Many universities and colleges look for leadership skills or leadership potential and this leadership position can help you stand amongst the crowd. These positions can be founder or the chair of a school club or other organisation, captain of a sports team or  in charge of a school campaign. This will help show your initiative and confidence to lead a group or project.

Academic related activities provide you with a way to deepen your understanding of a certain subject or pursue an interest. This will show how passionate you are in the subject area and that you are eager to learn more. These could be chemistry clubs, mathematics competitions, MUN, debating etc. 

Participating in sports shows that you have a strong sense of commitment and that you are willing to work hard to achieve your goals. Playing team sports, such as basketball, volleyball, also lets universities and colleges know that you have been able to function as part of a team. Individual sports, such as track and field and swimming, generally takes up a vast amount of time and requires significant effort to develop skills. When you include your sports experience on your application, universities and colleges take note of this for these reasons. Athletic and sport participation shows universities and colleges that you know how to follow directions while working with your peers and that you have discipline and team-building skills. 

Any volunteering or community service work would show your willingness to help, improve or support individuals or local and the wider community. These could include engaging in a community service project, teaching English to underprivileged children, habitat for humanity, fundraising etc. It is a great way to show your contribution towards your community and, most importantly, to critically reflect upon your service experiences and how these experiences have changed who you are and perspectives of seeing things differently. Very often, these experiences would have huge positive impacts on students and universities and colleges would love to see your personal development and growth!

Putting creative activities on your application can show you are a world rounded student and have a wide range of interests. For example, being a part of a theatre group, art club, music group can show that you have a lot of curiosity and are open to new experiences that don’t necessarily have anything to do with your main area of interest in school. Other examples include pottery, sculpture, the film team and yearbook. Creative pursuits can also show colleges that you have the dedication needed to develop certain skills and talents. You can also demonstrate your time management skills, collaboration skills or even being out of your comfort zone!

Multicultural activities focus on increasing awareness and understanding of various cultures and ethnic and racial backgrounds. Being involved in these activities may be an important step toward positive racial, ethnic, or sexual-identity development. Some great examples would be social justice club, AREA, LGBT club etc. 

If you have an interest in developing your technological skills then you may also include it on your application. Universities and colleges generally expect students to have the basic skills such as typing skill, online research skills and experience with commonly used software programs such as excel and word. Having advanced technological skills means that you have put in the time and effort to learn something challenging and willingness to learn something new which can be quite impressive. Some examples could include computer programming, film editing, adobe photoshop, photography skills.

Work experience and internship are a great way to show universities and colleges that you have already been exposed to your chosen field. For example, students who have an interest in business could work in the marketing department or students who are passionate about sciences could assist a university professor with their research and work in a lab. These experiences illustrate your dedication to your field and provide that you have had some hands-on experience on a professional level. If you are unsure which field you would like to pursue then working as a waiter at a cafe/restaurant or salesman at a clothing store can also be great experiences. These experiences will allow you to develop your communication skills, problem solving skills but more importantly understanding what it’s like to work in the real world and to show that you are responsible enough to hold down a job. This is not a must because it is hard for high school students to find work experience and internships.