I surveyed most of the current members of Dewey Smart, from our college counselors to our SAT tutors, asking just one question:
“What’s the most interesting high school extracurricular you’ve come across?”
People who pursue truly unique extracurriculars have one major thing in common: they demonstrate initiative and courage in the face of risk, adversity, and failure.
From raising chickens to launching digital art portfolios and aerospace experiments, our counselors, tutors, and students really have done it all.
If you're realizing that you (or your student) need to strengthen your college resume, consider applying to Dewey Smart's High School Internship Match program, which guarantees placement at a fast-growing startup. Our startup partners have been backed by leading VCs and accelerators like YCombinator, Tech Stars, and Harvard University's Innovation Labs.
For more details, read how Tiago used the Internship Match Program to get a paid internship at a health tech company and turn it into a compelling college essay for Occidental College.
Ready to get started? Set up a free consultation with our enrollment team.
🎯 At a Glance: What Makes an Extracurricular “Elite”?
- Unique extracurriculars demonstrate initiative, ownership, and courage
- Colleges value measurable impact more than prestige
- Self-created projects often stand out more than packaged programs
- Depth and long-term commitment matter more than quantity
- The strongest activities show risk, creativity, and growth
If you want a deeper framework for building this kind of profile from scratch, read our guide to extracurricular development.
Ranking Criteria for Extracurriculars on College Applications
Every college has its own review process. However, across competitive admissions offices, five themes consistently emerge.
We devised a rubric for ranking extracurricular activities based on the factors most valued by selective colleges especially institutions on colleges on your target list.
Each activity is scored out of 50 points, with a maximum of 10 points per category.
1. Difficulty / Risk
How challenging was the activity? What expertise was required? What were the consequences of failure? Did the student operate outside their comfort zone?
2. Uniqueness
How rare or original is this activity? Did the student approach it creatively or innovatively?
3. Impact
Who benefited? What measurable outcomes resulted? Did it serve a community or produce meaningful results?
4. Initiative
Did the student create this opportunity or simply join it? How much planning and ownership did it require?
5. Commitment
How long did the activity last? Did it require sustained effort, endurance, or resilience?
If you're applying to public institutions like the UC system, you should also review our breakdown of extracurricular excellence for UC applications, since their evaluation framework emphasizes sustained impact and leadership.
Concerned about how your resume stacks up? Set up a free consultation with the Dewey Smart team.
Unique Extracurricular Examples (Scores 30–36)
Raising Chickens in a Suburb
This student was an ordinary city teenager — except for one thing: he raised chickens while caring for his younger brothers. He later wrote a powerful essay about responsibility and growth.
- Difficulty/Risk: 5/10
- Uniqueness: 7/10
- Impact: 8/10
- Initiative: 3/10
- Commitment: 7/10
Score: 30/50
Artistic Environmentalist
A student designed playful trash cans to encourage proper waste disposal, turned the concept into a patent-backed business proposal, and won first place in a design competition.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 7/10
- Impact: 8/10
- Initiative: 7/10
- Commitment: 2/10
Score: 31/50
Poetry Radio
A student studying English Literature at UCLA wrote hundreds of poems annually, built a blog with 200+ followers, and read weekly on a poetry radio program.
Creative production combined with public performance and digital publishing.
- Difficulty/Risk: 6/10
- Uniqueness: 8/10
- Impact: 6/10
- Initiative: 6/10
- Commitment: 7/10
Score: 33/50
Self-Taught Engineer and Pyrotechnician
One student built 3D game replicas using Arduino boards and embedded code. Another learned mechanical engineering independently and built an electric skateboard from scratch.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 7/10
- Impact: 6/10
- Initiative: 8/10
- Commitment: 6/10
Score: 34/50
Sidewalk Civil Engineer
A student helped construct sidewalks so elementary students could safely walk to school — hands-on civic engineering with measurable community benefit.
- Difficulty/Risk: 6/10
- Uniqueness: 7/10
- Impact: 10/10
- Initiative: 7/10
- Commitment: 6/10
Score: 36/50
Slime Business
An economics student launched a slime company and sold over 1,700 units in one year using Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. She reinvested profits into a study abroad trip to Italy.
- Difficulty/Risk: 5/10
- Uniqueness: 9/10
- Impact: 7/10
- Initiative: 8/10
- Commitment: 7/10
Score: 36/50
For more examples of entrepreneurial and high-impact activities, explore our guide on standout activities for top university admission.
