Sharing Your Passions
Refining your extracurriculars for visual and performing arts applications
In your freshman and sophomore years, you probably joined a variety of extracurriculars, ranging from the school musical to the chess club, debate team, or even the knitting club. That’s great! But, as a rising junior, it’s time to take stock of your resume with a renewed focus on quality over quantity, depth not breadth.
College admission teams eagerly check your extracurriculars to help fill out your story beyond grades and test scores: Are you the type of student who handles stressful situations well? Are you open to a good challenge? How well do you work with others?
What does this emphasis on depth not breadth look like?
Take time to make a list of all of your extracurricular activities and consider these questions and jot down your thoughts:
Is the club or activity something you are passionate about?
What is your role in the club? Are you a participant or do you hold a leadership role?
How dedicated have you been to this activity?
How does this make your dedication to your art form stand out?
Then, think about each activity. Make some decisions for your last two years of high school and write them down. For example,
Say you are a musician and have decided you want to become a professional violinist, you might decide to use the time you spent in the chess club to double down on practicing, applying to music competitions, and auditioning for summer festivals.
You are a budding actor, and you started the knitting club ,and you are the club president, and for you, it’s a stress buster! That said, you got the lead role in the musical this year and realistically, it’s time to step down. This still shows your initiative and dedication but underscores your commitment to acting.
Perhaps you love the community service club—you might decide to combine your passion for painting and drive to help others to organize an art show at a local senior center.
Imagine how each in-school or out-of-school activity rounds out or helps to build on your personal story and contributes depth to your resume and application as a whole.
Contact Best Fit Education for help building your personal story to help your application stand out.