Top 5 Sample Extracurricular Activities Essays 2024-2025
by
Indigo Research Team
&
Published:
January 29, 2025
Last Updated:
January 29, 2025
Extracurricular activities can be a great tool for college applications because they show the admissions committee your interests, talents, and personality. When applying for college admissions, some institutions might ask you to write an essay about extracurricular activities you've participated in. For these institutions, your classroom performance is not all it takes to be accepted. They want to see how you interact with your peers, tackle challenges, or lead a team. In this guide, we've come up with some sample extracurricular activities essays to inspire you as you write yours.
These extracurricular essay examples will help you showcase your achievements in the best possible way, whether you've participated in sports, arts, leadership, or volunteering. We'll also cover some useful tips for writing a memorable essay for your college application. By the end, you'll know how to write an outstanding extracurricular activities essay.
Extracurricular activities are things you do besides classes that show off your talents and interests. These activities could be sports, arts, volunteering, leadership, internships, and much more. What makes them "extracurricular" is that they highlight attributes that academics don't fully capture – such as collaboration, innovation, and initiative.
Colleges care about reading your essay on extracurricular activities because it gives them a more complete picture of who you are. Participating in these activities shows you can make time for yourself, the people around you, and your interests. So, if you run a student group, work at a local shelter, or learn a musical instrument, these activities could reflect how hard you've worked and what impact you've made.
Here's what Stanford University says about extracurricular activities:
“Learning about your extracurricular activities and non-academic interests helps us understand your potential contributions to the Stanford community. Students often assume our primary concern is the number of activities in which a student participates. In fact, an exceptional depth of experience in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. In general, we want to understand the impact you have had at your job, in your family, in a club, in your school, or in the larger community, and we want to learn of the impact that experience has had on you."
Although not always compulsory, some college applications require an extracurricular activity essay. These include colleges like Georgetown University, University of California schools, and Howard University.
Extracurricular activities are diverse in scope and commitment. Some common examples include:
These activities help you to practice teamwork, leadership, creativity and commitment — all important qualities for college applications.
Below are some essay prompts for the 2024-2025 session along with creative extracurricular activities essay examples. Study these write-ups to get inspiration when writing yours:
Essay prompt: Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words)
The key to writing good sample extracurricular activities essays for Stanford University is briefness. You have just 50 words to tell a story that captures something unique about you. Although brevity is key, avoid summarizing your resume. Instead, write a short engaging experience that demonstrates your passion, leadership, or unique approach to problem solving.
Don’t make generalities when writing, go into detail, but make every word count. Specific information keeps your essay relatable.
Sample: In my sophomore year, I began teaching my younger brother piano—a task I assumed would be straightforward. It wasn’t. My brother struggled with reading sheet music and often got frustrated. To help, I created visual aids, broke songs into simpler sections, and encouraged him with small successes. Over time, he grew more confident and played an entire piece at a family event.
Essay prompt: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved (½ page, single-spaced).
To properly write about this Georgetown extra curricular activities essay, start with something you love to do in school or summer, and have participated in actively. Keep it focused on the purpose of the activity and how it has affected you personally. Indicate specific achievements that portray your commitment or abilities.
You have about 250 words for the essay, so get vivid, use descriptive language to build a connection with the reader. Conclude by considering how the experience fits into the mission of Georgetown or with your academic and personal objectives.
Sample: Sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor of our community center, I heard the words that would influence my life: "Art is activism." I had joined a mural painting program to explore my love for art, but what I found was a journey that taught me the power of storytelling and the messiness of collaboration. Our first project? A mural celebrating diversity—painted on the side of an old grocery store infamous for graffiti battles between rival neighborhoods.
Our team of ten was as colorful as our palettes: Mia, the perfectionist with her sketches; Carlos, the dreamer who couldn’t stick to the plan; and Ms. Raina, our ever-patient instructor. Tensions flared as we debated designs. Should we depict hands of different skin tones, or something abstract? One day, Carlos surprised us by painting an enormous phoenix—unapproved—spanning half the wall. Mia was furious, but Ms. Raina saw an opportunity. “Let’s work with it,” she said. We transformed the phoenix into a symbol of unity, its wings sheltering a mosaic of cultures.
