Activities That DO Impress Colleges!!! OWN the College Admissions Process

[@SupertutorTV]

Want to read about these activities instead of watch? Check our blog: supertutortv.com/college/activities-that-do-impress-colleges-own-the-college-admissions-process/

[@sparkle0859]

2 types of people in these comments: 1: I'm 8 years old and I won 529 national writing contests, am the leader of 6496396396258296369470 clubs in my school, started an NGO to eliminate ebola, did research on the metastasis of breast cancer, scored the world record for the fastest mile ever run by a woman, played the violin at Carnegie hall in front of Barrack Obama, went on a mission trip to Africa and single-handedly built 25 schools, got a 5 on every single AP test, and have a 11.0 GPA. Will any of this help me get into college?? I am freaking out, please help!!! 2: I am on Level 80 in Candy Crush, will that get me into Harvard?

[@fangbite]

U sure have a good 20% chance if u travel to Pluto on a boat :)

[@mayaibarra85]

I love everything about this comment.

[@hannahirano5708]

I’m on level 782 hahah

[@sarkisantonyan9694]

I’m freakin crying rn LMAOOO

[@zachrutten]

my grandma is on level 8000.

[@jonathanaguayo5478]

If everyone's a leader then who leads who????

[@chloewells4385]

Jonathan Aguayo Exactly. Every good leader needs to be a good follower too.

[@kareemhemadeh9491]

Exactly,like every college wants you to be a leader of a club or something...as if everybody has the spirit of Stalin

[@blackthornhelen5079]

Honestly the one's who is admitted to the big names are the leaders, and others are not, there maybe exceptions but to me what I learn in college is whatever, college to me is the diploma and the name that is helping me to reach a higher level of people/ network, the name that is helping me reaching the management jobs and etc.

[@zzzmmm5311]

I am a school's president and a class rep, is it a good enough activity not to be worrying about others if you are going into Harvard and an international student?

[@ellie8782]

Her definition of leadership is someone showing initiative to solve problems or whatever

[@kelseyamayaa]

I’m really good at not knowing what I’m good at

[@luke_222]

Same

[@mir7956]

Same

[@eo4295]

Same

[@Thisissilly222]

Same

[@SteamyWalnut]

Same

[@MrRandom4545]

this applies to like 3% of kids. like wtf am i supposed to tell colleges? that i like to eat and sleep?

[@adam_g.]

guess you should have thought about these things before you ate. Or slept.

[@roughsharkangular2034]

Jack Productions Holding Account To be fair they succeed in this area because it is what they find interesting rather than “working hard” to get. Like for example, most kids like videogames and are fantastic at it, but their area of interest is not what colleges want.

[@roughsharkangular2034]

Jack Productions Holding Account I agree, but ultimately to get in the top 50 unis your curriculum wont matter that much. Theres a lot of people with perfect everything. Its like winning a freaking lottery.

[@ACE-sv5mc]

Jack Productions Holding Account ya 3% of kids who have money and privileges for these positions

[@ACE-sv5mc]

Jack Productions Holding Account Never said you cant. Every aspiring highschooler should work their ass off if they want to get into a great college. But trust me, if you dont have proper resources like SAT prep, school sport teams, money for summer programs, capital to start clubs, and more, you’re application wont seem as stellar as some more privileged kids.

[@jazlynroy3778]

I'm really good at playing the recorder with my nose

[@SupertutorTV]

That's talent as far as we're concerned.

[@coltonwagner2376]

Jazlyn Roy buddy.... 😔

[@zachb4919]

Jazlyn Roy YASSSS

[@alanabauer6724]

gOeS tO hArVaRd

[@lordtachanka4249]

Humanity at its peak

[@andrea7124]

i'm excellent at failing, does that work? pls

[@deadglitter5496]

LOL

[@vanessaleighton1545]

This can be a good thing depending on your mindset.

[@eli_man3811]

brilliant

[@jessicadrennan1123]

The “pls” got me cracking up😂

[@vic9765]

No, good luck, see you in a box lmao

[@precioust3827]

Here are some ideas 💡: -Internship (paid/not paid) -Sports -Charities -Food Drives/Can food drives -Visiting homeless centers to help -Dog Protection/Animal Protection -Charities -Starting a club that helps people like suicide prevention clubs -Summer jobs or having a job in general -*Wow Factor* like being President it Valedictorian or winning awards or writing a bomb poem/novel or learning a language or traveling abroad to help others

[@mr.westbrookmrwestbrook9714]

i did a lot of charity work such as community services, is that a wow......

[@eo4295]

Mr.westbrook Mr Westbrook Tbh no, a lot A LOT of ppl do community service it’s not impressive

[@aminedhaouadi7932]

the more people that know the harder for us to get a god dam scholarship.

[@ASMRforEllie]

I'm the first female wrestler in over half a decade, freshman rep, and I'm a weeb

[@sawsy3863]

@@eo4295 My friend did 1000 hours at one specific Org (tutoring) is that good?

[@ricecake453]

I’m a better rapper than lil pump. Is it enough to get me into Harvard?

[@SupertutorTV]

esketit

[@mythrin]

SupertutorTV LOL

[@tayaaliz4088]

if u can sing like taemin then u are SET

[@aduzzz3322]

SupertutorTV this reply just made me subscribe

[@mehakoberoi1813]

How have you proven that you're a better rapper? What achievements and societal diiferences have you made?

