what are some extracurriculars that colleges really like?Answered
I'm considering applying to Hofstra, Syracuse, and NYU. Currently, my extracurriculars contain a lot of community service and organization of non-profit charity events for diabetes, down syndrome, breast cancer, etc. I've also listed my participation in college-sponsored science camps at UW- Stout, FBLA, Student Council and FCCLA. Is there anything else I should look into that will really catch the eye of my dream schools? For background, I'm looking into a journalism major with a criminology minor.
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Hi, thank you for asking this question! When applying to selective schools (think the US Top 40 schools) you want to keep in mind a few factors that make the activities you have impressive, including: 1) the uniqueness of the activity (how rare is it for other students to do the same thing that you are); 2) the level of accomplishment (how many awards or recognition have you achieved); and 3) the time commitment of the activity (how many hrs/wk and wks/yr have you done the activity).
An IMPORTANT addition to this, especially for selective schools, is are your activities related to your major of interest. You want to prove to colleges that you have fundamental experiences that you can continue to build on in college and in your eventual career in journalism and criminology. I would suggest doing high level activities related to this field if possible, like writing blogs on your favorite topics (maybe interesting investigative cases?). Here's a blog post that may be a great start to brainstorming similar extracurriculars!
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If you want sports, any varsity sport would do great, even J.V. is good. For non sports I would recommend robotics, quiz bowl, D.E.C.A. and leading a club at your school.