Unique Extracurricular Examples (Scores 37–41)
Veterinary Pharmacist
A student helped in her family’s pharmacy and later interned at an animal clinic, handling dosage preparation, cataloging, and research documentation.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 6/10
- Impact: 8/10
- Initiative: 8/10
- Commitment: 8/10
Score: 37/50
Civil Air Patrol Program
A student learned to fly, practiced emergency leadership, and trained in aerospace education.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 8/10
- Impact: 9/10
- Initiative: 6/10
- Commitment: 8/10
Score: 38/50
Barista to Video Game Designer
After noticing inefficiencies at Starbucks, a student built a simulated ordering system and later developed a game using Unity, implementing C# scripting and user-experience optimization.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 9/10
- Impact: 9/10
- Initiative: 10/10
- Commitment: 5/10
Score: 40/50
Earring Making Business
A sustainability-minded student launched an upcycled jewelry brand using 14k gold and sterling silver, fulfilling custom orders via social platforms.
- Difficulty/Risk: 7/10
- Uniqueness: 8/10
- Impact: 8/10
- Initiative: 9/10
- Commitment: 8/10
Score: 40/50
Mountaineer
An engineering student completed all 46 Adirondack High Peaks — a multi-year physical and mental challenge.
- Difficulty/Risk: 9/10
- Uniqueness: 9/10
- Impact: 6/10
- Initiative: 6/10
- Commitment: 10/10
Score: 40/50
Spotify Artist and Self-Learned Technician
A student released original music, analyzed performance data, performed live, built custom PCs, and rebuilt car engines independently.
- Difficulty/Risk: 9/10
- Uniqueness: 7/10
- Impact: 4/10
- Initiative: 10/10
- Commitment: 10/10
Score: 40/50
Interactive Fiction Author
A linguistics student wrote a 40,000-word branching interactive novel and published it online.
- Difficulty/Risk: 9/10
- Uniqueness: 8/10
- Impact: 7/10
- Initiative: 6/10
- Commitment: 10/10
Score: 40/50
Top Performing Extracurriculars (Scores 41–50)
Playwright and Production Manager
A theater student wrote and produced a play about Alzheimer’s, managing casting, budgeting, and staging.
Score: 41/50
Space Research
A student designed antibacterial nanopillar experiments for a “Cubes in Space” program and proposed astronaut suit innovations based on UV test data.
Score: 41/50
Cytotoxicity Researcher and Founder
Pooja Ramadas researched cytotoxicity, soil bacteria, and surgical hydrogel glue, while co-founding a medical organization serving 300+ students.
Score: 44/50
Youtuber
A student built a YouTube channel to 100,000+ subscribers, mastering storytelling, analytics, marketing, and monetization.
Score: 46/50
Digital Artist for Roblox
A self-taught 3D artist completed commissions for indie game studios and built a professional digital portfolio.
Score: 46/50
Internationally Ranked Ping Pong Player
An internationally ranked table tennis player demonstrated elite discipline and long-term excellence.
Score: 48/50
Best Extracurricular: Drag Queen and Olympic Sailor
A renaissance student who balanced Olympic-level sailing with drag performance artistry.
Score: 50/50
Final Word on Extracurriculars and College Admissions
While high scores on the SAT & ACT and a strong GPA matter, extracurricular distinction is what separates competitive applicants.
The most important part is not how unusual the activity is, it’s what you achieved through it.
Even something common can become extraordinary if you scale it. If you’re unsure how to present your involvement clearly and strategically, read our guide on how to fill out the Common App activities section.
You’ll also benefit from reviewing our deeper breakdown of standout activities for top university admission.
The recurring pattern among these examples is clear:
Many students self-learned, built their own projects, and created impact from scratch.
You don’t need a prestigious pre-college program to stand out. You need initiative.
How to Apply This: 3-Step Action Plan
- Audit Your Interests Identify 3 skills you enjoy and 2 real-world problems you care about solving.
- Create, Don’t Wait Launch a project; blog, nonprofit, research initiative, digital product, business, or community campaign.
- Track Impact Measure results: revenue, followers, beneficiaries, hours served, or published outcomes.
Need help identifying your standout path? Schedule a free consultation with a Dewey Smart admissions counselor here.