[@severinenodine984]

This is why being a student for me is hard. 1. I have tried so many sports and activities when I was a kid, but was never really passionate about any of them. I'm going to be a junior in high school and I still haven't settled on a sport that I enjoy. 2. I have no time! How do colleges expect me to have time to sleep when I have to work, have 3 AP classes, and if I was doing anything extracurricular??? 3. In terms of leadership, since I'm a pretty introverted and person who doesn't like to stand out much and has anxiety in social situations, it is the scariest thing to be a leader. I feel like I'm not good enough! 4. I'm good at art, but the thing is my school only offers a regular art class and an AP Art class, which I've both taken already! I have no art classes left and I don't have a chance to chase my talent. I was considering a summer camp but corona virus, also their expensive, and most things one are also pretty expensive. In my town there really isn't any art related extracurriculars so I'm kinda stuck. :/ 5. My school dangles college over our heads like it's a humongous beast or something - they act as if it's the end of the world. Sure, it's hard, but you don't have to scare me!!! They expect us to know a passion by 17 (which is how old when I'll graduate) and I still don't know. 6. School and colleges expect everyone to be social butterflies and be great communicators, business people, and yada yada. Sure, this is great but it's really hard when being an introvert. I can't even walk up to a teacher and say hi to them so how am I expected to lead??? 7. Grades. Time consuming, stressful, and difficult to manage, even without any extra curriculars. Any of you agree?

[@savannahbffzies9672]

Dw gurl i relate to every single thing u said and im pretty sure most of us do

[@devpatel7154]

Frances Edwards 🙌

[@plumbv8090]

The secret is to not sleep...

[@kaleamommaerts4408]

Maybe do an art competition? or make art that people could buy, and use the funds for a campaign? Just think a little deeper, you can do it!

[@rosegiroux9728]

oooh u should start an art club!

[@amyliu7065]

1. Leadership 2. Excellence 3. Commitment 4. Wow factor conclusion: not getting into college

[@nataliem5425]

She says at the beginning this is for top colleges with a low acceptance rate. If you're applying to schools with a highrr acceptance rate you'll be fine

[@mahirajan1847]

@@QuixoticPenguin lol yes these activities are just for top 1% of US colleges! chill

[@venisefagan8949]

Lol

[@austinc5681]

Got some victory royales. How would Harvard feel?

[@aaryanpatel5948]

LTS_FriGhT Clan Harvard would be wet for you!!!!

[@austinc5681]

COSMOS. Fr tho I can’t wait

[@mattfromowitz5690]

Austin C blessed

[@drvren030]

One thing I can say: everything she mentioned requires tons and tons of money for the rest of us living outside the US

[@ajaikumarverma8040]

xD

[@Samuel-zd6cj]

Yeah xd

[@faithstanley2263]

Shidddd this requires tons of money for us living in the US

[@otaviofraga6183]

4,5 R$ = 1$ Welcome to Brazil...

[@amandarey2016]

@@otaviofraga6183 exatamente, e ainda é um porre tentar ajuda financeira

[@malfruemulo]

This is the best advice I've seen on the internet when it comes to activities. Colleges constantly say that they are trying to put together a diverse class, and it is so much easier to contribute to this by doing activities no one else does instead of trying to be the best in the world at something. I strongly believe that the weirder and more unusual your activities are, the better chance you have to stand out as an interesting applicant and ultimately get in. That was the logic I used on my Stanford application and I think it's a big part of why I got in. :)

[@kareemhemadeh9491]

Matthew Late so can you tell us what did you include

[@malfruemulo]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I didn't get a notification for some reason. I talked about the Linguistics Club I founded at my HS (once a week we looked at brain teaser-y linguistics problems (search NACLO) and later started to invent a language), playing board games with friends and founding my HS' Board Game Club, co-founding a club at my HS to teach classmates the basics of various CS languages, composing music, teaching myself Esperanto (a man-made language designed to be the easiest in the world to learn), competing nationally in Irish fiddle, and playing DDR as a "sport." I listed but didn't write anything about math team, science olympiad, NHS, classical violin and piano because they weren't different from what everyone else was doing. I also felt like I personally identified much more with (and as a result, enjoyed more) the activities I mentioned in the first paragraph, probably BECAUSE they were much more unique. If I could go back and re-experience high school, I would probably have spent more time on these "weird" activities instead of the others (with the possible exception of math team, but that's because it was more of a social outlet than anything else).

[@nuansd]

Mi ne pensis, ke mi trovus alian esperantiston ĉi tie! kie vi skribis pri esperanto sur via apliko?

[@malfruemulo]

Nuance Mi skribis pri ĝi en la letero al mia samĉambrano kaj ete en la CommonApp-a eseo. Sed neniu el miaj eseoj priparolis nur ĝin; ĉiam estis ankaŭ aliaj temoj en ĉiu eseo. Fakte estas pli da esperantistoj ĉi tie ol mi anticipis! Mi kreis grupon ĉe Messenger-o el la homoj kiuj menciis ĝin en siaj enkondukoj al la Stanfarda 2022 Fejsbuka grupo. Eble vi jam scias, sed estas Esperantaj kursoj ĉi tie!! Nepre venu mardon vespere je 6:30 ĉe la International Center (proksime de FloMo)! :D Bonŝancon en viaj kursoj morgaŭ!

[@h3risk]

@@malfruemulo damn nice

[@Omar-vl9xn]

The activities part has to be the thing that most terrifies me...

