Answer 1

There is no question that being very involved in a few ( less than 4 ) has more meaning than being involved in many. Here is the reasoning for this answer. Showing commitment to a few activities and serving in possible leadership positions carries more weight than only being  a member for a period of 2 - 3 years. Committing yourself to activities that you have an interest in will serve you well during a  possible interview or writing a  personal statement/ essay. Students who have a laundry list of activities / clubs have a difficult time explaining how they fit all those meetings / activities  in to their daily after school schedule -- there are only 168 hours in a week.( sleeping , eating, going to class, working on assignments and family activities take up a great deal of time). Only join those activities you can give time to and be a part of in a meaningful way.

What ever you do not join another club or activity senior year unless than club / activity is new to the school. You will not be impressing anyone who reads your application with new  clubs/ activities in the senior year. if colleges did not give credit for clubs/ activities in high school during the application evaluation process they would ask for your resume. Be smart and wise -- less is better than more in this case.

Good luck with the applications

Answer 2

The less the better so long as you keep to 2 or 3 remember that one can be part-time employment. Other activities need to reflect commitment and responsibility. The best way to show that you have both character traits is to participate in the same activities ongoing for at least 2 years. I can recall one of my former students which, opted to clear mountain trails during the summer months but during the school year, taught violin to pre-school children every Wednesday for 3 years. Not only did this activity speak to responsibility and commitment but also, to his level of patience and creativity. As a matter of fact his common application essay was about what he learned from teaching the children. It was an amazing read! Through his essay, this particular student spoke of how he needed to put together lesson plans, think of ways to engage students, design instruction to meet the learning levels of 3, 4, 5 year olds all with different abilities. In using the violin instruction for his essay, "Sam" spoke of how much time was involved away from the school in order for him to be successful with the students while at the school. In addition, Sam's grades were of a high B GPA and his other activity was as a member of the school orchestra which required not only attendance at a daily class but at rehearsal, 3x per week. These activities were more than enough to show colleges who Sam really was, his ability to lead, commit, maturity, etc. While other students would come to me with a list of 10 or 15 activities it was Sam that colleges found more interesting. Another client I worked with recently is a mountain climber. "Steve's" GPA was a 3.6 and he was not involved in any school based activities. On the other hand, he did attend climbing sessions 2x per week and, close to every weekend. Steve began climbing in grade 8 advancing to the national level by the close of grade 10 and in grade 11 combined with his own climbing also became an instructor during the summer months. Steve's guidance counselor was able to share through their recommendation, just how involved the climbing is in order to allow colleges to understand the level of commitment required, combined with keeping up those grades, clearly preventing him from being involved in any other activities. Needless to say, at times even only one activity is fine provided it is a one which allows for a strong commitment over an extended period of time. Remember, quality over quanitiy. Good Luck! Janice Kirn-Sottilaro

Answer 3

I have found that colleges prefer quality of involvement over quantity. If a student participates in 3 or 4 extrac-curricular activities, but is serving in a leadership capacity in one or more of them, the colleges look at that very favorably rather than having a student who lists 10 or more activities but does not participate in any of them to any high level(serving a leadership role,etc.).