Which extracurricular would be considered more impressive to the top colleges?

Answered

@Vica, in 2022 both are true, both are not true and one or the other is true.

Why? It depends on why you are applying to a top college in the first place.

If you are trying to get into Stern or Wharton, then making $150K in revenue is more impressive than class Prez. If you are applying to a poly sci/govt/int'l relations major then Class Prez is more impressive because your goal is not based on wealth creation but on public service. And if you are applying as a dual degree into Wharton/Huntsman (int'l relations), then you want both ECs because they both matter in that context. And if you are applying to be an Architect, Musician, Actor, Singer, or Studio Artist, these ECs have little to do with your career and academic objectives. In the latter, whatever you produce in your 2-minute video or portfolio trumps these ECs because talent/skills override wealth creation and evidence of leadership.

So you have to ask yourself what ECs you think you need for the majors you are applying to at Top Colleges. The rule of thumb is in my opinion the following. If you are applying to an Ivy or Elite college like MIT, they want good humans so you probably want to show evidence of strong leadership, community service, spike activities, and passion projects. The exception is Wharton (which is a business college). If you are applying to Caltech for astrophysics then focus on ECs that align with that major and STEM projects whether that is research, internships, or developing your own apps, code, etc.

I think it is a mistake to think that there is a "check all the boxes" formula to get into a top 20 college like an Ivy or Elite. You do not know who is going to interview you, you do not know who is going to 1st read your file, you do not know the shopping list of criteria the AOs are looking for at that particular school that particular year and you do not know the quotas they have set for ALDCs, and hooked applicants that admissions cycle.

Rather it's best to package yourself with your interests, accomplishments, academic record, recommendations and essays, and supplementals all in a cohesive seamless flow so whoever is evaluating you can immediately conclude "oh this is a very angular quant guy that wants to start a hedge fund" or "this is the next Ocean Vuong or Chen Chen poet who is a perfect fit for our visiting critic program in our English dept", or this is "just another ORM CS guy with blah blah blah".

Hope this makes sense. College admissions are getting more nuanced and complicated because there are literally fewer and fewer seats to fill at all the top 20 colleges. So you have to be laser-focused on getting your ducks lined up perfectly before you apply so you don't confuse the readers or oversell or undersell yourself. Good luck.