[@daniella7107]

omar 23 lmao same

[@aamirhooda937]

Same bro

[@h3risk]

Same 😭

[@crypticii3431]

I made a Google Doc of all the things I did in the past two years of high school. I don't have any specific activities that will "wow" anyone. But it did make me a lot more positive. Chances are that each of you have a legitimately good activity worth sharing with admission officers. For example, every year I walk 20 miles with an organization working to end hunger in my area and raise money while doing so. That's not super impressive in my opinion, but it's worth something.

[@h3risk]

@@crypticii3431 thank you

[@CuppiecakesxD]

It makes me sad that colleges are expecting teenagers to know exactly who they are and what they’re passionate about and be the best at it. Teens should be spending time finding their identities. Also a lot of teens go through personal things that can affect their mental health, Or have commitments for their families. Do those students not get to go to these colleges because they don’t have the time to spend on activities ?

[@mysterysecret6815]

Colleges aren’t like that at all. Unless you pretend top 20 schools are the only ones that exist.

[@PTunnelly]

-GPA: 4.0 -Rank: 3 out of 579 students -Graduated 2014 and then enlisted -Worked my butt off to write an essay about my military career and how i would fit well into the program. *Still got declined admission at a state university* As per the school, I was rejected because I graduated 4 years ago and dont have recent academic records.

[@saivarenyapatkar1513]

What in the world!?

[@TF2Starlight]

Cap

[@YTAccount82825]

What was your coursework? There’s a chance it might have been a lack of advanced coursework - colleges care more about the latter than simply GPA. It’s the GPA in context that matters here.

[@kikikiki6446]

Can I just say that it’s sad that kids have to jump through hoops in order to get into college...I guess being a teenager with good grades is not good enough. SMH

[@sparkle0859]

For sure. I'm in the ib program and work super hard in school. Last year I got 4 hours of sleep per night on average and spent all of my breaks studying in order to maintain a 4.0 GPA but it hurts knowing that that's not good enough nowadays, that if you want to get into a great college you have to be the leader of like 6846899644 clubs and create your own organization that will completely eradicate poverty in Africa

[@rebeccax1431]

“Jumping through hoops” isnt the point of extracurriculars. Its about doing something you love or enjoy. But you don’t passively enjoy it. You work hard and have fun and do something with your hobby or the thing u like doing and it usually pays off. Colleges see this. Honestly, the weirder the thing is and the better you are at it the more colleges will be interested in you.

[@Sarah-jz2qb]

Sparkle08 same I thought that being in the IB program itself WAS the wow factor but looks like I wasted all those sleepless nights and mental breakdown were for nothing because I needed to include the research on the cure for cancer and represent the country in the olympics on top of ee, tok and ias!!

[@user-rj1jn2cs3i]

I don't see how showing passion and leadership is "jumping through hoops." There is a reason that these elite colleges are so selective: they are elite.

[@Lucas-pw5qb]

Just go to an easier college to get into. Not everybody should get into top colleges, which these vids are for

[@obrigaah]

Welp guess I won't be going to college.

[@brookifyd]

Did you watch to the end? Again I'm not saying this is the only way you can get into college. It's focused on standing out for top schools. For schools with admit rates above 20% or so your grades and scores will weigh far more heavily on your admission.

[@culturatisanta4590]

Elkalite/Shania: Having impressive activities is really only necessary for admission to top 20 or top 50 schools. There are tons of good schools outside the top 50 that can be a great experience for you, and they have many graduates who go on to lead a very successful life. Getting into a top school is not the only route to success (and is far from a guarantee of success at that). Honestly, the students that get into those schools are so smart and competitive that if you did not get really high grades and test scores in high schools, and do not have super impressive leadership and activities, you probably won't have a good experience at a top school.

[@alexmojica4783]

It's a joke.

[@Try2K3tchup]

Elkalite join the military

[@davidcherelin4291]

@@brookifyd so the top 20 schools only admit students that have done open heart surgery with toothpicks, or solved global warming by building a stable fusion reactor? Really? There are no kids that were just damn good students, who participated in a variety of extracurriculars with passion?

[@dr.jamieadamspleasantph.d.1609]

U r 100% right on the definition of leadership

[@joshwilner5622]

I'm masters in overwatch does that count as excellence

[@mohammedjawahri5726]

Wilner's wonderful world excellence is its own reward

[@tyleryoungofficial]

Top schools will ask: why aren't you in grandmaster?

[@ermmwhatdatuna]

if you're in the top 500 you automatically get accepted into Harvard

[@LyteIsCool]

Mercy mains get brownie points because they seen true war

[@yarkieee]

Supreme in Csgo, does that show my leadership??

[@eczemmaa]

i can do a "disappointing factor"....LMFAOO

[@helenmeng989]

same lmao like I don't have anything I literally wanna quit this college admission process

[@somebodyelse.594]

uhh yeah i guess college just isn’t happening haha wow worked my ass off and i’m still not enough woo hoo !!

[@Valeria12303]

😭😭😭😭 same

[@ashdavis3131]

Hey it’s been 3 years. Have you gone to college or are you still in high school? If you’re in college, how did your admission process go?

[@chidalumaduewesi265]

I'm doing none of this. I'm gonna find my own way.

[@aamirhooda937]

My man

[@Rahrahwjwjw]

Lol gl

[@applezhu5016]

And that’s wow right?

[@RFJersey]

Chidalu Maduewesi Good for you.

[@amaanahmed7376]

A Wolf that loves to howl what did you find?

