What a Former Admissions Officer Really Thinks About Your Extracurriculars
Curious about what actually makes an extracurricular profile stand out?
Join Irma Encarnación, Former Associate Director of Admissions at Dartmouth College, on 21st May, 2026, at 5 PM PT/ 8 PM ET on Zoom. This session will break down how admissions officers evaluate extracurricular activities, what separates strong applicants from the rest, why depth and impact matter more than participation, and how students can build a profile that stands out in highly selective college applications.
Join Irma Encarnación, Former Associate Director of Admissions at Dartmouth College, on 21st May, 2026, at 5 PM PT/ 8 PM ET on Zoom. This session will break down how admissions officers evaluate extracurricular activities, what separates strong applicants from the rest, why depth and impact matter more than participation, and how students can build a profile that stands out in highly selective college applications.
Register now
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Turn your extracurriculars into a college application that actually stands out.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a former admissions officer and gain a clear understanding of how top colleges actually assess extracurricular activities.
You will learn:
01
How admissions officers actually read and evaluate your extracurricular list
02
Why depth and impact matter more than the number of activities you do
03
What separates a forgettable activities list from one that gets you admitted
04
How research fits into a strong extracurricular profile, and when it makes a difference
Learn from
admissions experts
About the speaker:
Dr. Jorge Avila is the Assistant Director at UCLA’s Undergraduate Research Centers, where he leads programs that support underrepresented students in STEM research. With a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience/Psychology and postdoctoral work at Rutgers, he brings extensive experience in neuroscience, substance abuse research, and collaborative scientific projects. Dr. Avila has published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at major conferences, and specializes in developing innovative research methodologies in neuroscience.
About the speaker:
Chris Haley is a Harvard University graduate with over five years of experience as a professional college counsellor. He has guided students through hundreds of successful applications to top U.S. universities, including the Ivy League, MIT, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. Chris also has a strong track record of helping students gain admission to elite summer and research programs such as USC SHINE, LaunchX, UCIxGATI BEAM, and COSMOS. In addition, he has mentored students preparing for prestigious STEM competitions like the AMC10 and the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO).
How Indigo Research works
Indigo Research mentors high school students to produce exceptional, publishable research. With a curriculum designed by Harvard and Oxford graduates, students work with top university faculty or PhD fellows, building intellectual depth and boosting their academic profile.
Our students achieve real outcomes – journal publications, competition wins, and admissions to the world’s leading universities. Indigo students have a 33% Ivy League acceptance rate – over three times the global average – and a 22% acceptance rate to Oxford and Cambridge.