On the mural’s unveiling day, I felt proud until a spray can hissed in the distance. One of the graffiti artists returned to mark his “territory.” Instead of confrontation, I handed him a brush and invited him to contribute. To my surprise, he added intricate designs that complemented our work.
That mural didn’t just transform the wall—it transformed me. I learned that art, like life, thrives in chaos. And sometimes, the best stories are the ones you don’t plan to tell.
Essay prompt: Please briefly elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience of particular significance to you. (Maximum: 175 words)
When writing this extra curricular activities essay, pick something you love that reflects your dedication and your development.
Don’t make lists of tasks you handled but instead talk about how the experience changed your character or outlook. Why was it meaningful? Did it challenge you? Did it equip you with abilities or values you carry with you now? Get specific on what happened or how it influenced you.
Sample: When I first picked up a violin in third grade, it squeaked more than it sang. By high school, however, I had discovered the transformative power of music through my role in Harmony for Hope, a student-led orchestra that performs for underserved communities.
Our most memorable project was a fundraiser for local families recovering from a devastating flood. The stakes were high—we had only two weeks to prepare a full concert. Rehearsals were chaotic. Strings snapped, tempers flared, and one trumpet player stormed out after failing to master his solo. But on concert night, everything fell into place. The music flowed like the river that had once swelled, and the audience—many still rebuilding their homes—smiled and clapped in unison.
After the final bow, a young girl approached me, clutching a makeshift cardboard violin she had crafted. “I want to play like you someday,” she said. That moment crystallized what Harmony for Hope meant: more than melodies, it was about resilience and inspiration. Now I am more intentional about mastery in all of my endeavors. After all, anything worth doing is worth doing well.
Essay prompt: Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity. (250 words).
The extracurricular essay prompt at the University of Florida, requires you to write about a real life commitment. What’s important is not that you do the activity, but why it matters to you. Think of an instance when an extracurricular activity gave you new insight or ideas about your value or purpose.
Share how the commitment changed your direction and how you plan to use your newfound ideas in the future. You have 250 words to express yourself, so make it specific and reflective.
Sample: My grandma and I get up with the sun every Saturday morning to work in our family garden. It's a task I began as a pastime and has now become a passion I enjoy during the weekends. Hours of hard work and care have produced an abundance of kale, tomatoes, and sunflowers in the garden that was once an empty space.
I started out thinking of gardening as a chore, but last year, when my grandmother got ill, the garden became my full responsibility. I was taught to deal with failures such as the plague that gnawed at our kale, or the drought that dried the ground to dust. Dealing with these setbacks in addition to the laborious tasks of clearing weeds and watering plants was the most challenging part of it all. But each setback taught me grit, patience, and improvisation.
Somehow everything turned around. The pests situation was gone, but I still had to water the garden thoroughly everyday. At the end of it all, we had a bountiful harvest. So bountiful that we started putting excess produce into a local food bank. I was proud to see families picking up fresh vegetables. In that moment, the garden no longer seemed a family practice, but an instrument of social change.
I learned a lot from this experience. In the University of Florida, I would like to connect students to food desert community gardens, developing long-term remedies for malnutrition. The garden helped me learn to take care of both plants and people.
Essay prompt: Vanderbilt offers a community where students find a balance between their academic and social experiences. Please briefly elaborate on how one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences has influenced you. (250 words)
This Vanderbilt prompt asks you to consider your personal or professional background, as well as how you manage your time to do both. When writing the extracurricular activities essay, you need to consider activities that have made a big impact in your life or perspective.
Here you need to focus on abilities, values, or knowledge you’ve acquired and relate them to your capacity to adapt or thrive in different environments. Also, talk about how your experience prepared you for Vanderbilt’s campus.
Sample: The spotlight hit me, and my voice wavered as I delivered the opening monologue of Echoes of Home, a play my multicultural drama troupe wrote to share immigrant experiences. My character, a girl who fled political unrest, had lines drawn directly from interviews we conducted with local families. “When they left, it was like taking my roots from the soil,” I said, channeling the emotions of a woman who had fled Sudan.