[@LatrampodonkNetworks]

Lol I don’t think being the best blunt roller at the school is gonna wow Yale

[@eliasjohnson1737]

Latrampodonk YT maybe university of colorado

[@nzarzecki]

wooOOw

[@cacapoopoopp]

woah

[@cacapoopoopp]

wow

[@RelaxingSounds-gq4bm]

Im the best at procrastinating and watching KZbin videos instead of studying will that help me get into harvard

[@Vivi_Pallas]

My school is dumb and pushes people to take 4 AP classes every year, participate in volunteer work, sports, and multiple clubs because they claim that that's what colleges look for. Then everybody does that because they don't know any better and they end up burning themselves out before they can even go to college. It's nice to know that all of that was complete BS and that all of us wasted our high school careers due to their negligence and laziness. (Even though they still yelled at us for being lazy even if we did the work.)

[@alexs.3383]

Vivvifier is this a prestige high school? I find most schools in my area don't force you to do anything but do gently encourage it... Most people don't participate in AP courses or extracurriculars though.

[@Vivi_Pallas]

Alex S. It's a DoDea highschool. (Department of Defense highschool.) So it's run by the government unlike most high schools. That's the only difference.

[@alexs.3383]

Vivvifier interesting. I thought public schools are run by the government as well & charter or private schools are the main type of school that are funded independently & therefore have more leeway with their curriculum & rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ b

[@wow1983]

UMMMM UNIVERSITIES LOOK FOR AP.... HIGHER SCORES ON EVERYTHING ESPECIALLY WEIGHTED GPA

[@laziokhadka7377]

Be cool in Asia we have 5 compulsory subject and spend whole day at school

[@ssydhong]

this video made me thank myself once again for starting and developing a business to a successful business as a freshman honestly it wouldve been so hard to get into my dream college without it

[@rileyhaveman894]

i’m really good at stressing out about things, which i was reminded of while watching this video

[@glauciabatista4404]

Brooke, it would be awesome if you could make a video giving tips for college interview! I appreciate your work, and your videos have been helping me a lot during my application process. I'm having no guidance through the process, but the information you and other people give on KZbin helped me more than I would imagined, so thank you very much!

[@brookifyd]

You're welcome! Thanks for the idea. We will take it into consideration for our next slate of videos.

[@adrianfernandez894]

When she talked about being good at violinist, I froze because I think I found my ticket

[@justanotherweirdo11]

That's great

[@joshuahotchkiss6379]

Me too!

[@cloudyxclaw1686]

definitely!

[@jessicac8090]

Let’s hope your not Asian or else it’s gonna be the exact opposite

[@reshikamahat]

@@jessicac8090 What will happen if they are Asian? Just curious

[@biasampaio2637]

being an international student sucks, my school doesnt offer any extracurricular activities and i dont know what to do to improve my curriculum

[@brookifyd]

Josh did a video on how he got into Stanford this week-- his activities he discusses in depth are a great example of WOW activities and both were totally self directed (i.e. no school parameters required). Just because your school doesn't have activities doesn't mean you can't pursue your interests in a meaningful way.

[@lissa4750]

You can do ECs outside school and self taught tons of stuff. It's your responsibility.

[@chadcj2077]

Try something yourself. Use youtube too.

[@Hi-pf2sg]

Sameeeeeeeeee😭😭

[@anshdhot1303]

You could start your own club at school and that would be a wow factor especially since there already aren’t any at yr school

[@cezlock8209]

normally, i can't stand watching videos related to college applications and all, but the videos from this channel are kind of addicting

[@aryands6646]

Being successful in extracurriculars is important I get it but sometimes being pushed to hard to be successful at something just takes away your "interest" part out of it as most people do it as a refuge from the competition that they face and just want to enjoy themselves it just hurts that just doing something that you like and not going to any competition or trying to be at the top doesn't mean anything to the admissions committee.

[@nicolehernandezg.6354]

Wow factor has me stressed yall

[@prakharpandey2392]

Thank u for speaking up for Asians.

[@theintrovertinfluencer656]

I am currently a junior in high school and need some extracurricular advice(I want to attend an Ivy League school). Here is what I have so far, but I’m not sure how good I stand out. I break up my extracurriculars into 3 main categories: choir, environmental activism, and programming/machine learning. Choir: I have been doing choir since 6th grade and in high school my achievements grew every year. 9th grade: I made it to round 3 out of 4 in the Texas All State Choir Audition process and performed in the annual region choir. I also got a 1(highest rating possible) in my local solo contest. 10th grade: All of the above and in addition, I achieved the Outstanding Performer Award in the Texas State solo contest. This award is given to the top 3% of competitors. 11th grade: I am currently on the 4th and final round of the All State Choir process(an improvement from the last 2 years). Evaluating the best possible outcome, let’s say I make it. I’m thinking of competing in the Hal Leonard vocal solo competition(national) this second semester. Environmental activism: In freshman and sophomore years, I have done small things like volunteering for my local Biodiversity center and partaking in programs for teens there. My passion was there, but I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. junior year: I won first place in an annual international environment essay contest sponsored by the UN and Samsung. Over 240 people entered from 46 countries. The topic was combating air pollution. This last month, I entered another international writing contest sponsored by the Trust for Sustainable Living, where I shared my platform on how smarter tech choices in first world countries can satisfy the UN global goals(climate action). Results will come in Feb. Around the same time I entered the UN contest, I discovered the sustainable search browser Ecosia which plants trees with its ad revenue. I researched and found out that there was a movement in Europe led by college students to make Ecosia the default browser in their campuses. I contacted the leader of the movement(in Great Britain) and received a unique link to start a campaign where I live(catered to primary and secondary schools and communities) and hopefully expand nationally. This is my nonprofit, Trees for Tomorrow. It’s very small right now, but hopefully I can grow it within this year! Programming/machine learning: I really want to pursue a degree in machine learning because I love working with data and want to tackle environmental issues head on. I’ve taken comp sci related classes every single year of HS. In freshman year, one of my comp sci projects made it to the regional science fair. In addition, this past summer I’ve taken a class on Python online from Georgia Tech, and currently doing one on Machine Learning from the University of Michigan. Afterwards, I intend to compete in the online website Kaggle(specializes in Data science) and even get an internship at Match.com(my dad’s company) for data science this coming summer. What do you think of this? I’m worried that I don't have a solid spike(environmentalism really took hold this year), and I’m worried about choir because many have said that it’s not a good EC. I also don’t have that many awards- if I have 2 state awards and maybe 2 international in the near future, would that would be good for Ivy League? What else do you think I can do to enhance my profile? I finished 3 AP courses, and I’m taking 6 right now(because my school only offers either AP or on level classes). I have mostly high A grades on my transcript. My ACT score is 35, and I’m going to take subject tests math 2 and physics this summer. Thank you, Swetha Tandri

