Many students ask me what activities they should participate in to get noticed by the colleges.  They want to know what they need to do to build their resume for their college application. When it comes to college admissions, it is old-school thinking to believe that you have to be a star student, participate in every club and activity under the sun, play three sports, be captain of the chess team...and have a summer internship.  So I typically answer their question with a question...What is it that you love to do?

Colleges don't place a value judgment on 'what' you do, as much as 'that' you do something..and that you are interesting as a person in your pursuit of a passion or hobby or interest.  Let me explain...listen closely.  There is NO secret recipe. There is not necessarily ONE specific thing or group of activities that will 'get' you into a college.

In speaking with college admissions deans, and students trying (some succeeding and some not) to get into top tier colleges, there is a definite trend emerging that is changing the face of the "student activities" part of the college application.  It seems as though colleges are no longer as interested in the stressed out, do-it-all type of student.  The type of kid that was once coveted by colleges for their ability to make straight A's, and fill their out of school time with sports, clubs, activities, and even jobs.  It was the whole concept of time-management correlating to college success.  If you could do a hundred things as a high school student, while earning top grades, you would surely be able to manage the freedom, independence, and rigor of college academia.  While there is truth to the fact that good time management skills will benefit you in your pursuit of academic excellence in college, colleges are now looking for more of a 'voice', a personality, a heartbeat...in addition to a solid GPA, healthy ACT/SAT scores, and a rigorous high school curriculum.

Colleges are eager to bring students to their campus that will be an asset to the university and add an element to the student body that fosters an interesting learning community.  One of the things that every student should be thinking about when seeking admission, in addition to what the college can do for you, is...what can you do for the college?  What are you bringing to the table in terms of the type of person you are and the things about you that are interesting?

A dean of admissions at MIT once told me the following story.  He said that in any given year, if the admissions office took the over 15,000 applications they received  and threw them all out on the steps of the admissions office, then randomly selected 1,500 of them for admission by picking up the applications from the ground...they would have one of the top academic classes of incoming freshmen in the world.  He went on to say that MIT was not just looking for your typical super intelligent kid...they were looking for a super intelligent, very interesting, very passionate kid who would "fit" at MIT and add value to the learning community. 

This forever changed my view of what high school students should be focused on when they are thinking about college.  Important lesson...don't do what you think you have to do to get a college to "like you", instead do what you love and are interested in and dive head first into it.  Be interesting.  Don't join a club, start one.  Check into possible research opportunities at a local college or university.  If community service is your thing, organize an event.  BE your own movement.  Do your own thing.  And do what you love.