Extracurriculars are defined as organised activities outside the classroom that encourage students to collaborate, take initiative, and attain a position of leadership that make them stand out in a crowd of applicants.
Many of you have a bouquet of activities which you have been pursuing for a fairly long time-dance, dramatics, art, sport, academic enhancement programs, community service and social media initiatives, and rightly so. Extracurriculars are experiential learning at its best, with the ability to connect with the special part of 'you' which makes 'you' unique. Needless to say, your academics cannot be compromised!
Extracurriculars play an important role in your applications to International Universities. The admissions committee is always on the lookout for the real you beyond your grades and scores; often they find their answer in your extracurriculars. So, your extracurriculars are not just achievements-they are representative of your grit, determination, focus, tenacity, initiative, empathy, compassion and much more. These are the qualities the admissions committee is trying to decode. Your high school journey must demonstrate interest and growth-from participation to active initiative to attaining a position of leadership.
Your extracurriculars should not be a series of disparate choices and achievements that would be detrimental to your cause. This becomes even more relevant if you are indicating a specific major or course of studies. Your activities, community service, internships should have a visible connection with your intended major. Your application should read as a journey which has a common thread that weaves your interests and pursuits to tell a compelling story. It is this application that creates interest and compels the assessing committee to read again and again.
Let me share with you some real life stories of students who demonstrated interest and growth in their extracurriculars so that you get a clearer picture. The social sciences student with artistic inclination; a 10 year investment in artistic pursuit who does a solo show at age 14 as a fundraiser for charity and finally used her artistic skills to create a booklet to debunk myths about menstruation amidst a semi-rural audience while advocating hygiene and health. Volunteering in an underprivileged school brought her face to face with the myths associated with menstruation and a more horrifying statistic that linked to girls dropping out of school due to lack of a scientific understanding of the menstrual process and access to hygiene products. Copies in hundreds were crowd funded and sent to multiple schools across a geographical zone. As the student prepared to catch her flight to her college, she received the news that the district administration had sanctioned a free pack of sanitary napkins on a monthly basis to all girls from ages 10 upwards studying in government schools.