[@1kydes]

where do you go now?

[@jess-xx3uw]

wow! I bet you did get into a ivy league

[@melodiesformath]

@@1kydes this is Swetha, who made the original post! I go to UT Austin and I major in computer science! A lot of things changed since I made the OG post and now I run a company where I write songs explaining math :)

[@melodiesformath]

@@liliann8650 nope, but I had a B in physics

[@melodiesformath]

@@jess-xx3uw I actually didn’t! Got waitlisted at Rice though. I’m happy with where I go to now, and don’t even think about ivies anymore

[@eshanatiti1733]

How developed should an entrepreneurial activity be? As a high school student I can't do much in terms of starting my own business but I do have a sort of baking and makeup business so would that count as something or would it just look stupid ?

[@ryan-em8vz]

I know it’s been 2 years but I am curious how did your businesses work out for college?

[@daisytarot6527]

Your channel is so helpful!! I'm a junior in high school and have been using your videos to help guide me for years. Love what you do!

[@marykay4336]

Do your extracurriculars have to do with your major or can they be different. For example is it okay if you spend all four years of high school participating in art clubs but your major being nursing? Do colleges want to see a relationship between them or it doesn't matter because you can put undefined for your major so they won't know? Btw I like both art and nursing but I participated in art only and just decided I want my major to be nursing?

[@janefola002]

@@rose-nl5tg they can be different but you should do something healthcare related. Whether it’s a job, your program or hospital volunteer hours

[@cheerfulcharms957]

Go class of 2019! These vids are great to prepare :) I will be visiting UPenn on monday - can’t wait!

[@yiranlu3236]

Cheerful Charms go class of 2019!!! My dream school is nyu

[@trevjenn]

Woo dream is Yale. Would also accept USC 😂 (Film or Theatre Major)

[@wildchang6839]

@@trevjenn don't take theator man. You won't get paid a lot.

[@a.j.veneziano2669]

Wild Chang if it’s his passion money doesn’t matter

[@janmejayrathore217]

I know that mayonnaise is an instrument and I can play it.. Does it help for college admissions?

[@OReily08080]

"No, Patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument"

[@EliseLogan]

in terms of wow factor, sometimes it's the combination of things that makes the wow. Example: a colleague of mine had a student who was good at crew (good, not amazeballs), but that wouldn't have been enough for a wow in the Ivy pond. However, he also break dances. And it turns out that the combo crew-break dancing is pretty wow. Another example is a student with whom I worked who both did speedcubing (solving Rubik's cubes fast) and played baseball (well, but not amazingly well).

[@amrithaalaguraj4335]

I'm not sure whether this is considered an excellence activity, but I was really interested in art, so I applied to be the artist for a magazine club at school and got accepted. A couple months later, I applied to be the creative director by drawing some art for an article and got selected to be the director, so now I take care of a bunch of artistic elements. My question is is this whole thing an excellence activity or a leadership activity?

[@saivarenyapatkar1513]

I think it can fit both categories. And it doesn't matter which one it should be considered as, since it is an achievement that will add some weightage to your college application

[@cerealbeforemilk8976]

the 4 attributes: leadership excellence commitment wow-factor

[@subzero8344]

Me having none

[@pizzaboi8196]

I can do a really amazing whale mating call on the clarinet? Can I get into Harvard???

[@maggieeidel1237]

Mood

[@bcjfjcjdjidicicuf6326]

Bruhhh 😭

[@uswahishfaq9687]

There's a 5% chance

[@ndblanks]

ACCECTED ✅ that’s true talent boi

[@bcjfjcjdjidicicuf6326]

When your reply got 2 likes and every else’s reply didn’t get any likes 😎

[@kylenoe2234]

Linguistics is how I showed uniqueness and passion.

[@elmstump]

The thing that’s hard for me is that I only have around 4-5 activities on the common app, but those activities were high commitment, and very demanding to the point where I couldn’t fill my schedule any more, I’ve been in those 4-5 activities for all four of my high school years… Do you think that time dedicated could be considered rather than quantity of activities someone puts down?

[@lolasokolskiy]

I feel like as long as the activities present your hard work, contributions, and time, you don’t need many. That should suffice depending what they are

[@marinomave4613]

This lady is so much on point in all her videos.

