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Which extracurricular activity will put me over the top?



QUESTION: I'm a junior with a 4.3 GPA who is involved in a decent number of extracurriculars. I'm president of the Pre-Med Club and secretary of the French Club, but I need something that will put me over the top. Can you recommend an extracurricular activity that will help me? Signed, Extracurricularly Challenged

Dear Challenged: Recently a student asked us if she should join the track team. Even though she wasn't athletic and didn't particularly enjoy sports, she thought it would improve her chances of getting into college. Her question demonstrates one of the biggest misconceptions about extracurricular activities, which is that there are certain ones that will propel you to the top of colleges' acceptance lists.

The most important thing to remember is that you should get involved with and commit to the activities that you enjoy. Don't try to get involved with as many activities as possible. Focus on a couple and make real contributions to them.

There are ways that you can show your commitment to the activities in which you are already involved. As the president of the Pre-Med Club you could work with a local hospital to start a volunteer program for your members. Through the French Club, you could raise funds to help members study abroad. These are just a couple of examples, but you can see that there are ways to go above and beyond to make significant contributions in your activities. Think about what you enjoy most and pursue it to the fullest.


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Gen & Kelly Tanabe

Gen and Kelly Tanabe are the founders of SuperCollege and the award-winning authors of 11 books on college admission, financial aid and scholarships. Together they were accepted to all of the Ivy League colleges and won more than $100,000 in merit-based scholarships to graduate from Harvard debt-free.