Answer 1

That is a question not often asked, but it is a good one. There  are several factors a reader of your application will look at when reviewing your extracurricular activities. First, are any of these activities related to a possible choice of major or career goal. Second, how long have you participated in the activity ( one year, two years or just joined ). Third, what positions of leadership have you held  (president of the club, vice president or other leadership). Fourth, have you sponsored or supervised an important event run by the activity. Fifth, how many hours a week are you involved with this activity?

Keep in mind that the reader of your application will not spent a long time evaluating your activities and in a highly selective to selective process will assign a rating to your activities. Joining a club or a school sponsored group right before senior year is in most cases a bad idea unless that club / group is new.

The reader is looking for commitment, leadership and some reasons why you belong to the club or group ( how is all of this connected in the application?). Evaluating an application is subjective and many schools have two readers for each app and if the rating are really different from each other then the Director of Admission will read the app and assign rating numbers to courses, grade point average, recommendations, essays, activities , scores , rank in class and expressed interest in the school.

Thanks for the question , it is a good one. Best wishes for this year.

Answer 2

Colleges which evaluate students with a holistic approach want to get to know the student in all areas from grades to extracurricular activities. They are seeking the well-rounded student who is not only gets good grades, but also contributes to his/her school and community. I would say that extracurricular involvement by itself would not keep a student from being admitted, however, it can be used to choose the more involved student over another who has not participated in extra-curricular activities while in high school. Colleges also want to know if a student has specific home responsibilities that prevent him or her from participating in extra curriculars. If that is the case, the student should make this fact known within the application, perhaps under Additional Information or even by writing a letter explaining the situation.