Recently, I saw a video of admissions from an alleged Stanford officer, criticizing an application. One thing she mentioned was how the extracurriculars were great, but she had a hard time believing it, saying that it was next to impossible for the applicant to do all of those things while maintaining his high GPA. I have about 8 extracurriculars, all containing a lot of depth, that I did before, during and after school and on weekends. How can I make sure that they don’t assume I was doing all of this stuff after school (because I obviously needed time after school for homework) since the hours may add up to too much time for after school?
If you say you spend 60 hours a week on activities and you actually do, then there’s no need to worry.
Make sure your guidance counselor at least knows your involvement as admissions officers generally call them if they suspect something.
Other than that, be sure to talk about some of the activities you listed in your essays, as too many extracurriculars also makes you look like a resume-padder, so going in depth about your activities, your impact on the school/community, what motivates you etc. will make you seem more genuine to the admissions officers.
Note that they would like to see your passion through your EC. When you have deep involvement in multiple EC, not only making your time management near impossible, it also dilutes your passion.
I would highly recommend cutting that list down somewhat.
@billcsho is correct. I was admitted into Stanford through REA, and while I have a comparable list of extracurriculars as you do, I made sure to emphasize that my passion (and ultimately intended major) was present in each one.
ECs are just one facet of your application, however, so I wouldn’t worry too much. My focus was directed especially towards short essays and the personal statement.
I can’t shorten it, some of these extracurriculars were done in just the summer or in one certain season of the year. I was the co-captain of our dance team for 2 years, but that might seem a bit off then… since most of my activities are service/volunteer related (relate to my major). But I liked doing it, and I want to appear somewhat well rounded.
When applying, you don’t have to include everything you have done. Include the ones you think show the most involvement and passion.