High-Impact Extracurriculars for Ivy League Admission Applications

A Guide to Extracurriculars That Make an Impactful Ivy League Application and Set You Ahead of Your Peers

June 15, 2024

This is one of the most asked questions by both parents and students:

"Do extracurriculars matter for Ivy League college admission?”

In a nutshell: YES! In our experience of placing numerous students in US colleges, we observed that students with strong extracurriculars have 4X higher acceptance rates.

“Admission officers spend significant time evaluating the extracurriculars section”

Denard Jones, who worked in college admissions at Elon University in North Carolina and Saint Joseph's University in Pennsylvania

See, extracurriculars don't compensate for low academic scores. But they increase your chances while competing against applicants with equally good scores.

But the major question is — “Which extracurriculars should I take up to maximize my chances?”

Today's edition of The College Crest answers the same.

We have curated a list of Ivy League-worthy extracurriculars that you can consider to make your application stand out. ⬇️

1. Community-Based Activities

Admission officers love students with leadership qualities. Activities that involve building and leading a community capture attention from Ivy League and top US colleges.

Here are a couple of things you can do:

  • Host a charity/fundraising event

  • Organize a blood donation camp

  • Teach art or a subject to children from underserved communities

  • Launch a cleanliness drive in your town

  • Start a Science club in your school or area. Guide students to a wide spectrum of career options, opportunities, resources, and practical equipment, and help each other grow.

Now to do this, You can either volunteer for NGOs or build a community/campaign of your own.

We recommend the latter as it shows that you can lead, no matter how small the community. Leadership positions have a greater impact on your profile than you may think.

2. Passion Projects

Create something around what you love. And this could be as simple as starting a YouTube channel about astronomy.

Let’s say you’re fond of writing poetry. You create an Instagram page to share your poems and build a decent following. While it might not seem like much, it signals to the admissions team that you are dedicated to pursuing your interests.

Consider another scenario where you use your coding skills to build an app with real value that solves real-world problems. As long as you have demonstrated that you have worked on these projects, it adds a lot to your profile.

These small passion projects showcase how much of a go-getter you are when it comes to bringing your ideas to life.

3. Sports 

Sports are another activity to demonstrate passion, personal growth, and team spirit. But here is the thing. 

Every other high school student writes about some sport which they are good at. Admission officers are bored of it. So your chances of getting accepted depend upon the level of accomplishment you have in a particular sport.

Consider three applicants describing their sports achievements.

  • Applicant 1 is simply part of the school basketball team.

  • Applicant 2 won a chess tournament in her school. 

  • Applicant 3 started playing badminton in grade 7 and won many inter-school competitions in grades 8,9,10. Plus, he qualified for the district level.

Guess which applicant steals the spotlight? Applicant 3, as he displayed continuous dedication towards his sport and eagerness to push the limits to a higher level.

The idea is to take your playing interests to the highest level possible while balancing classroom studies and other activities.

Wondering how you can go forward to becoming the best in your game? Here are the next steps to take:

4. Internships & Freelancing 

Most students make the mistake of thinking that they need to crack an internship at a BIG company or organization for it to be of any value in your resume.

But, in reality, all internships help you demonstrate and build new skillsets.

And here’s a path you can take for that:

Learn ONE monetizable skill online. It could be video editing, graphic designing, or script writing. 

Then, apply for internships at startups. 

Platforms like LinkedIn make it 10X easier to find freelancing and internship opportunities. 

Additionally, getting recommendations from startup founders or freelance clients highlights your strengths and skills to the admissions officer.

5. Olympiads

Love it or hate it, Admission officers see olympiads as one of the biggest testaments to academic credibility. The most popular ones are:

  • International Physics Olympiad

  • United States American Mathematics Olympiad 

  • United States National Chemistry Olympiad 

  • National Astronomy Olympiad

  • International Linguistics Olympiad

Here's the roadmap to participate in the most prestigious Olympiads at a global level.

USAMO - United States American Mathematics Olympiad

To become eligible for USAMO, you have to begin with AMC. 

AMC exams are conducted every year at 3 levels.

AMC 8 - for grade 8 students, under 15 years

AMC 10 - for grade 10 students, under 17.5 years

AMC 12 - for grade 12 students, under 19.5 years

Once you clear the cutoff for AMC, you get to compete in the AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Exam).

The AMC cutoff ranges from 96-120 marks for Grade 10 and 84-96 marks for Grade 12.

Finally, the top scorers are selected for USAMO.

Now, coming to the registration part.

US schools host AMC exams for three grades every year. If you are outside the US, you can give AMC and AIME, if you qualify. 

  • Select ‘Mathematical Contests’ on the homepage

  • Select from AMC 8/10/12

  • Fill details and pay the amount 

USMAO is, however, only confined to native US students.

IMO - International Math Olympiad

The top 12 USAMO scorers are invited to the Mathematical Summer Olympiad Program (MOSP). There, students practice various math problems for 4 weeks. Followed by a 4.5-hour test, including 3 essay problems. 