[@sgnMark]

I had literally no time between full time work and full time cc to do extra curricular activities. But I have worked teaching developmentally disabled how to live in community group homes for nearly ten years. Got me into UT Austin in the Natural Sciences. Not a bad school if I may say so.

[@LovedDoxology68]

I have just completed the Officer Cadet School and I am now a full commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces...do I qualify as having leadership qualities.

[@sarahnabeelproductions6520]

What if I have a leadership position in a youth group.....does that count?

[@BBVictini1]

Do you think that excelence in choir would help as much as for instruments? I scored the top score for tenor voice at Jazz All State in my state and top in my room (essentially top in the state) for tenor voice for two years in a row at my state's regular All State. I also went to All Nationals last November. I just want to know if this will suffice for excelling in an extracurricular. Thanks, and have a good day!

[@brookifyd]

Yes. That counts!

[@Jordan-xg3dy]

Question, I play a sport and I've been playing it for a long time, I play against college kids and kids who are on a college sports team and do okay for the age gap. Would this activity help me get into a college?

[@jackrenehan378]

Is there any chance you could get an international student that got into a US college (specifically NYU) to talk on the show?

[@benjaminsanati7078]

HI, if you want to get information on going from another country to the US for further education, I would highly recommend checking out the fulbright commission. I am applying next year and the commission really tells you everything you need to know if you are an international student (I am from the UK). They also have a lot of people who went to schools all over the US and I highly doubt they don't have someone from NYU. Hope this helps.

[@ranianaveed6718]

My friend just graduated from NYUAD and spent a year in NYU

[@aena5995]

@@benjaminsanati7078 u did alevels does the US ask for specific subjects i have bio,chem,psychology but not sure which country to go to between canada,uk or us? Is interning at a hospital better or in an NGO

[@benjaminsanati7078]

@@aena5995 when applying, you will be asked for what subjects you have taken (and are currently taking). You will be able to say that you are doing a levels in your admission. American universities want you to have as much experience as possible and the more extracurricular/any type of academic/environmental etc. Activities you do the better. Just saying, Be ready for confusion when applying internationally but there will be a lot of help given to you along the way. Don't be disheartened and good luck!

[@VirDIY]

Hi Brooke, it would be amazing if you can make a video giving tips for students who transfer to American high schools mid-way from foreign countries (like during their sophomore or junior year) because this is really a struggle for students like me who never get the chance to start preparing for college in 9th grades or even earlier in terms of academics, extra curriculars, test prep, etc.

[@antaravadhera5039]

Hey! Hows it going for you now? I'm in the same position now haha

[@salpc0204]

This depresses me, I’m not a high school student I’m a 27 year old who went back to school. Next year I’ll be applying to colleges as a community college transfer and after watching this I feel like I’m not going to appear as a contender.

[@fightmeonclubpenguin7748]

This is generally applying to those really top schools, like Stanford and Harvard. I don’t know what you’re studying, but try to find a way to make it applicable towards the real world and work towards that goal. This could be you studying engineering, and then coaching a robotics team. This could be you studying nursing and then volunteering at the hospital and getting real world experience. Don’t let these videos make you feel bad, you do what you need to do and success will find its way to you!

[@paweboguta3430]

how about ability to speak generally 9 languages including 5 fluently? Im fluent in english, spanish, french, polish and japanese. I also know chinese, arabic, portugese and german.

[@luciacardosoveloso9458]

Parabéns

[@karen6098]

Wow! Colleges would be impressed with that.

[@codyfernfan6274]

How did you learn all these languages??

[@nzarzecki]

Isn’t polish one of the hardest languages to learn? I’m polish but I don’t know the language and it seems really intimidating.

[@isabellaluo2712]

你妈 好

[@noriko8613]

what if im not really good/excellent at what I do, I play the violin and im in my school's orchestra but im not THE BEST. I do sports but im not the best. One of the sports is girls golf which has a few people and im okay but not the best yk.

[@jacklyncrabbe6917]

I’m so scared that I’ve put my time into things that won’t help my application. I’ve played varsity soccer since freshman year and club soccer since I was 8. That takes up at least 4 hours of my day every day after school, as well as traveling out of state every weekend for games. On top of that I’m in 5 ap classes have straight A’s, am a member in my school’s bsu , a member of nhs, and have a job. Yet it still feels like because I’m a natural observer and introvert instead of a leader that I won’t get into my dream Ivy League school.

[@jessicawiley30]

Sorry for writing you, just out of curiosity your page come up on my suggested friend lists so I was just wondering if I knew you from somewhere?!!!

[@jacklyncrabbe6917]

@@jessicawiley30 Hmm I’m not sure. Where are you from?

[@jessicawiley30]

Oh...I'm Jessica Wiley from Palm 🌴🥥 Beach 🏖️⛱️ Gardens Florida 🇺🇲, I am a professional market analysis and expert binary trader 📈

[@jessicawiley30]

How about you and where are you from?

[@joele.3498]

For the longest time I have enjoyed drawing floor plans of like houses and buildings for like no absolute reason, but at the same time I don’t want to necessarily go into architecture for college😂

[@chakebake5619]

is remembering 6000 digits of pi a wow factor and commitment?

[@asterwild]

The best thing about you is that you are are very genuine and honest:)

[@shiinomakise3107]

Damn, I didn't realize these when i was on high school and i don't have any extra-curicullar activities. Now that I already graduated. Can i still be admitted to college? Im freaking out😧.

