One of the biggest differences between the way that admissions works in the US versus practically every other country around the world is the emphasis on extracurriculars. The Common App has ten spots for extracurriculars, and if you spend any time on College Confidential, you’d think that every senior in America has cured ten different major diseases or started ten different multimillion dollar companies.
Of course, that is not the case.
However, it is something that causes an awful lot of stress, so a lot of families are absolutely incredulous when I tell them that extracurriculars simply don’t matter outside of the United States. Rather than know you’re a good person or that you’re engaged with your community in some way, international universities would rather know that you’re someone who is interested in whatever it is that you propose to study.
That’s where supercurriculars come in.
Many supercurriculars count as extracurriculars, and some extracurriculars can be supercurriculars, but the two are far from interchangeable.
What Counts as a Supercurricular for College Abroad?
Simply put, a supercurricular is something that helps you demonstrate your interest in a subject area. At the most basic definition, simply reading a book in your field counts as a supercurricular. In fact, this is often a quite popular one; getting ahead and demonstrating passion for a subject is a great way to get ahead in admissions at places like Oxford or Cambridge.
However, it doesn’t have to be completely solitary to count as a supercurricular. When you’re applying to UK universities, for example, things like sports don’t matter. Clubs typically don’t either, unless they are relevant. For example, being in FBLA, the Future Business Leaders of America, would stand out if you were applying to a business degree. That said, being in student government won’t, because it’s largely irrelevant.
Let’s step back and look at this through the lens of US vs. international college admissions. College admissions committees in the US often say that they want a well-rounded class, but made up of ‘spiky’ students. That means that they want students who excel in a number of different areas, with the thinking being that enough ‘spikes’ makes for a well-rounded class.
International universities want students who are passionate in their field of study, and frankly couldn’t care about the rest. Sports, irrelevant activities, and family background just don’t matter. Instead, passion about a subject area is what is important.
Leveraging Supercurriculars for International Universities
International applications leave very little room for extracurriculars, so you might be asking how to leverage supercurriculars. The answer is simple – the personal statement. Almost universally, the personal statement required by international universities is some variation of “Why this subject at this university?” Even for UCAS, which uses the same personal statement for five applications, it is subject-focused. Therefore, expounding on your supercurriculars is a great way to not only demonstrate interest, but gives you something worth talking about in your personal statement. After all, saying “I’m applying for physics because I got a 5 on the Physics C Mechanics exam” is one thing, but being able to say “My love of physics is demonstrated through my interest in astrophysics, as evidenced by time working at an observatory,” is completely another.
That said, your personal statement is not the only place where your supercurriculars should shine through. Also consider asking that your letter of recommendation mention them; anything to further support the theme of “I am passionate about this subject” will almost always help your case for admission.
One Cautionary Note
Please take heed of one thing – unlike in the US, where subjective details can make up for an otherwise weak application, no supercurricular is going to make up for poor academic performance. Supercurriculars will never make up for a low AP or IB result, no matter how great it might be. Unlike the United States, European universities especially will always emphasize academics over everything else. As long as you keep this in mind, you’ll be fine.
Can’t It Be Both?
If you’re starting to think that a great supercurricular can also be a great extracurricular, you’d be absolutely right. Things like Science Olympiad or Boys/Girls State stand out to American universities, and if done properly, can stand out to international universities as well. The key point is to make sure that your passion for the subject that you’re applying for shines through; if you can manage that, you’ve got a great shot at demonstrating that you deserve a place in their class.