The top 6 scorers further compete in the International Math Olympiad (IMO).

IPhO - International Physics Olympiad

This is the pinnacle physics competition for high school students, globally. 

To win medals in IPho, first, you’ve to compete in a preliminary exam in your country.

In the USA, it begins with the F=ma exam. The 400 top scorers are selected for USPhO. Finally, the top 20 enter IPhO.

In India, students take the Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO) which is a 5-stage exam. Ultimately, only 4-5 students get selected for IPhO.

In Canada, the top 15 students who qualify CAP exam are taken for bootcamp from where top 5 make it to IPhO.

Out of these, USAMO holds the highest prestige.

Even if you don’t qualify for USAMO, AMC alone is prestigious. Universities, such as MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Caltech, value AMC scores. Aim for as high a score as possible.

Here's what the academic accomplishments of a student who got into Harvard look like:

6. Summer Programs

Many US universities offer summer programs to improve your college application. Some of them may also involve publishing research papers, which propels your application forward.

Getting selected for these programs is difficult due to a rigorous selection process. However, if you get in, your chances of building a strong profile improve significantly.

Here are some Summer school programs for you to check:

Harvard Summer School Program

  • 2 week program

  • Offers a wide spectrum of courses, including Business, Literature, Law, Politics, and more

  • All students who are graduating high school the next year are eligible to apply

  • Application fee - 75 USD; Program fee upon selection- 5500 USD

Yale Young Global Scholars

  • Learn with peers from 150 countries over a 2 week on-campus program 

  • Attend classes and do group projects on various disciplines from STEM to Humanities 

  • Only for Grade 10 & 11 students, at least 16 years old while applying 

  • Application fee - 75 USD; Program fee upon selection - 6250 USD

MIT Research Science Institute (RSI)

  • 6-week program for select 100 students globally

  • College-level classes on both STEM and non-STEM courses, taught by college faculty, followed by completing hands-on research

  • Only for Grade 11 students 

  • No application fee

The Ivy League-Worthy Extracurriculars Checklist 

While there are no sure-shot Extracurriculars that guarantee admission, admission officers love to see some specific factors in your application to consider it for acceptance:

1. Authenticity 

There is a reason you are asked to write time devoted each week for every activity. Admission officers want to gauge how truly you enjoy pursuing your extracurriculars.

Don't pick any extracurriculars for the sake of it. Stay true to passion. Realize that it is about finding your strengths and interests - working on them rather than faking just to make your resume better.

Instead, do activities you love, irrespective of acceptance pressure.

Common App Form 

2. Leadership 

Since the beginning of your high school session, look for activities where you stand a chance for leadership roles. 

The common application has a separate box to describe your position. Aim to get a distinguished position.

If you have joined a community, play an active role in launching initiatives.

If you have joined an NGO, ask to lead a certain project.

Common App Form 

3. Impact

Another key thing colleges look for is the impact created through your activity. This is vital to writing a winning description.

Plan your purpose ahead. What change do you wish to see through your efforts? This gives you direction to move strategically. Most importantly, describe your impact in terms of numbers.

Saying “I helped the club reach reach to 3000+ more people with an Instagram campaign” is better than vague terms like “my efforts helped the club immensely”

Common App Form 

4. Exceptional achievement

Make no mistake, Admission officers are looking for students who are exceptionally skilled in fewer things than the ones who are well-rounded or just good in so many things.

Aim for at least one activity that positions you as an exceptionally skilled individual in a particular area. 

At a glance:

🎯 Stay True to Your Passion: Focus on your strengths and interests instead of trying to fit into a mold. Your unique story and achievements are what matter most.

🎯 Consistency Matters: The longevity of your activities is important. Sustained effort over time is valued.

🎯 Quality Over Quantity: Exceptional performance in 2-3 activities is more impressive than mediocre performance in many.

🎯 Diverse Extracurriculars: All extracurricular activities don't need to align with your intended course. For example, a computer science applicant can highlight classical dance. The goal is to showcase your core values and the lessons learned.

🎯 Quantify Your Achievements: Bring tangibility to your activities by using specific metrics, such as "500+ students reached" or "raised $3000.

BONUS: Listen to the Ivy League Admit about approaching extracurriculars for a standout application. Watch the video by clicking on the video below:

Question of the Week

Imagine you have a superpower to delete something permanently from the planet. What would it be, and why?

The best answers to be featured in next week's edition✨

P.S. The clue is to be creative, think outside the ordinary, and come up with a great answer to get featured.

Ready to enrich your application for a top US college? 

Explore our programs for standout profile building. A thoughtfully designed curriculum to help you distinguish yourselves with passion projects, internships, research, and more. 

Got queries and confusion regarding the admission process? 

Reply “College Admission” to this email to book your free counseling session with us. 

Let's help you get into your dream college.

Amol & Nishant,

Co-Founders, The College Crest by Lets Unbound,

We have worked with thousands of students over the past 7 years. This newsletter captures the essence of our insights to simplify the college readiness journey.