What extracurricular activities do Colleges look for.

Hi!

Picking extracurriculars can be extremely hard, but I'd say don't sweat it at all. Your extracurriculars will emerge with a cohesive theme, especially if you're REALLY interested in a particular field or idea (for example, I didn't really pick any ECs to follow through with in high school, but I realized most of them were either academic or creative, such as writing and theatre, so they tied back to a theme). Even if you don't think that there's any connection between your activities, a little change in wording can make it SEEM like they're connected.

If you're a freshman, explore as many activities as you can because there is relatively less workload and you're just starting out high school. After that, you should have a fair idea of what it is that you really like. I personally explored music because I really like listening to it, but I realized that learning music isn't for me. Whatever EC you do pick, you should show the following things

a) Commitment, either through doing a single activity for 3-4 years of high school (such as playing the guitar or being a part of a club)

b) Growth. Say you were a background character in 10th grade but in 11th grade you played a lead role in a play.

c) Leadership and initiative. Maybe you were a part of the science club at your school until 11th grade but then in 12th grade you became president, or you started your own business.

d)Achievement. This may take the form of competition prizes, articles featured in the news, etc.

I hope this helped!

There is no "best" extracurricular. It is what you make of your extracurriculars that can wow your college admissions officers whether that is tackling a community problem by forming a organization and trying to work with local politicians or it is demonstrating dedication and continued interest in a activity by staying in a certain club or organization and contributing to its growth. There are many people that I know that I got into top colleges without a research internship for instance.