Common Data Set · Section C7
Of the 143 colleges with Common Data Set filings in Trajecta's dataset, 38 rate extracurricular activities very important in their admissions decisions, 66 rate it important, 31 considered, and 8 say it is not considered — as self-reported in each school's CDS section C7 ("Extracurricular activities").
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Extracurricular activities are everything you commit time to outside class: clubs, sports, music, research, jobs, family responsibilities, and independent projects. Selective colleges read for depth, initiative, and impact — a few sustained commitments with leadership or tangible results beat a long list of memberships. This is the core of the "well-rounded class" that holistic review builds.
Princeton University#1
Stanford University#2
University of Chicago#6
Rice University#7
Yale University#8
Vanderbilt University#10
Duke University#15
Cornell University#18
Bowdoin College#19
Pomona College#20
Claremont McKenna College#21
Dartmouth College#22
Northwestern University#23
Amherst College#25
University of Notre Dame#26
Washington and Lee University#32
Emory University#33
Carnegie Mellon University#37
University of Florida#40
Haverford College#44
University of California-Irvine#49
Babson College#52
Middlebury College#53
Bates College#57
Carleton College#61
William & Mary#69
University of Miami#78
Vassar College#83
Brigham Young University#84
Santa Clara University#89
University of Rochester#90
Case Western Reserve University#94
Tulane University of Louisiana#97
Texas A&M University-College Station#105
Syracuse University#138
Pepperdine University#229
United States Air Force Academy
United States Naval Academy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology#3
California Institute of Technology#4
Johns Hopkins University#9
University of Pennsylvania#11
Brown University#12
Williams College#13
Columbia University in the City of New York#14
University of California-Berkeley#16
University of California-Los Angeles#17
Washington University in St Louis#24
Wellesley College#27
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus#28
Colby College#29
University of Virginia-Main Campus#34
Georgetown University#38
University of Southern California#39
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill#41
Harvey Mudd College#42
Colgate University#43
University of California-San Diego#45
Northeastern University#46
Barnard College#47
Boston University#48
Boston College#50
Tufts University#55
University of Maryland-College Park#59
Grinnell College#60
University of California-Davis#64
Wake Forest University#65
Lehigh University#66
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign#67
Smith College#70
University of Washington-Seattle Campus#73
University of Wisconsin-Madison#74
Villanova University#76
Florida State University#77
University of Richmond#79
College of the Holy Cross#82
Purdue University-Main Campus#86
George Washington University#91
Colorado College#96
Rutgers University-New Brunswick#106
Skidmore College#108
Brandeis University#110
University of Connecticut#114
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute#117
Ohio State University-Main Campus#120
Southern Methodist University#131
Texas Christian University#134
University of Massachusetts-Amherst#135
Denison University#147
Auburn University#153
Fordham University#156
University of Delaware#157
Worcester Polytechnic Institute#176
American University#181
University of California-Santa Cruz#183
University of Colorado Boulder#185
Michigan State University#193
University of California-Merced#264
University of Arizona#269
Towson University#328
Texas Tech University#336
The University of Alabama#339
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University#345
United States Military Academy
Harvard University#5
Swarthmore College#30
Davidson College#35
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor#36
Hamilton College#51
New York University#54
Wesleyan University#58
The University of Texas at Austin#62
University of California-Santa Barbara#71
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo#75
University of Georgia#81
Stony Brook University#85
Binghamton University#88
Clemson University#103
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University#109
University of Central Florida#125
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities#133
Loyola Marymount University#144
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville#145
University of Maryland-Baltimore County#158
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus#164
Indiana University-Bloomington#170
University of South Carolina-Columbia#187
Baylor University#199
University of Houston#201
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus#207
Drexel University#208
Howard University#289
University of Oregon#304
University of Kentucky#371
Temple University#513There is no magic number — depth beats count. Two to four sustained commitments with growing responsibility and real impact read far better than ten shallow memberships. The Common App has ten activity slots, but strong applications often shine with fewer, deeper entries.
Yes. Admissions offices explicitly count part-time work and caring for family members as activities — they demonstrate responsibility and time management as well as any club. List them like any other commitment, with hours per week.
Of the 143 colleges with Common Data Set filings in Trajecta's dataset, 38 rate extracurricular activities very important in admissions, 66 rate it important, 31 considered, and 8 say it is not considered. Colleges rating it very important include Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Rice University, Yale University.
Ratings are self-reported by each college in its Common Data Set, section C7. Every school links to its full data page. Explore the college rankings →