[@fabiblanco7134]

This gave me a lot en enthusiasm like...I SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

[@Nikhilus_yadavus]

I'm really great at quickscoping skrubs in call lf of duty. Is there even a minute chance i may get admitted in any US college?

[@justinw8370]

As a junior in high school, I was the Asb class president and I was deemed as the captain of my baseball team. All these titles aside, I want to make a few things clear. My school’s team finished 5-20, and I had a batting average of 0.260 (which is mediocre in high school). While I was named captain by my coach, the players on my team didn’t seem to have much respect for me, rarely taking me seriously. While I was able to get things done in my Asb junior class, I had difficulties managing differing opinions in my classes. I don’t think I was nearly assertive enough, and often times, I myself fell confused in my position. This doesn’t sound like I am much of a leader. There must be some sort of legitimacy in my roles, and an underlying leadership quality that I possess that allowed me to assume these roles during high school, but I don’t see it in myself that these titles bear much importance. Why? Well, I don’t see much self improvement from being in my associated student body (still awkward in social situations, still lack assertiveness) and I don’t see improvement on my baseball skills, being an average at best player. I also don’t know where I will apply these things in the real world. I don’t mean to pout: I only want to point out that I may have placed my investments in the wrong place and that you should be very careful before attempting activities that will simply boost your college acceptance rates. That was not my intention. Rather, I believed that by doing these things I was making a positive change. But I only found interests in the last couple years, in which showing mastery is very difficult. The solution: know why you are putting such a great investment of time in to an activity before you continue

[@begaliaslonov9811]

I am good at picking up girls, I mean like at a professional level. Can I include that in my college application letter?

[@jolenewilliamson1031]

What if you work? My daughter is working in a pizza hut working at the back of the house. 4 days a week. She can now handle her own bank account. She knows when to save and when to spend. She is using the Dave Ramsey method for her finances. But because of this, she has little to none of the school clubs.

[@nataliem5425]

Working counts as an extracurricular, I believe.

[@EG-ge7lz]

Do Ivy League Schools prefer if you are the president or a recognized organization like Student Government or if you are the Founder of an organization at your school. What looks better?

[@morganhunter3994]

T D both look good

[@fernandovilorio8675]

My daughter in highschool is a camera girl, she works with me at Stanford doing tv sports broadcast for acc/ESPN hope thats a wow factor!

[@Yvette3xe]

This video is very helpful! I am currently playing violin in a mariachi group! I've been playing since I was 10. :D

[@SupertutorTV]

¡Olé!

[@brookifyd]

love it!

[@kiaramedeiros9137]

I'm a sophomore working to obtain an Associates Degree through a selective program while in high school. I also am working for EMT certification by the conclusion of Junior Year. This Is all the "Wow" I got.

[@MintMihir]

Do you have to be excellent only in activities related to your major or can it be other activities?

[@smileyhappyradio]

Wow, the self study project on epidemiology based off of Twitter data in high school...

[@fightmeonclubpenguin7748]

It’s great when you’re held back from doing activities in general because you have no one to transport you.

[@elucid8d]

MY EXACT PROBLEM.

[@reshikamahat]

I relate to this so much

[@subzero8344]

Literally. “Go out and find your passion”. Yeah, I’m 16. My parents aren’t going to just devote their precious time to traveling around the universe with me to explore my “interests and passions” and pursue them. I’m stuck at home most of the time. I hate when people talk as if it’s so simply and easy

[@Doyinnnn]

could you please do a video on how international African students can get into American universities, especially ivy league schools? And also how to apply with test scores like WASSCE which is like the SAT for west Africa.

[@chrislee367]

You apply with WASSCE. They know how to do the translations. AFAIK, primarily those with "All A1's" are the ones who are accepted. I had some Nigerian tell me about 50 a year get all A1's (I knew one fellow like that who took his WASSCE's in 1990).

[@pencilmein6646]

Would being a self taught pianist and performing + doing tutorials on your own KZbin channel be a good activity??

[@margiethenunblessyoursoul9946]

no not at all

[@pencilmein6646]

@@margiethenunblessyoursoul9946 just out of curiosity, why not?

[@Doyinnnn]

Can activities you have done in middle school also help you get into university (considering they are good enough and are part of the things universities are looking for) ?

[@BetteDavis19]

hi, is there any way i could email you with a question, i'm in a very specific situation and i don't really have anyone to talk to or give me advice on this (as far as college apps go), didn't know if there was a way to do that without setting up some kind of consultation or something like that. thank you.

[@kad.k1]

I may be able to help you because I’m in a very specific situation as well. We can talk if you want.

[@adysonousterhout6570]

BoggessBroadway (I

[@sugumarisubbiah573]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! You guys gave me a little bit more direction, which is saying a lot. Its a bit of hope, and i am absolutely thankful for it

[@davidcherelin4291]

I really wish when someonemade these videos, They would give examples of high achieving, but normal kids. My son takes 4 AP courses + 2 college level writing courses that would be AP courses, plus his regular course work, plus soccer, tennis, math league, masterminds, chess team, model U.N.. If he gets to bed before 4 am, that's early, then it starts all over again at 7:30. He has as much school work over the summer, as during the year, and he's not taking any summer classes, it's just required work for his regular classes beginning in fall. So he hasn't done open heart surgery on the subway with nothing but toothpicks, nor invented and built a working fusion reactor that will solve all of humankind's energy needs and save us from global warming. So sadly it sounds like he'll be relegated to the local community college, since he only has a 4.4 gpa, and 1520 SAT, but sadly is a lazy unaccomplished lout who'd rather spend his few moments of free time playing D&D with friends, or going to as movie with his girlfriend.

