Developing Excellent Extracurriculars

Level 4 - Highly Selective

Welcome back!

Recently, we have been writing more about the importance of the details and how details matter more as you go through more competitive admissions. 

Many parents and their children will find themselves in a position where they are not sure how to get started to make those details matter, particularly when it comes to the extracurricular details. 

What if you have not been playing golf since you were 5 or picked up an instrument when you were 3?

How do you navigate it within the confines of being a freshman in high school?

The simple answer is that you need to find your talents. But how do you actually do it?

First, you have to understand - the greatest advantage (or disadvantage) in the college admissions process is time. The more time someone has to begin thinking about their college application, the better positioned they are to be a competitive applicant in any pool.

In other words, two people who do the same extracurriculars will be differentiated in part by talent, but more likely in time dedicated to the task. 

If someone has been playing the violin for 10 years, it would take A LOT of talent for someone to surpass them in 1-2 years. There is just value in repetition, and that value is hard to overcome. 

As the old saying goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is today.

With that out of the way, let’s talk selecting the right extracurriculars for details.