Rehearsals were emotionally charged. Mateo, a sophomore from El Salvador, broke down during a scene where his character confronted cultural erasure. “This feels too real,” he whispered, stepping off stage. We rallied around him, revising the scene to honor his experience while giving him space to heal. It was the first time I saw art’s ability to hold space for pain and transformation.
When performance day arrived, a young boy in the audience clutched his mother’s hand as she wiped away tears. Later, she approached me, sharing that she’d lived through similar struggles and never thought anyone would care to listen. It hit me then: our stories didn’t just entertain; they gave people a voice.
Theater taught me empathy, leadership, and the importance of collaboration. At Vanderbilt, I plan to join cultural organizations and continue creating spaces for diverse stories. Whether writing scripts, directing, or acting, I’ll carry forward the lessons learned from Echoes of Home. I now understand that the stage is more than a platform—it’s a bridge between worlds.
Here are some practical tips to help improve your essay:
Athletic, leadership, and community service events are great, but which ones should you write about? The catch here is to think beyond categories and focus more on impact. Choose an extracurricular that interests you or that has notable success. Avoid one-offs or activities that don't inspire you. Use the following questions as a guiding light when choosing an activity to write about
Talk about epic experiences and accomplishments. But if a less popular activity expresses your personality and future interest, you may also write about it even though you didn't win an award.
Extracurricular essays usually tell a story about how you resolved a challenge or the unexpected lessons you learned. The essay prompt will help you identify the angle, use it as a guide to frame your narrative. For example, the Stanford University essay prompt asks you to “...elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities…”. Here, you'll assume a problem-solving angle. You will describe the problem you faced during your extracurricular, steps you took to resolve it and what effects it had.
On the other hand, some essays prompts like Vanderbilt University ask you to “…elaborate on how one of your extracurricular activities has influenced you.” Such essays require an unexpected takeaway. You don't only talk about the challenge you faced, but mention the valuable lessons it taught you, whether it's the value of teamwork or leadership. Share a new view of how the exercise changed your life.
Combine past, present, and future tenses to make a smooth flow. You can, for instance, write about your experience in past tense: "I won my debate team"; you can write in present tense to describe it: "This helped me be stronger"; you can use future tense to talk about goals: "I want to mentor young debaters."
Don’t limit yourself to present tense alone because that is not enough for clarity and thought.
Using clichés in your essay generalizes your writing and steals its uniqueness. Cliches give the reader a general idea, but fails to immerse them in your story. Instead of cliches, write detailed sentences that show (not tell) readers what you mean.
For example, instead of saying, “I learned the value of hard work,” describe a moment: “Waking up at 5 a.m. to practice violin, I realized that being persistent doesn’t mean you will become perfect, but it can help you improve.”
Admissions officers want to hear about your thoughts, not a replay of what happened. Instead of writing down things such as "studied for hours" or “volunteered at an animal shelter," describe what those experiences did for you. For example, explain how your skepticism at a Math Olympiad quickly transformed into admiration for peers’ knowledge.
Think about your feelings—excitement, frustration, inspiration, — and associate them with your development. This way, your essay is more likely to reveal your vulnerability and genuineness, which is very enticing to the reader. Internals make your essay more than just a narrative of what happened; it’s a narrative of what you did.
To write a detailed and descriptive essay, you must consider the 5 W’s — who, what, when, where, and why. For instance, instead of saying, "I supervised a cleanup," Write: "In Spring 2022, I supervised a cleanup at our local park, and brought 30 volunteers to work to reduce our growing litter problem." These extra little details give context to your essay.
At the same time, you have to give reasons for what you did and what you learned. Did you learn to work together, or did it lead you into environmental activism? Highlight the inner effects of the experience. A well-balanced essay uses the five W’s to set the stage and engage the reader.
Extracurricular activities develop your personality and create good anecdotes for your college essays. By learning how to write an extracurricular essay, you can share your progress, passions, and influence with admission committees. Make sure you highlight the best moments that demonstrate your values and make your essay as detailed as possible.
Study the extracurricular activity essay examples in this guide to get inspired. With a little creativity and hard work, you will come up with an essay that describes you in the best way possible!
All of the Indigo Research programs are examples of extracurricular activity that trains students in scientific research and problem-solving. At Indigo Research, you get to work with top professors & academia, work on real-world problems, and develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities to differentiate you in college applications.