[@Ketinthehat]

David Cherelin ,calm downnn. he’ll get into a good school. He has good activities, gpa and SAT. I take more APs, sports, job and clubs and I don’t go to bed at 4 am (and wake up at 6:40). I still have time to hang out with my friends, I think he has to work on time management 👍

[@halogod5702]

Ket f he’s probably trolling

[@pranisparkles3788]

I am in 7th grade and going crazy over getting into MIT and i already have learned so much, like why am i putting so much effort 🤯

[@dancingsun2]

Honestly I'd say to try and chill a little on college stuff if you're still in middle school. Wait until summer of going into freshman year to start planning things out to help you get into your dream school. Not saying you're gonna end up the way I did, but I've been thinking about getting into a particular college since I was in 4th grade and many EC I did in middle school was mainly to help me with apps and not solely because I wanted to do them (don't get me wrong I was interested in the things I did but I did them more for college than for myself). I went into hs to find out nothing you do in middle school matters for college unless you started something (like theater for example) and continued it for most or all of high school. I got really stressed and burned out to the point I didn't enjoy much and sometimes forced myself to do things for college. I'm going into senior year now and I really wish I focused on my interests more than what a college wants to see in me. I guess my main point is do things because you want to and you find interest/joy in them and not because of MIT.

[@lasiuslord6833]

@@dancingsun2I literally just got serious on that stuff halfway through my freshman year. Still got a leadership position though, so it all gucci.

[@user-ng8jf8xt6r]

@@dancingsun2 Did you get into the school you wanted to go

[@pencilmein6646]

Would being a self published author on Amazon and various magazines be a good activity too? Would that be a wow factor?

[@arshren]

Pencil Me In yes

[@unknown-fl2ug]

Humble brag???

[@pencilmein6646]

@@unknown-fl2ug I am just asking a question cuz I am really stressed out right now. Thanks

[@unknown-fl2ug]

Pencil Me In ohh lol sorry, congrats!!

[@__-wc5zn]

Wow

[@majuhorta]

could you do a video on what activities would be good to exceed in (if your starting at a later age so grade 9 or 10)

[@insertname9458]

i can draw a straight line, will that get me into harvard

[@michaeln.2383]

Conflict management is the #1 activity.

[@lunar1212]

I'm in seventh grade and was thinking of starting a club in highschool to help people who struggle with self love, suicide, mental health, etc. Does anybody think this is a good idea?

[@aniasaucedo158]

I absolutely think this is a great idea. I'm in eighth grade and I aswell have thought of making a club very similar to yours.

[@elizabeth3588]

Yes, yes, and yes!! That would be a great way to show your leadership skills when the time comes for college admissions, but also would help your community greatly!

[@lasiuslord6833]

My freshman year me and a few friends attempted to start a fitness/weightlifting club at my school, but they didn't have any staff available to supervise us. We pleaded with them, but to no use. Starting a club is harder than you think. (Not like it would have succeeded anyway, we tried to get it going early February, only for our school to close 1 1/2 months later because CV-19).

[@Ramazanulı]

I started thinking about leaving my home or commiting suicide from the age of 10 and I was constantly struggling with depressions, which had lasted for about 17-18 yrs. So, yes, I personally think you have a great idea.

[@Gabriela-jg1bd]

What do you think about fostering cats? The shelter I volunteer at lets minors foster with parental permission, and I’m finally able to get my parents permission in my senior year.

[@naylisyazwina6836]

8:47 I can hack my psp, Nintendo 3ds and ps3 but I'll probably be put to jail :(

[@slayyy_naya9302]

How do we show commencement on our applications

[@jiminstolemykookies4766]

Is creating an app by yourself considered impressive for colleges?

[@noname89636]

Absolutely! If you develop applications in high school that focus on: solving a problem, design, and information security, then that looks great; especially if you want to get into MIT.

[@brookifyd]

Maybe if you actually sell and release it. Many students create apps that don't actually exist and this isn't so impressive.

[@sammiller4301]

For my wow factor I might get a satisfied “hm” does that count?

[@austinjones1084]

I'm definitely into the more exotic stuff, like the language of Icelandic, the hammered dulcimer, and glassblowing

[@Maria-tz3eq]

what if i am an international student and my school does not have a student council or any clubs?? Can u recommend some activities?

[@wow1983]

"or fencing!" Me: AYYEEEEEE LET'S GO DARTMOUTH LMAOOO

[@PilotAriel]

The video editing is immaculate😌

[@sunnyy...]

Your videos are very helpful so could you please make one for students from abroad who are looking to apply to American colleges

[@sandeecandles]

Does being a Black belt holder in Karate count as a worthy extracurricular(a wow factor)? I am genuinely confused, since I am from outside the US, and hope to go to a Uni there.

[@jessicawiley30]

Sorry for writing you, just out of curiosity your page come up on my suggested friend lists so I was just wondering if I knew you from somewhere?!!!

[@lean6968]

Honestly if you do smth w it like start a program that teaches kids or smth yeah or go to a top competition

[@anonanon9106]

How do i prove to colleges that the activity is real?(that i have participated in it)

[@culturatisanta4590]

Have your adviser or adult who is involved in the activity write a recommendation. Also tell your guidance counselor (or whoever writes your main recommendation) to include that activity in their description of you.