Hobbies That Look Good On The College Application
What are the hobbies that look good on the college application?
What are the hobbies that look good on the college application? The college application that you submit allows you to make a fantastic first impression on educational institutions of higher learning. You should, however, anticipate facing a significant amount of competition; therefore, it is essential to make the most of your application. The part of the application devoted to extracurricular activities is one of the ones that need to be filled out by you. The colleges gain a deeper understanding of who you are as a person as well as your interests and ambitions through your participation in these activities.
It is important that you have a good understanding of the types of hobbies you should include on your college application. Although you may have participated in several activities, it is not necessary to include all of them. In fact, including an excessive number of them might have a detrimental effect on your application. When there is a longer list, it is more difficult to identify the most noteworthy interests. Remember the following information so that you can identify hobbies that look good on the college application.
Sports
Participating on a sports team is an excellent way to develop teamwork skills, which is a quality that is highly valued by many educational institutions and that applicants should strive to demonstrate. Track and field, basketball, hockey, volleyball, tennis, football, soccer, baseball, and softball are just some of the sports that are offered in most high school athletic programs.
Outside of what is offered at your school, you may choose to participate in activities such as dance, cycling, climbing, swimming, martial arts, fencing, and hiking. These are just some of the less common sports that are available.
Also, some sports are played individually, which is perfectly acceptable.
Blogging
Blogging is a great way to showcase your creativity, organizational skills, and self-motivation. A blog provides you with the exceptional opportunity to demonstrate to admissions officers at colleges and universities that you are capable of juggling multiple commitments and effectively managing your time.
Creative Writing
Writing creatively, such as poetry or stories, is an additional form of writing that demonstrates strong communication skills, both verbal and written, and can highlight yours. Examples of creative writing include storytelling and writing poems. In the same way that you will have written examples from blogging, you can share these examples on your college application.
Volunteering
Participating in volunteer work demonstrates to admission officers that you can collaborate effectively with others, that you care about the well-being of others, and that you are not motivated solely by financial gain. Volunteering is one of the most effective methods for expanding one’s social circle, expanding one’s knowledge and skill set, and gaining invaluable experience that can be applied in the future.
Photography
One of the best hobbies that look good on the college application is Photography. This pastime reveals qualities such as patience, the ability to concentrate for extended periods, and a keen eye for detail. If you are interested in pursuing a career in fashion or journalism, photography can be a particularly useful hobby to have.
Singing and playing instruments
These skills are evidence of your creative potential, particularly if you are also a composer and have written your music. Both of these pastimes require self-control, dedication, concentration, and at least some measure of self-assurance because they require you to demonstrate your skills in front of an audience.
Arts and crafts
Hobbies such as drawing, painting, pottery, quilting, knitting, or sewing suggest that you love to experiment and try new things, that you are capable of coming up with new and innovative ideas, and that you are open-minded in addition to being creative.
Cooking and baking
These hobbies demonstrate to the admissions committee that you can maintain focus, listen to instructions, are resourceful, and most importantly, enjoy trying new things.
Strategic mind games
Your personality can be inferred from the fact that you enjoy games like chess, backgammon, and sudoku. Participating in activities of this nature reveals that you are patient, cunning, analytical, and logical and that you take pleasure in thinking strategically. Playing strategy games demonstrates not only that you are not afraid of the unexpected but also that you are not easily bored by repetitive tasks.
These are all qualities that are beneficial to have for someone interested in pursuing a career in fields such as engineering, law, medicine, banking, education, or strategic planning. A high level of intelligence is frequently correlated with the pursuit of hobbies like these. Thus, these are hobbies that look good on the college application
How can hobbies help you get into college?
How exactly will your hobbies improve your chances of getting into college? Everyone can find something that interests them, whether it be yoga or comic books, video games, or baking. And regardless of what you’re interested in, the way you approach it can help you not only get ready for but also get into the college of your dreams.
The applicants that colleges are looking for are those who will make significant contributions to the communities that exist on their campuses. Discover how your hobbies can set you apart from other applicants when you’re applying for college and scholarships.
