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An Empty Activities List = No Chance? The Activities Lists of US Top 20 Admits Are Completely Different From What You Think...
Every year after the summer vacation, the admin's inbox is flooded with the same type of question:
"Are my extracurricular activities too few?"
"Should I rush to add a public welfare project?"
"Others have done more than a dozen, but I only have five. Should I hurry up and scrape together another one?"
As a result, many students ignore the quality of activities in pursuit of quantity.
In fact, ten activities is the limit, not the standard answer. Admissions officers won't give you a five-star review just because you filled out all ten slots, nor will they deduct points from you because you only filled out eight.
What you should care about more is: "Can every activity I list help the admissions officer clearly understand who I am?" Let's look at the activities lists of US Top 20 admits.
01 Which activities are worth writing about?
Category 1: Core Academic Activities
As long as a core activity achieves any one of the following: academic depth, leadership, real-world impact, or originality, it is already very valuable. If it checks two or more of these boxes, the caliber of this activity multiplies.
Before listing an activity, you might want to ask yourself three questions:
Does this explain my academic interest? (If not, drop it immediately)
How high is my level of involvement? Am I the organizer, or did I just show up and sign in? Admissions officers need to see your impact and initiative.
Is there a story to tell? Can you explain in one sentence "what I did, what results I achieved, and how I grew"?
Student | Admitted School / Major | Test Scores | Summer Program | Main Activities / Awards | Application Persona |
Student A | Williams College Entomology Ecology | SAT 1570 TOEFL 119 11 APs (Score of 5) | Cornell Summer Program | Personal beetle specimen collection + Bilibili videos, Founder of school Biology and Environmental Science clubs, Pioneer gut microbiome research, Chinese Academy of Sciences oncology internship, British Biology Olympiad Gold Medal, USA Biology Olympiad Silver Medal, DNA Day Essay Honorable Mention - Top 13 Globally | Hardcore Explorer in Entomology |
Student A, who was accepted to Williams College (a top liberal arts college) through Sanshidu, has been obsessed with entomology since middle school: making beetle specimens (with over 3,000 views on Bilibili), founding the biology club and environmental science club at school, and winning a gold medal in the British Biology Olympiad and a silver medal in the US Biology Olympiad.
All of their awards and activities revolved around the two main threads of "entomology" and "biology." When admissions officers saw their profile, they could remember Student A in just 10 seconds.
Category 2: One or Two "Relatable/Human-interest" Activities
If all your activities are scientific research, competitions, and founding various clubs, with every line desperately trying to prove "I am super outstanding," the admissions officer's eyes will glaze over.
It is best to leave one or two slots in your activity list for activities that are unrelated to academics but that you genuinely love. This is the most common point overlooked by most students. After all, top US universities want a well-rounded individual, not just a perfect resume.
These activities show that you have your own interests in life and a soul outside of schoolwork.
Category | Examples |
Sports | Soccer, Squash, Fencing, Golf, Lacrosse |
Arts | Photography, Drawing, Playing in a band |
Crafts | Woodworking, Baking, Latte Art |
Niche Hobbies | Bird Watching, Writing Poetry, Playing Classical Guitar |
Family Responsibilities | Taking care of elderly family members, Helping parents with their business |
How do you judge whether an activity has a "relatable/human" feel? The criterion is very simple: When you do these things, are you genuinely enjoying yourself?
Student | Admitted School / Major | Test Scores | Summer Program | Main Activities / Awards | Application Persona |
Student B | Stanford UniversityCreative Writing Art History Anthropology | IB PG 41/42 TOEFL 110+ SAT1 ≈ 1500 | None | Founder & President (School Newspaper / Slum Art Education / Creative Writing Club), Teaching ultra-light clay to children in under-resourced areas, Published a collection of Chinese essays, Research on Dream of the Red Chamber, Practiced calligraphy for over 10 years + President of Seal Carving Club, Personal website showcasing seal carving, calligraphy, and literary works | Quirky Humanities Explorer |
Student B, who was admitted to Stanford through Sanshidu, is the founder of three organizations (school newspaper, art education club, creative writing club). At the same time, she has practiced seal carving for over 10 years, researched Dream of the Red Chamber, and published a collection of Chinese prose essays.
Student B writes diaries on the rooftop and loves making muffins with blue cheese. It is precisely these seemingly "unrelated to study" hobbies that allowed the Stanford admissions officer to see a flesh-and-blood person.
02 How to Write and Order Activities?
Once you have selected your activities, the next step is how to write that 150-character activity description.
