For many parents this may come as a shock, but colleges don’t necessarily favor the students with the longest list of extracurricular activities.
“Right now, the buzz word is really being ‘angular,’ ” says Lee Bierer, an independent college adviser who runs College Admissions Strategies in Charlotte, N.C. “Colleges aren’t looking for what I call ‘serial joiners’ ” who simply show up at various club meetings, she says. “What they’re looking for is a sustained interest, a commitment, responsibility, taking on a leadership role, showing commitment.”
