When I’m deciding on extracurricular activities for college applications, help me to track my achievements and leadership roles, so that I can present a well-rounded profile to potential universities.
Sophia, a diligent 16-year-old student, spent her afternoons engrossed in her usual activities—studying, engaging in sports, and volunteering. But lately, she found herself in a quandary. Despite her involvement in various activities, she felt uncertain about presenting a well-rounded profile for college applications. She had been doing the same type of volunteering, working with seniors in a variety of ways. She also was becoming unclear about the ways her habitual activities were supporting her future goals of attending an Ivy League college.
In the midst of her uncertainty, Sophia’s brain buzzed with activity, particularly in regions tied to decision-making. She had been following the same habits for a few years now. She faced a crossroads, struggling to strategize effectively for her future. Her future was new to her, and no memories or emotion would help.
Noticing her daughter’s concern, Sophia’s mother sat down for a heart-to-heart conversation. She encouraged Sophia to consider how her current activities could contribute to a holistic college application. Her mother asked her a few questions to ponder on.
Sophia pondered deeply, evaluating the relevance of her pursuits in the context of future aspirations—Step 1 Awareness. She also looked at the metrics of the applications and the impact of extracurricular activities to determine that indeed this was worthy of her time.
Inspired by this discussion, Sophia dove into Step 2—seeking information on the rewards and problems of tracking her activities to improve the quality of her application.
As she researched, Sophia crafted outcome statements—Step 3—visualizing a comprehensive profile that encapsulated her diverse skills and experiences within a specified timeframe, considering how to track her achievements and leadership roles. She scoured online resources and connected with mentors to comprehend the significance of diverse extracurricular engagements in college applications.
Yet, Step 4 posed a challenge. Sophia felt overwhelmed while ranking and selecting the most crucial activities. Feeling lost amidst her options, she sought guidance from her mother, who helped her identify and prioritize the extracurricular that aligned with her passions and academic goals. She had not selected a distinct time frame to make the decisions. When she did this, it clarified the selection as some were not available.
With this newfound clarity, Sophia embraced Step 5, committing herself to the selected activities. She would use these to track her involvement and make sure they were in line with her goals.
She meticulously organized a calendar—Step 6—dedicating specific time blocks for each pursuit to maximize her engagement, including sequencing actions and scheduling supporting assets as she may need to get the actions completed.
Sophia embarked on Step 7, taking tangible actions to deepen her involvement in the chosen extracurricular, making a record of what she did and including how it was supporting the goals.
However, as she progressed, she encountered uncertainties about the impact of her efforts. Some of the activities as she reviewed her record were redundant and did not support the well-rounded extracurricular activity record that she wanted.
In her moment of doubt, Sophia turned to her mother once again for advice. Together, they evaluated the progress made, identified areas for improvement, and recalibrated her strategy—Step 9. With this new, more focused plan built from her original plan in step 6, she was able to continue executing her action plan and calendar with the final result of it being what she wanted.
Through persistent modifications and refinements, Sophia eventually achieved her optimal outcome—a comprehensive profile showcasing her diverse achievements. She shared her journey with peers, advocating the importance of thoughtful engagement in extracurricular—Step 10.
Making progress from her habitual activities that she had grown accustomed to, towards a more well-rounded profile and refined selection of activities was a result of her system 2 decision making. The learning became her benchmark, measured against her initial struggle to curate a balanced profile for college applications and impressed the entrance committee.