Build key skills
Even though you might look at your hobby as a way to get away from your studies, the pursuit of personal interest and the pursuit of a good grade frequently strengthen complementary skills. You are processing new information and applying it to situations that are new to you whenever you are learning something new, whether it be joining a new online community or teaching yourself how to draw cartoons. A successful endeavor in a hobby can give you a boost in self-confidence and even improve your poise, presentation skills, and even your ability to lead others.
Relieve stress
When one is studying, a break is always welcome and necessary. Hobbies can provide the ideal option for decompressing while also allowing one to accomplish something useful at the same time. When your schedule is packed with classes in math and science, you may find that the creative or physical activity of your choice, such as photography or gymnastics, provides the perfect outlet for you.
Demonstrate important character traits
Maintaining focus, concentration, and perseverance is necessary for academic success. The same can be said for pursuing hobbies or interests outside of the classroom. Achieving a difficult new skill can provide an incredible sense of satisfaction and help you flex your “stick-to-it” muscles, both of which are important for success.
Improve the quality of your resume from high school
College admissions officers aren’t just looking for the most intelligent applicants; they also want to admit students who have a well-rounded background. Thus, you can include some of the hobbies that look good on the college application mentioned above. Your resume could benefit from having an additional dimension added to it—one that demonstrates that you are a candidate with multiple layers if you include a well-documented history of your hobbies.
Provide material for use in academic papers at colleges and universities
Are you trying to think of something interesting to talk about in the essay portion of your application? Your interests outside of school can provide fantastic fodder that will set you apart from other applicants if you talk about them in your application.
Pick a facet of your hobby that exemplifies something unique and interesting about your character, and use that. It’s possible that learning to knit helped you become more patient and concentrated. Or perhaps you were moved to compassion as a result of it, and as a result, you decided to start a community service project in which you knit hats for newborns at the hospital in your town.
Please describe how you became interested in this particular field and what aspects of it most fascinate you. Do you enjoy doing unusual things in your spare time, such as building Lego dioramas? It’s possible that your school didn’t already have a robotics club, so you turned your hobby into a chance to take on a leadership role by establishing one.
Offer an avenue for earning money
Is it still considered a hobby if it brings in money? Perhaps not in a strict sense. However, many adolescents have discovered ways to earn money doing things they enjoy, such as walking dogs for their neighbors or creating jewelry to sell online. It not only helps you earn money for college, but it also teaches you essential business skills such as marketing, accounting, and providing excellent service to customers.
The bottom line is that developing a strong personal brand is important when it comes to the college application process. Because the majority of students who apply to highly selective colleges meet the minimum GPA and standardized test score requirements, it is essential to distinguish yourself in other ways by adding some of the hobbies that look good on the college application.
Can you get accepted to college with no extracurricular activities?
Is it possible to get into college without having participated in any extracurricular activities? The application process can be stressful and time-consuming because applicants are expected to meet a wide variety of minimum requirements set forth by colleges and universities. There is a section for listing extracurricular activities within the Common Application and the Coalition Application. Your lack of participation in any extracurricular activities throughout your time in high school is the source of the problem.
It is possible to enroll in college without participating in any extracurricular activities, and this is especially true when applying to less competitive schools that have an open admissions policy and the only requirement is a high school diploma or an equivalent. Some high school students are under the impression that they do not participate in any extracurricular activities, whereas the reality is that they do.
Many students in high school are under the impression that the only activities that qualify as extracurriculars are those that are sponsored by their respective high schools.
Almost anything that you do outside of the classroom for a significant amount of time and for a particular purpose can be considered an extracurricular activity. This could be anything from knitting to taking care of your younger siblings to working in the family restaurant.
Having all the necessary information is important before choosing any course of action. AdmissionSight is always here to assist you if you have any questions or concerns. We have more than ten years of expertise assisting students in successfully navigating the challenging admissions process.
Consult with AdmissionSight and find out what we can do to help you get into the school of your choice by ensuring that you are sufficiently aware and well-prepared for the application process.