Do Colleges Not Like When You Have Too Many Activities?

You’re that average high school senior who goes to soccer practice, works at the nearby supermarket for a few hours, volunteers at the local animal shelter in the afternoons, and is the president of the debate association as well. When preparing for college applications, you may begin to think, “do colleges not like when you have too many activities?” This is a very good question, and I have received that question from many students.

In this Guide, we’ll discuss how colleges perceive involvement, what is most important, and how to sell it. By the end of this article, you should be able to have a perspective of how to handle this in the college application and what to say about it.

The Importance of Extracurricular Activities

In the colleges, people take the time which you devote for extracurricular activities as time in which the universities get to learn who you are. They want to be sure you are motivated in things other than school as well and are an active participant. Sports and giving, clubs and jobs, all of these applied activities can demonstrate a spectrum of talent and passion.

So, Do Colleges Really Mind If You Have Too Many Activities?

The short answer then is, no, colleges don’t automatically dislike students who participate in many activities. However, there are some important things to keep in mind:

1. Focus on Depth, Not Just Numbers: It’s wiser to have a few perfect activities rather than having a long list of activities that you can fill in to complete the list. For instance, it is better to have soccer, being a captain , than to be in ten different clubs but not be an officer.
2. Watch Out for Burnout: Colleges appreciate the fact that individuals can become strained if they work so hard) Otherwise, you might get poor results in class work or even your health will be affected. They are searching for responsible students who will have adequate time for intensive studying and at the same time be sane.
3. Tell Your Story: It’s equally important how one presents activities in a given field or discipline. They should not be just mentioned in the paper, but incorporated into your personal experience narrative. If your volunteer experience was a contributing factor to your interest in medicine then make this link clear. Employers like to see that you have a coherent theme or understanding of how the experiences you had got you to where you are today.

How to Present Your Activities

When you’re putting together your list of extracurriculars, consider these tips:

• Choose What You Love: Choose the activities you are really interested in. They will love what you do and it will show in the application they make for the Kelly Scholarship.
• Highlight Leadership: If you have a leadership experience, you should highlight it in your writing. The organizations want to have initiative and responsibility and that is why colleges are impressed by it.
• Share Your Impact: It’s one thing to say that you’ve volunteered, but it’s much better to say exactly what you did and how your contribution changed the situation. Did you launch a recycling campaign in your school? That’s a great story!
• Show You Can Juggle: In order to attain success in your extra curricular activities it is important to prove to people that you are capable of balancing between school work and the activities. Effective time management is always important and that is something that colleges look into.

Here’s a simple table to illustrate how different types of involvement can be viewed by colleges:

Conclusion

It is for this reason that colleges want to know who you are through your activities and not the numbers you associated with them. It just boils down to maintaining a balance that will allow the employer to see sides of you that are interested in activities outside work but will not make you dread coming to work.