Jaime When it comes to college application guidance, one of the most frequently asked questions posed to college counselors is, “which activities should I engage in?” And, more often than not, a skilled counselor will throw the question right back to the student, asking them to discuss what they are interested in and why. Why do we do that? Because wise college counselors know that university admissions officers value students who demonstrate an authentic interest in what they have chosen to dedicate their time to. And perhaps more importantly, we know that we are of the most benefit to the largest number of people when we are engaged in doing the things that we are passionate about.
Now, a quick online search for summer programs or research opportunities will yield an array of academic opportunities, without a doubt, but will these results include unique academic activities? According to dictionary.com unique is defined as: / (juːˈniːk) / adjective. being the only one of a particular type ; single; sole. without equal or like; unparalleled. very remarkable or unusual.
The findings of such a search will not supply us with a list of ‘unique’ activities, but instead with the typical, popular summer programs. Typical is not synonymous with ‘bad’ however, and the standard summer program can be a perfectly valid endeavor, especially if a student finds value in the program (beyond the ability to add it to their ‘activity list’ in college applications).
BUT, if you have a child who wants to ‘find’ unique academic activities to supplement the standard summer programs, then I urge you to help them reframe the statement from ‘finding’ unique academic activities to ‘creating’ unique academic activities. In order to do that, it is imperative that students ‘know themselves’ and are aware of their interests and passions.
Below are examples of the ‘standard’ academic activities typically listed within the majority of university applications, contrasted with some ‘beyond the norm’ suggestions which can serve as the impetus to help your child generate their own ‘unique’ academic opportunities.
‘Typical’ academic activities:
- Summer programs
- Research
- Quiz bowl
- Debate
- Model United Nations
- Pre-college programs
- Study abroad programs
- Mock trial
‘Unique’ Academic Activity Suggestions:
- Collaborate with a teacher of your favourite subject for any grade level. Ask how you can help/be involved!
- Volunteer to be a tutor - create your own study group for younger peers or classmates
- Create a YouTube channel, where you ‘teach’ struggling students your own approach and explain concepts/tips/strategies. You can then share this with students even beyond your school.
- Take a free online class - Sites like edX , Coursera, Mooc, and MIT Opencourseware offer free college courses that are taped or streamed from universities. With tons of subjects from robotics to American poetry, you get to participate in real-time or watch past lectures from professors at places like Stanford and Harvard.
- Get involved with research. Experience in a lab as a high school student is really impressive to colleges. Email (or call) professors or ask your parents (and their colleagues) to talk to anyone they know who is connected with a university to see if you can work in their lab.
- Create a club that surrounds your interests or passions and integrates community service. For example, if you are a budding environmentalist, collect plastic bottles/containers from the school or local community, and research creative ways to upcycle the plastic (there are soo many cool and useful things we can create with trash!) If what you create is good enough to sell, do so. Collect all proceeds and donate to a worthy cause (or a few!)
Helpful Tip #1:
Regardless of the activities that a student chooses to dedicate their time and energy to (whether standard or unique), it will be helpful for them to keep a journal in order to reflect on the activities they engage in; to think about what they experienced, learned, or observed, as well as listing the questions that the activities prompted them to generate. When the time comes for them to respond to university essay prompts, their reflections will be of significant value.
Helpful Tip #2:
It’s ok if your child wants to create a ‘club’, but doesn’t yet know what, how or why. They have to start somewhere and this should be with a list of their interests/desires/goals. Once they identify a few possibilities, they can speak with friends/peers who have similar interests and the desire to ‘do something’. They can then brainstorm the club purpose, goals and activities together.