How many activities for strong applicationAnswered
So I will be applying to college in the fall and while filling out the common app, I realized that I really only have 4-5 activities that I spend most my time doing. I feel that only these activites are meaningful and will contribute to my application. My other activites are kinda just there and don't mean much(.ie. Honor scoieties, clubs that I rarely go to). I'm kind of worried that I don't have enough activites and that it will hurt my application. So for top tier schools(like ivies), how many meaningful activities do people typically have? Am I going to be competing with people who all have 10+ outstanding activities? If so, os ther anything I can still do to strengthen my EC profile? Thanks
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2 answers
Most top students fill all 10 slots in the activities list, but that doesn't mean every single one is super impressive. You shouldn't add anything as "fluff" (clubs you didn't really go to), but don't feel bad adding in which activities that you participated regularly but didn't have outstanding accomplishments.
If the 4-5 activities you have are super meaningful and well-developed, that's certainly better than 10 activities that were half-hearted. You can definitely still improve your ECs at this time though, and that usually involves building upon an existing EC. You might try to: win an award, get a leadership position (leadership by action is super underrated), or do a self-driven project (like build a computer). All of these are explained more in-depth in this post: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-improve-your-extracurriculars-junior-and-senior-year/
So the number doesnt matter its the time and achievements that matter. Also for ivies you'd like need significant recognition like statewide accolades.
Also as you don't attend a few clubs I don't recommend listing them for Ivies for non ivies you should think about adding it.
Id likely regelate the honor societies to the honors/awards section.
As for strengthening try to polish up your description of the ECs you are currently active in. Try to list your responsibilities and any achievements you have in it. If you have space include something you gained from it.
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