Admissions Insight: What Makes Extracurriculars Excellent?

About Devery Doran

Devery Doran worked as a Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard University for four years and has read application essays at UC-Berkeley in addition to her current role as a college admissions consultant. A graduate of Harvard with a master’s degree from the University of Texas, Devery has spent her career helping diverse groups of young people unlock their potential through educational and career opportunities.

About the class

Everyone agrees that extracurricular activities matter on your college applications. But past that consensus, applicants struggle to choose and talk about the activities they pursue outside of school. Is it better to be well-rounded than focused? Is community service a requirement? Should you pursue activities that “look good” at the expense of those you really enjoy?

Get clarity on how schools view extracurriculars in this live, interactive session with former Ivy League admissions officer Devery Doran. She’ll break down the ways that applicants use their extracurricular activities to stand out, and the extracurricular profiles that admissions officers tend to see through as inauthentic. And you’ll leave with a framework for how to choose and pursue the activities that are best suited for you, and how to discuss and frame them in your application essays.