Making Extra-Curricular Activities Standout

Level 3 - Advanced Concepts

Welcome Back! If you are going through the application process, undoubtedly you have found that you need to be able to provide a resume or a list of activities that you have accomplished for your application.

It does not matter if you are applying to college or grad school, understanding how to effectively convey the work that you have done on an application is the difference in being viewed as being exceptional versus having an ordinary application.

Most people focus too much on what they have done and not enough on presenting what they have done effectively.

Fortunately, we can provide some insights into how to structure your extra-curricular activities. Let’s dive in.

Rule 1: Activities Need a So What

It is not enough to just state that you did something. There needs to be an impact associated with it.

Which sounds more impressive:

• Deposited checks for X organization

• Managed $20,000 of donated funds for X organization

It’s the same thing, worded differently. But the second implies that you had far greater responsibility than the first.

But even that is not enough. You need a statement that clearly explains in a few words why what you did even mattered. For example, did you write to potential donors to secure funding that made the organization matter? That is an improvement. But what if you can quantify how many volunteers could be supported with the $20,000 you raised for X organization?

Even better.

The clearer the connection between what you are doing and the ipact , the easier the storytelling is to a lay person. And when someone can understand the role in the organization you had without knowing the specific organization, the “So what” is even clearer.