How to Effectively Narrate Your Extracurriculars in an Essay
What is the Extracurricular Essay?
Many schools, especially highly selective ones like the Ivy League or T-20s (top 20 schools) require the supplemental essay to get to know you on a deeper level. Who are you beyond a GPA and test scores? Will you be able to add to the campus community? What passions are you willing to explore in the future? Keep in mind these questions when writing your essays. After all, a 4.0 GPA and 1500+ SAT are enough to get your application considered, but your essays and extracurricular activities are what will make it truly stand out.
This supplement is a blessing for some, and a curse for others. For some, it’s an opportunity to expand on an activity that means a lot to them. After all, you’re only given 150 characters in the activities section of the Common App; barely enough to describe what you did, much less explain the activity’s impact on you.
For others, it’s a struggle to figure out both what to write about and how to make something seemingly small sound insightful.
We have compiled some strategies to help everyone.
Schools Requiring Extracurricular Supplemental Essays
Here’s a list of schools that require an extracurricular supplemental essay, along with their prompts and word limits:
Stanford University
Prompt: Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Prompt: We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (225 words)
Georgetown University
Prompt: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (250 words)
Brown University
Prompt: What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)
Vanderbilt University
Prompt: Vanderbilt offers a community where students find a balance between their academic and social experiences. Please briefly elaborate on how one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences has influenced you (250 words)
Amherst College
Prompt: Please briefly elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience of particular significance to you. (Maximum: 175 words)
University of California (UCLA, UC Berkeley, etc.)
Prompt: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Misconceptions
Many students believe this is a direct extension of the activity section of the Common App; meaning this is another opportunity to showcase your achievements. They are WRONG.
The resume and activities section will show your impact in numbers: the accolades earned, the number of students tutored, and the hours volunteered.
The purpose of this essay is to be personal and show how your activity has shaped you and your outlook on the future.
Choosing a Topic
This is the step that most people get stuck on. Which activity do I choose? What if I don’t have significant leadership involvement in anything?
The extracurricular essay can be used for anything, meaning that if you were president of your school’s Spanish Honor Society, elaborate on how you used the position to enact change, and how the club impacted you as a person.
However, if you were ‘’simply’’ a participant in something, like a YMCA hiking group, feel free to write about that too. It isn’t super common, and there are many opportunities to expand on what hard work and nature have taught you and how you plan to use what you learned in the future.
If it’s a longer essay prompt, anecdotes will make your story truly come alive. Consider including dialogue and descriptive language too if the word count permits.
What Counts as an Extracurricular?
Often, things that we don’t consider to be significant activities are the perfect extracurriculars to write about!
Here are examples from each category:
The Arts
- Art Honor Society
- Design internship
- Youth Orchestra
- Drama Club
- Instrument
Personal
- Youtube channel
- Family responsibilities
- Professional Tiktok/Instagram account
- Startup
- Podcast
Sports
- Archery
- Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Fencing
- Soccer
Hobbies
- Birdwatching
- Fashion design
- Calligraphy
- Coin Collecting
Employment
- Internship
- Barista
- Sales Associate
- Babysitting
Affinity Groups
- Black Student Union
- Climate Awareness Club
- Muslim Student Association
- Girls Who Code
The STAR Method
Use the STAR method–used everywhere from resumes to job interviews– when narrating your extracurriculars:
Situation
Describe the setting and background of the extracurricular activity. This part sets the stage for your reader. However, be careful about the length of your description.
Most supplemental essays are around 200-300 words, so don’t let your intro to the activity eat up the space needed for self-reflection. Aim for a 1:2 ratio: if your essay limit is 300 words, don’t let the description be more than 100 words.
Task
Were you part of the environmental committee fighting to reduce your school’s emissions?
Were you frustrated at the lack of cultural representation in the media and decided to create a film club that focuses on underrepresented cultures?
Explain what you were trying to achieve or what challenges you faced. This helps show what your goal or responsibility was in the situation.
Action
Describe the specific actions you took to address the challenge or accomplish the goal. Focus on your role and any leadership or initiative you displayed.
Example:
"I led a team to research alternatives to plastic, organized a school-wide campaign to raise awareness about sustainability, and worked with the administration to implement a reusable container program in the cafeteria."
Result
Highlight the outcome of your actions. Make sure to mention any measurable results or the impact your efforts had not only on the community but also on you! Think about how you grew both within your activity (did you get better at a sport or an instrument?) and from your activity (were you motivated to study linguistics from your work with teaching immigrant children English?)
Example:
"As a result, our school reduced plastic waste by 30%, and the initiative became a permanent program. It also inspired neighboring schools to adopt similar practices."
Things to do
The STAR method is a great start. It provides a helpful outline for what to include in an essay. However, be sure to add your own reflections and thoughts to the essay to make it a story and not a who-what-when-why description.
Resources
Some students have college counselors to help them in their essay-writing process. However, those usually cost thousands of dollars, making them unreasonable for a majority of students.
We at Kollegio noticed this inequality in the college application process and felt that each student should be equally prepared in the college planning and essay-writing process, even those without extensive support networks.
Kollegio’s essay editing feature helps both develop a draft and improve existing writing. Here’s an example of how our essay topic brainstormer helps you decide the topic if you are unsure of how to begin your essay.
By Polina
