Community impact goes beyond personal achievements and academic success. For high school students, actively engaging with their communities provides valuable experiences that shape character, foster empathy, and contribute to a better society. For those aiming to apply to the top US colleges, community impact is one of the best outcomes to highlight on an extracurricular activities list.
Why Community Impact is Important
There is much more experience to be gained by students than what’s in the classroom. Academics and test scores are essential, but competition at the top colleges is intense, and students often need to display more than good grades to have a significant chance at attending a top college. At the top US colleges and Ivy League schools, admissions officers select candidates that they believe would be a good fit for their schools—in personality and academic performance. Many, if not all, of these schools use holistic review, so students must present more of themselves in their applications than just scores, which is where extracurriculars and community projects shine.
Aside from college applications, community service also allows students the opportunity to step outside their standard regiment and learn essential life skills that they otherwise wouldn’t. Teamwork, communication, and problem-solving are compelling personality traits that showcase a strong character, which is what the top admissions officers are looking for. Applicants who demonstrate this commitment and dedication often see more positive results than those who do not.
So, highlighting community impact—especially in supplemental essays and personal statements—is a great way to bolster one’s college application and significantly improve one’s acceptance outcomes in the future.
Identifying Your Areas of Interest
While students should strive to make a positive impact everywhere they can, for the purposes of a student profile, students should consider how their extracurricular efforts would appear on a college application. While having some community service involvement is better than none, consider how those activities fit in the broader context.
A student’s college application should all fall within a centralized, unifying theme—or “Application Persona.” The Application Persona is a singular sentence that boils down the entirety of a student’s profile into something easy to remember. The easier something is to remember, the better impression it will have on college admissions officers and the better chances students have of getting accepted into their dream school. A solid application persona is a critical factor in a well-optimized college application, so when ideating for an activities list, students should aim for activities aligned with their interests and academic ambitions.
Art students may choose to paint a mural for an animal rescue shelter. Business majors may choose to organize fundraising campaigns for local businesses. Culinary students may choose to contribute to food banks in their local area. Whatever venture a student sets out for, it should fit within their areas of interest. Students can choose to experiment with different other interests as well. Still, they should do so cautiously, as a college application with many disparate elements can come off as chaotic and unfocused in an admissions office and hurt a student’s chances at acceptance.
To learn more about finding your areas of interest, read our blog: “Navigating Interest Exploration: A Guide for High School Students.”
Volunteering and Leadership
Of the opportunities available, students should seek not only to make the best impact on their community but also to increase their capacity for leadership in their field. By dedicating time and skills to various causes and taking on leadership roles within community projects or extracurricular activities, students will gain experience in one of the essential qualities that top colleges look for in their applications.
Leadership is often mentioned, but many applicants lack practical applications and experiences involving leadership roles. When searching for opportunities to better one’s community, students should aim to contribute their skills as well as serve in leadership positions to gain that valuable experience.
To learn more about the importance of leadership in a college application, read our blog: “Leadership Experience: The Missing Piece in College Applications.”
Get Ahead with InGenius Prep’s Programs
If you are looking for opportunities to make an impact, gain experience, and emerge as a leader in your field, InGenius Prep’s Leadership and Innovation Lab is the perfect program to help you enhance your college applications. With professional guidance and support, learn to grow a business, launch a venture, or get involved within your community. Unlock your potential as a leader and learn how you can make a difference! To learn more about our programs and discover how to enhance your journey into higher education, schedule a free consultation call with one of our advisors today!
