Extracurricular activities

Speak up in class, learn a system of note-taking, be kind, don't worry about testing until 11th grade, and read, read, read... Mark Moody, Co-Director of College Counseling at Colorado Academy, joins us again with advice for 9th and 10th graders about how to write a high school story that will have a happy ending. 

You’ve made it to the end of another school year! Before you totally shift out of school mode and into your summer adventures, it’s a good time to take a minute to reflect on your school journey as it’s shaping up. Do you feel confident, not so great, or indifferent to your academic record and extracurricular life so far? Now that you have the lay of the high school landscape, you have the tools to directly shape your response to that question for next year and the years after.

Students -- and parents -- are constantly asking us what colleges want to see students doing outside of the classroom. Volunteer work, student government, a sport, a club? Here's the answer: There is no resume of activities that will guarantee admission to college. You can be involved in soccer, band, debate, robotics, hold a part-time job, have a consuming hobby like cooking or have family responsibilities like caring for younger siblings. But colleges do want to see you do something. If you are sitting on the couch playing video games all day, colleges will not regard that as a positive -- unless you're designing video games.

So this week's advice is: Just do it! Remember, colleges are looking at what you do outside the classroom to understand who you are, but also to understand what you will contribute to the community once you’re on campus. And at this point in your high school career, you may also want to take the initiative and consider a leadership position in whatever activity most interests you.

What place does trust have in the college application process? College advisor Alice Kleeman joins us again this month to talk about trust -- as well as accountability and honesty -- among students, counselors and the colleges. Join her here to learn more about life lessons, integrity, and the meaning of signing on the dotted line.

The hand inevitably shoots up in the back row, just after I’ve explained to a class of juniors or seniors that they will “self-report” their extracurricular activities on their college applications. “But how do they know I’ve really done what I say I’ve done?” The question will be asked. After 19 years of speaking to students about college admission, this is a point of certainty.

Ah, one of my favorite topics: trust. If we stop to think about it, without trust—among applicants and their families, college officials, and counselors—the entire process falls apart like a poorly constructed house of cards. And yet it’s one aspect of college admission that we don’t talk about much, and when we do, cynicism arises on all sides.

Call me Pollyanna (Pollyalice?), but I’m an extremely trusting soul when it comes to the issues that ask for our trust in this process.

Lee Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment Management at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, is having a George Plimpton moment.  Plimpton was a writer famous for his "participatory journalism" which included suiting up for the preseason with the Detroit Lions. Coffin, along with Assistant Director of Admissions Justin Pike, followed suit and donned a full set of gear -- with his bowtie peeking out -- to join the Jumbos for a preseason practice session.

Read the entire post -- Oh, Snap! -- here about his brief tenure as part of the offensive line, special teams and sprint training. "My sanity wasn't tested so much as my stamina!  I had no idea that football players needed so much aerobic capacity!" said the 167-pound Coffin.