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Extracurricular activities are a great way to demonstrate your leadership and team-building capabilities, interests, and values. These experiences can also open you up to new people, places, ideas, and opportunities—all of which are key to success after high school. If you’re unsure how to get started with your extracurricular profile or what it should include, keep reading! We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to developing your extracurricular profile so that you don’t miss any important details. What is an extracurricular profile? An extracurricular profile is your chance to summarize all the activities you’ve been involved in throughout your high school career. This can include clubs, sports, and other activities from school, after school, and/or outside your home district. The extracurricular profile is your chance to show admissions offices and colleges precisely who you are and what you’ve done. It’s also a great way to practice writing so that you can improve your communication and organizational skills. Why develop an extracurricular profile? There are many reasons to develop your extracurricular profile. One of the top reasons is that the extracurricular profile is the only part of your application that will be completely original. This means that it can be the most impactful part of your application because colleges are reading it for the first time! This means that it has the potential to be your most unique and personal writing. Additionally, it’s the only part of your application that doesn’t require essays, letters of recommendation, or anything else from other people. How to develop your extracurricular profile Before you begin writing your extracurricular profile, be sure to think about what you want to accomplish. Keep in mind your goals for the extracurricular profile and the overall goals for your application. Keep in mind what you want to accomplish with your extracurricular profile. This will help you to determine what aspects of yourself to highlight, who to address them to, and what to add to support your argument. The types of activities you can include in your profile. - Academic Activities - Athletics Competitive, Recreational, Coaching, Competitive Sports, or School Sports - Arts - Visual Arts, Creative Writing, Dance, or Drama - Cultural Activities - Inter-School Cultural Exchange, Intra-School Cultural Exchange, or Global Awareness - Service Activities - Help at Home, Help at School, Community Service, or Volunteer Work - Career or Work-Related Activities - Internship or Focused Work Experiences, Work-Study, or Work-Focused Activities - Education - High School, College, Research, or Tutoring - Leadership - Student Government, School Board, School Director, or Assistant Director - Health and Wellness - Healthy Living, Fitness, or Health-Focused Activities - Science and Technology - Science Experiments, Science Research, or Technology-Focused Activities - Technology-Related Activities - Programming, Programming Clubs, or Technology -Focused Extracurricular Activities - Other Activities - Skiing, Snowboarding, Water Sports, Musical, Dance, or other Activities Sample extracurricular activities - Coaching a sport - Running a science experiment in your P.E. class - Serving on a student organization leadership committee - Helping to set up a new school club - Starting an independent study project - Managing a cultural exchange program - Organizing a fundraiser for a charity or cause you’re passionate about - Mentoring or tutoring students in your school or community - Working as a staff member at a service-learning project - Performing a play in your school’s theater program - Writing a research paper or academic paper for your high school classes - Serving on a school board committee or steering committee - Working as a tutor or assistant in your school’s academic department - Volunteering for a community service project - Starting a work-study program in your school - Organizing a campus-wide cultural exchange program - Running a science club or research project - Helping to start a new sport or activity at your school - Cooperating to create a new academic club with your classmates - Helping to start a new inter-school cultural exchange program - Helping to start a new community service project at your school - Helping to start a new volunteer service project at your school Tips for developing your extracurricular profile Make your extracurricular profile represent you as a person, not just what you did. Use the information in your extracurricular activities to support your points, not contradict them. Ensure the information in your extracurricular activities is accurate, relevant, and supported. Don’t be afraid to write from a personal point of view. Colleges want to know who you are and what you’ve experienced in the real world. Be sure to cite all sources when using the information you find outside of school. Don’t be afraid to add detail. It’s better to include too much information than not enough. Use transitions and sentence structure to keep your extracurricular profile flowing. Proofread your extracurricular profile multiple times before submission. Make sure your extracurricular profile is as long as you think it needs to be. Make sure you have enough time to develop and edit your extracurricular profile before you submit your application. Conclusion An extracurricular profile is a great way to show colleges who you are and what you’ve done. It’s also the only part of your application that’s completely original and written by you—so it can be one of your most impactful essays.

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