The Power of Activities: Elevating Your Teen’s Extracurricular Story

Every parent knows extracurriculars “matter” in admissions.

What most don’t realize is that the Activities section isn’t about piling up titles or endless clubs. Admissions officers use this section to understand an applicant’s life beyond academics: what drives them, how they show up for others, and the impact they will bring to a campus community.

At selective schools like MIT, Georgia Tech, and Yale, the Activities section gets the same scrutiny as grades and essays. Other schools may place less emphasis on it, but how the information is presented always matters. To help your teen stand out, you need to know what each type of school looks for and how to showcase activities with strategy.

Join our admission experts, Kevin McMullin and Christopher Logan, for a behind-the-scenes look at how different colleges actually read the Activities section.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

Spot what admissions officers are really looking for in the Activities section
Prioritize and describe activities so they feel compelling
Showcase impact in everyday commitments like jobs, family care, or sports
Tailor your approach for the Common App vs UC application

👉 Reserve your spot today. As a bonus, every attendee will also receive our brand-new Activities Guide, filled with expert insights and real examples you can start using right away.

Kevin McMullin

Founder and Chief Education Officer, Collegewise

Kevin McMullin is the founder and Chief Education Officer at Collegewise. He has delivered over 500 presentations to discuss college admissions planning, employee engagement, and small business success. As long as the speeches don’t require Kevin to solve any math problems, he always does a bang-up job. Kevin graduated from UC Irvine with majors in English and history and he has a college admissions counseling certificate from UCLA.

Christopher Logan

Master Collegewise Counselor, Admissions Analyst, and Yale Graduate

After graduating from Yale in 2014, Christopher moved to California and counseled students who went on to Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale, to name a few. In fact, a majority of Christopher's students have gone on to Ivy League or "Near-Ivy" colleges. As a counselor, Christopher expertly guided students as they selected their classes, clubs, volunteer work, and internships to make sure they could enjoy a high school experience that would make them more competitive college applicants. At Collegewise, their goal is to help students and parents alike by reducing their stress while being both honest and compassionate about the admissions process.