"What’s the best extracurricular activity?"
"What’s the best extracurricular activity?" is a question that parents and students often ask.
There is, of course, no best activity for every student. But we know they more likely mean...
"Which activities are most likely to impress college admissions officers?"
We get why parents and students would ask this. Time and resources are precious, so if you are going to invest your time ideally you want it to be something that:
You enjoy (i.e., puts you in flow state)
Teaches you about life
Maybe helps you explore potential major or career possibilities
AND helps you get into a great college
Extracurricular activities like the ones students are involved at school are great. Teaching English to orphans. Helping elderly people at old-age homes. Cleaning up the community. Fundraising for donations through talent shows and sports tournaments. They represent ways to get creative, build life skills, collaborate with your peers, and contribute to your community.
But there is also another type of extracurricular activity that you can do that checks all the boxes above. It’s called self-directed learning.
What’s self-directed learning?
In short, it involves putting you (student) more in the driver’s seat when it comes to planning, executing, and evaluating your learning experiences. A few examples of self-directed projects might be:
Creating a virtual speaker series at your school
Organizing a business pitch competition
Creating a website to showcase your artwork or other talents
Designing and building a garden
Launching a clothing drive
Producing a podcast about space flight
Launching a small business
And self-directed learning can be applied to a single project, a single summer, or your entire educational experience.
Why are self-directed projects great for your own life, growth and personal development?
They often can:
Allow for more autonomy (often less red tape/asking for permission)
Help you develop entrepreneurial skills (useful elsewhere in life)
Offer more (and more varied) risks and rewards
How can self-directed projects help you stand out in the college admissions process (if that’s important to you)?
We believe these projects can help you:
Demonstrate "curiosity with legs" (i.e., you don’t just think about taking action; you do it)
Provide a more cohesive narrative for your application (particularly useful for students who feel their activities are "all over the place" — which by the way isn’t always true or bad)
Surprise your reader (with something beyond the typical activities many students submit)
How can Success help you with your self-directed projects?
At Success, we are here to help you brainstorm, implement, and fundraise for your self-directed projects. Truthfully, we have seen many students talk about the same extracurricular activities in their college applications. It’s time to stand out. And we will help you succeed in your self-directed projects.
So let’s Succeed with Success!
Note: This blog has been adapted from content created by College Essay Guy. Credits to College Essay Guy and its authors.
