Activities

Extracurriculars that matter

The spike myth, what depth looks like, and how to present activities

Well-rounded vs. spike: what actually matters

You've probably heard conflicting advice. Be well-rounded. No, have a spike. Join everything. No, go deep on one thing.

Here's the reality: Admissions wants well-rounded classes, not necessarily well-rounded individuals.

The best applications show both breadth (you're not one-dimensional) and depth (you've gone far in at least one area). Think of it as a T-shape: wide enough to show range, with one vertical line going deep.

The student who's varsity in three sports, president of two clubs, and volunteers weekly-but has no standout achievement in any of them-is less compelling than the student who built a robotics program from scratch and happens to also play soccer and volunteer at a food bank.

What a "spike" actually looks like

A spike isn't about the activity itself. It's about the level of commitment and achievement.

Signs of a Real Spike

Multi-year commitment (3-4 years)
Progression to leadership or advanced roles
Recognition beyond your school (regional, state, national)
Tangible outcomes you can point to
Evidence that you pursued it beyond what was required

Examples across different areas:

STEM spike:
Started coding freshman year → Built an app junior year → 10K downloads → Now mentoring younger students in the same skill

Arts spike:
Drama since middle school → Lead roles junior/senior year → Regional competition finalist → Directed a student production

Service spike:
Volunteered at food bank → Noticed inefficiency in distribution → Created a scheduling system → Now used by three other locations

Academic spike:
Fascinated by economics → Independent research with a professor → Paper submitted to a journal → Started an economics blog that got cited somewhere

The pattern: interest → investment → impact → influence.

You still need breadth

A spike doesn't mean ignoring everything else. You should have 2-3 other activities that show you're a functional human with range.

A reasonable breakdown: - 1-2 spike activities where you've achieved something notable - 2-3 supporting activities that show other sides of you - 1-2 other commitments: work, family responsibilities, casual interests

If your spike is in robotics, your supporting activities might be soccer (shows teamwork, physical activity) and tutoring (shows you give back). You don't need to be captain of both.

What counts as an activity

Extracurriculars aren't just school clubs. Include:

Paid work: A 20-hour/week job is an extracurricular. It shows responsibility, time management, and maturity.
Family responsibilities: Caring for siblings, translating for parents, helping with a family business-these matter.
Independent projects: A YouTube channel, an Etsy shop, a coding project, writing you've published, research you've done.
Community involvement: Religious organizations, neighborhood initiatives, coaching younger kids.
Hobbies with depth: If you've invested real time, it counts. 500 hours playing chess ≠ "just a hobby."

How to describe activities

You have 150 characters. Make them count.

Structure: Role + Organization + What You Did

❌ "Member of National Honor Society. Participated in community service events and helped tutor students."

✅ "NHS Tutoring Lead. Recruited 12 tutors, built scheduling system, 200+ tutoring hours delivered to underclassmen."

Focus on outcomes, not duties

Don't describe what the organization does. Describe what you did.

❌ "The debate team competes in tournaments and practices weekly to improve public speaking skills."

✅ "Varsity Debate, 3 yrs. Captain senior year. State quarterfinalist. Coached JV on weekends."

Numbers help

People served
Money raised
Hours committed
Events organized
Members recruited

The activities list: strategic ordering

List activities in order of importance to you, not chronologically or alphabetically.

Your most meaningful activity goes first. An admissions officer skimming your list will pay most attention to the top 3-4 items.

Common mistakes

⚠️ The Checkbox Approach

One activity in each category (sports ✓, arts ✓, service ✓, leadership ✓) to appear balanced. Admissions officers see through this. It reads as "did what they thought we wanted."

Overloading senior year

Three new activities added in fall of senior year looks desperate. Your strongest involvement should be from junior year and earlier.

Exaggerating

"Founded a nonprofit" when you made a GoFundMe that raised $200. "CEO" when you sold things on eBay. Admissions officers verify claims. Some schools Google applicants. Don't lie.

Undervaluing paid work

Working 20 hours/week at a grocery store while maintaining good grades is impressive. It shows time management, reliability, and real-world experience. Don't leave it off because it's not "prestigious."

Too many activities, no depth

15 activities where you were a member for one year each is worse than 5 activities where you committed and grew. If you quit something freshman year, it probably doesn't belong on the list.

For students with fewer opportunities

Admissions officers know not everyone has access to expensive summer programs, private lessons, or well-funded school clubs.

What matters is what you did with what you had.

Working to support your family, caring for siblings, or contributing to a family business-these demonstrate responsibility, maturity, and character. A student who worked 25 hours/week and still got good grades is compelling, regardless of whether they had time for Model UN.

If context would help explain your situation, use the additional information section. Keep it factual, not apologetic.

Building activities (for younger students)

If you're a freshman or sophomore, now is the time to explore. Try things. See what sticks.

By junior year, you should be narrowing. Pick 1-2 areas to go deep. It's fine to continue other activities at a lower commitment level, but your spike should be getting sharper.

If nothing exists at your school: Start something. The most impressive activities are often ones students created themselves. You don't need permission.

The additional information section

Use this space if: - Context would help (you quit an activity because of a family situation, injury, etc.) - You had significant responsibilities that don't fit elsewhere - An achievement needs explanation to understand its significance

Don't use it to add activities that didn't fit. If it wasn't important enough for the main list, it doesn't belong here either.

How you describe your activities connects to how you write about them in essays. Your spike often provides material for your personal statement. And the teachers who supervise your main activities might write your strongest letters of recommendation.

Getting feedback

If you're unsure how to present your activities-what order, what phrasing, what to include-working with someone who reads a lot of applications can help. That's part of what tutoring and counseling covers.

The short version

Depth beats breadth, but you need some breadth too. Go deep on 1-2 things. Show range with a few others. Describe what you did, not what you joined.

The goal: make an admissions officer remember you. "The student who built that tutoring program" is more memorable than "the student who was in 12 clubs."

Want help presenting your activities? Book a consultation to work through your list.