Curtis WestbayMyth #1: There is a hierarchy of activities.
The first myth is that there is a hierarchy of activities‒ that academic activities are, by their very nature, more impactful than service, creative, or extracurricular activities. There is a grain of truth to this misconception: colleges are academic institutions. Academic activities give decision-makers confidence in a student's ability to succeed and contribution to the learning and research that goes on in college. Still, there are certainly students whose strongest activities are not, strictly speaking, academic. That is, a student can demonstrate academic potential outside the confines of academic competitions, research, or summer programs.
Myth #2: There is an ideal path to follow.
Students tend to think that there is a superior way to gain admission to selective universities, and that this ideal approach is that which has been taken by successful students in the past. Just because we have had students who gained admission to top colleges after having worked in research labs in the past, though, that doesn't necessarily indicate that research activities are any more impactful on a student's candidacy than might be a creative activity. The format of a student's activities should conform to the kind of work they most enjoy, not to some adherence to a format that is assumed to be preferred by colleges. The application readers are people; what will appeal to them each is variable.
Myth #3: Official, structured > individual, unstructured
It often seems that it doesn't occur to students that they can report informal activities in their college applications. Activities in a college application don't have to be an official club, academic program, summer program, etc. Even if activities are entirely individual and unstructured, students can remark upon them in their college activity lists. Some degree of evidence should be offered, proof of the veracity and extent of a student's involvement. Here again, the application reader might find a student's activity history very compelling, regardless of whether or not it came through an official structure or not. In fact, it might be all the more impressive when a student's enthusiasm for an activity was sustained despite the fact that they did not have direction, guidance, or structure provided by someone else.
Myth #4: Academic activities are best done as research or competition.
I am a strong proponent of structured, official activities. Exemplary performance in an academic competition, as I have said, carries an inherent and recognizable context in which to view a student's level of achievement. That said, there is nothing to say that a student must be a competitor or a researcher in order to show their academic potential in the college application.
Some students absolutely hate competition or research. Hope is not lost for students who prefer to engage in other types of activities. The "best" type of academic activity is one that a student prefers. A student who yearns to write short stories doesn't have to subject themselves to the constraints of a contest to prepare for college applications.
Myth #5: Activities unrelated to intended major are diversions.
A student's academic narrative shows their personality and passion just as much as it shows their academic potential. Whenever a student has an activity in their life that brings them joy, they should pursue it.
There is so much interdisciplinary overlap in academia now. Students don't need to drop an activity they enjoy because it pulls their attention away from a strategic focus on a single subject; instead, they should find ways to connect their interests.
Myth #6: The pedigree of academic mentors matters.
I have found that students often overvalue the value of their mentor's academic pedigree. They believe that, by working with someone who is well known in China, college application readers will assume they will be as successful in college. Application readers understand, however, that an internship or research position is a matter of access just as much as ability. Even if they knew the top researchers in China (or even in the US), the people reviewing college applications know better than to assume that a student's connection to a renowned researcher means they are also bound to be renowned.
Myth #7: There is a competitive advantage to be found in some majors.
As selectivity has tightened more and more, students still have an idea in their minds that there is a substantial difference in applying to highly selective colleges as a STEM major compared with applying as a humanities major. This is simply not the case anymore, generally speaking. Getting admitted to highly selective colleges is challenging for students regardless of their intended major. There is no accounting for the slight degree of difference that may, but probably does not, exist for admission likelihood between different majors within the same schools at top universities.
Students should pursue activities they love, even if they are in academic areas traditionally thought to be the most steeply selective. An uninspired activity list in a certain major thought to be more lenient will not lead to a competitive advantage.
Myth #8: Extracurricular activities can’t (shouldn’t) be a focal point.
It is certainly the case that a student's extracurricular activities, on their own, won't be the basis of an admission decision for the overwhelming majority of students. For example, apart from the extremely rare student participating in varsity athletics in college, being a member of an athletic team means much more to a student than to a college application reader. On its own, participation in an extracurricular activity probably won't impact a student's odds of admission.
There are things that a student can do, however, to engage with an extracurricular passion that will improve their activity list.
Myth #9: Leadership is the province of extroverts.
Introverted students can feel a degree of anxiety that they will be passed over for admission in favor of students who fit the traditional ideal of leadership better than they do. Leadership is not just giving speeches, though. Students can demonstrate leadership in their activity lists, no matter how shy and reserved they are. Students don't have to force themselves into front-and-center roles like these to demonstrate leadership potential. Whenever a student is passionate about something, they can lead others by spreading their passion, even if they do so behind the scenes.
Myth #10: Maximum coverage of activity types is an advantage.
Finally, students may believe that it is necessary to achieve extraordinary things in every conceivable category of activity. This is unnecessary and implausible.