While a high GPA, SAT or AP scores, and test scores are still very good indicators of your ability to thrive in a difficult academic environment, colleges, especially Ivies, are increasingly placing less importance on these factors than they used to. Instead, they are turning towards the other components of your application for insight into your fit for the school.
Contrary to popular belief, top schools mostly are not looking for well-rounded students. Instead, they are looking for students who have shown dedication towards a particular niche and excel at it!
| Categories of Interest | Extracurricular Ideas |
| Arts | – Apply for local, international, or national-size art competitions and build your way up. – Make your personal art collage. |
| Writing | – Publish a book. – Join your school’s Newsletter Club as an editor. – Start your own writing club. |
| Tech | – Launch your own app relating to your interests. – Launch your own coding program and teach locals. |
| Sports | – Be the captain of your sports team or MVP. – Compete in local, national, and or international level. |
| Business / Marketing | – Start a club or organization to raise awareness of something using social media platforms. – Organize and plan a conference. |
| Simple Hobbies | – Teach your hobby to others who are interested. – Start a YouTube channel relating the content with your hobby. |
| Science | – Actively participate in a research in a college nearby. – Compete in STEM competitions or the Science Olympiad. |
The other two main factors that Ivies consider is your long-standing commitment to particular extracurriculars such as sports teams and communities, and how well you can tell your story through your college essay and / or resume.
Conclusion
All in all, many students today are extremely concerned about college admissions and their transcripts. Although I’m not an expert on this, we clearly know that many students around the world today are still deeply concerned about their academics more than their extracurriculars. Thus, this tends to lead them to give up on their interests, expertise, or hobbies for their academics. I strongly hope that by reading this article, more students may be able to calm down and stress less on their academics and instead focus more on building their interests!
References
Gordon, L. (2021, November 10). SAT and ACT slip in priority among California high school students. EdSource. https://edsource.org/2021/sat-and-act-slip-in-priority-among-california-high-school-students/663354
How To Get Into An Ivy League School? The Essential Guide – Crimson Education US. (2022, April 28). Crimson Education. https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/campus-life-more/how-to-get-into-an-ivy-league-school/
R. (2018, June 2). resumes | Get Me To College. Get Me to College. https://getmetocollege.org/tag/resumes
