even devpost! That means you can also attend hackathons (which are fun in their own accord) and earn a bunch of prizes in the meantime. These show interest, and if you win any awards, show skill!