How to Write Titles
Use the formula: "Verb + Scope + Result." Prioritize words that demonstrate specific leadership, such as: Founder, President, Director; avoid vague words like Member or Participant.
Student | Admitted School / Major | Test Scores | Summer Program | Main Activities / Awards | Application Persona |
Student C | University of Chicago Humanities, Classics | GPA 4.32/4.5 TOEFL 115+ SAT1 1550+ SAT2 Math 800 Physics 790 Chemistry 790 | Stanford Humanities Summer Program | Founder of Philosophy Club, Student publication editor, Author of serialized online classical philosophy novel, School Bookstore COO, Chinese painting and calligraphy, Personal website showcasing painting and calligraphy works | Classical Humanities Academic Thinker |
Student C, who was admitted to the University of Chicago through Sanshidu, had four activities led by him: founder of a philosophy club, editor of a student publication, serialized classical philosophy novels online, and Chief Operating Officer of the school bookstore. Each activity can unfold into a story and showcase his subjective initiative.
How to Write Activity Descriptions
Quantify achievements + Start with strong verbs + Speak about growth.
Start every description with a strong verb: e.g., Led, Organized, Published, Mentored.
Use fewer corporate buzzwords: Words like Allocated or Expedited make admissions officers suspect you used a ghostwriter.
Numbers are the most convincing: Quantify scale (e.g., "organized 140 students"), quantify outcomes ("raised $11,000"), and quantify frequency ("trained weekly").
How to Order Activities
The first three items determine the first impression. Admissions officers form 80% of their initial judgment after glancing at the first three activities. Therefore, we recommend putting the activity that best represents your personal character (if any) as the first item.
Starting from the second activity, you can sort them from highest to lowest in terms of caliber/significance and duration.
03 Activities Lists of US Top 20 Admits: What Exactly Are Admissions Officers Looking For?
Ultimately, admissions officers evaluate activities based on three aspects: Are they aligned with your major, do they fit the school's culture, and are they genuine?
Finding a School with a Matching Vibe
Students accepted into the Top 20 usually have one or two themes running through their applications, shaping a deep and well-rounded personal brand through interdisciplinary integration.
Student | Admitted School / Major | Test Scores | Summer Program | Main Activities / Awards | Application Persona |
Student D | Columbia University Art History | School Rank 3/122 AP World History/Biology/Physics (Score of 5) AP English Literature & Composition/2D Art and Design/Calculus (Score of 4) | Sotheby's Institute of Art Summer Program | Founder of school art history club, founder of art journal, museum curator, head of National Art Honor Society, Top 1.5% in National History Day competition, John Locke Essay Competition Highly Commended Award, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards 2 Gold 3 Silver | Interdisciplinary Explorer in Art History |
Student D, who received an offer for Art History from Columbia University through Sanshidu, had a very clear line of activities: founder of the school's art history club, founder of an art journal, museum curator, and head of the National Art Honor Society, while also participating in the Sotheby's Art History Summer Program and the school band.
Her activities perfectly matched Columbia's preference for "urban explorers and cross-cultural communication," showcasing both the depth of art history and interdisciplinary practice.
Activities and Majors Do Not Have to Be Completely "Aligned"
STEM students participating in robotics competitions get a certain boost for engineering applications. However, US universities do not expect you to have your college major path completely planned out in high school.
What matters is your investment, growth, and influence in the activity, rather than whether the activity type matches your major 100%. Extracurricular activities should prioritize what you are interested in, not what you think admissions officers might like.
Activities Must Be Genuine, Continuous, and Deep
Student | Admitted School / Major | Test Scores | Summer Program | Main Activities / Awards | Application Persona |
Student E | Duke University Biology | SAT 1550 (Superscore) Weighted GPA 4.7 5 APs (Score of 5) | UCSC SIP Program UChicago Summer Program | Head of school Red Cross club, Independent research project (gene sequencing for campus plants), Squash varsity team, Innovation project award | Community-Integrated Academic Explorer |
Student E, who was admitted to Duke University's biology program through Sanshidu, had an almost empty awards column. He had few activities, but each was done in depth: head of the school's Red Cross club, independent research project (biology + computer science), and varsity squash team.
Even without competition achievements, he got admitted to a Top 10 university. The secret is that his activities were genuine, had depth, and showed continuous community engagement.
US undergraduate admissions shouldn't be an arms race of activities and awards; it should be a stage that showcases your interesting soul. Only when an extracurricular activity can truly touch you can it possibly touch the admissions officers.
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