ic S/general/checkmark circled Thanks for subscribing! Be on the lookout for our next newsletter.
ic S/general/checkmark circled
Saved to My Favorites. View My Favorites
Articles / Applying to College / College Admission for a Daughter with NO Extracurriculars?

College Admission for a Daughter with NO Extracurriculars?

Sally Rubenstone
Written by Sally Rubenstone | May 1, 2015
Question: Is it possible to get in to college without ANY extracurricular activities? I have a very introverted daughter. She attends an independent study high school that meets only six hours per week and then assigns about 30-35 hours of outside work. She does this work on her own while other kids her age are in school. When she's not studying, her favorite activities are sitting alone in her room reading philosophy books, drawing, and writing in her journal. Sometimes she gets together with a good friend (she actually has a healthy number of friends), but her social life tends to be one-on-one interactions as opposed to parties or even group outings. She's not a “joiner", and she doesn't like doing things with large groups of people. As a result she has no formal activities of the sort that most applications require: no teams, no clubs, no working on the newspaper, no choruses, no church group, etc. How does she talk about extracurricular activities on her application when the things she loves to do are so internal and solitary? She is interested in small liberal arts colleges, and her GPA is around a 3.5.

Imagine that you're an admission officer at a highly selective college, and let's say that it's just minutes short of midnight. You've already read 37 of the application folders on your coffee table, and the pile doesn't seem to be getting much smaller. As you study the open file on your lap, you see that the candidate is in the Spanish Club, on the Debate Team, and a member of the Model U.N. Didn't the last application say exactly the same thing? No, wait, that one said the French Club. You yawn twice and wonder how you'll ever survive the stack in front you. But then it's on to the next folder. What? This student doesn't seem to be in anyschool clubs. Could this really be? Your heart skips a couple beats and you start humming Ode to Joy.

While admission officials do want students to be engaged outside the classroom, the role of the school club is vastly overrated. Sure, being a star athlete is one of the biggest admission “hooks" around, but the more typical teenage undertakings are so commonplace on applications that a candidate without them might actually have an advantage in the selection process.


However, for your daughter, the hard part may be figuring out how to present her assorted endeavors as application fodder. For starters, although they're not official clubs or organizations she can list all of her endeavors in the “Activities" section of her application. (The Common Application … and most others … will provide room for a concise description.) She may, in addition, want to write her main essay about her most consuming hobby … perhaps her interest in philosophy. She might submit journal entries (if they're not too personal) along with her drawings as arts supplements. Her aim should be to show admission folks exactly what you have told “The Dean"—that she does indeed have a life beyond her school obligations and that she's very motivated to pursue it independently.

Another pursuit that your daughter might want to consider is a part-time job. Admission officials like to see paid work on applications, and it could help balance out your daughter's life of the mind if her application were to also include a little life behind a cash register or fry-o-later. This could be a way to get her to engage a bit more with the world without forcing her to attend meetings, speak in front of a crowd, or learn a secret handshake. If she does prefer to be alone in her room but also plans to go to college where she'll live in a dorm and interact regularly with strangers, holding down a part-time job might make the transition ahead a little smoother. (And since she is not in school when most of her peers are, she could get the jump on the shifts that may be hardest to fill.)

Finally, both you and your daughter should check out this College Confidential discussion thread that I started several years ago. It's about “Hidden Excurriculars" … much like your daughter's. I think it will make both of you feel more confident that not everyone who gets good news from a top-choice school was in the marching band or the Key Club. 🙂

Written by

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.

More on Applying to College

See all
typing at computer- karolina-grabowska-6958506-resized

Authentic Voice in College Essays

That’s why you want to use your authentic voice when writing any college essay.

So what’s the problem? A student has shared an ess…

college-interview

College Interview Prep Tips: Brainstorm, Research, Analyze, Generalize

I recently visited Washington University in Saint Louis and was lucky enough to set up an interview. By speaking with peers of mi…

campus gates

Academic Index Scores: Why They Matter and How They're Calculated

Note: Click here for 10 Summer Programs You Can Still Apply For or keep reading to learn more about academic index scores.

8 Podcasts for Students Going Through the Admissions Process

7 Podcasts for Students Going Through the Admissions Process

Podcasts can offer a wealth of information to busy students, particularly when it comes to the college admissions process. We…

pexels-yan-krukau-8197544

Avoid College Application Regrets: Tips For Getting It Right the First Time

Decision Day occurs each year on May 1st and is the deadline for students to inform the college of their choice of their intent t…

Get a student loan that goes beyond tuition.

Ascent offers cosigned and non-cosigned student loans with exclusive benefits that set students up for success.

Explore Now!
Find Your Scholarship

Want to find money for school that doesn’t need to be paid back? Access insights and advice on how to search and apply for scholarships!

Search for Scholarship