Extracurriculars I Wish I Knew About Earlier 🎨

Hey y’all,

On my first day of high school, I rushed into the guidance office to ask my counselor about how to get into the Ivy League.

But unfortunately, my school had rarely sent students to top colleges. So I took to websites like Reddit and College Confidential to understand what it takes to get in.

I spent countless hours analyzing the profiles of admitted students, paying most attention to their activities. Here are the ones I wish someone had told me about earlier.

(Oh, and before we dive in, we’re having a sale over at Next Admit! Use code “GOHAR” for 10% off our College Essay Review service.)

🧠 MITES

MITES is an academic enrichment program hosted at MIT, particularly for students from underrepresented or underserved communities. It’s a free, yet selective, program that can equip you for a future in STEM!

Many of my friends did MITES and loved their experience.

🔬 RSI

This is another rigorous STEM opportunity at MIT. RSI is a free, highly-prestigious summer program during which students take STEM courses and work on their own research projects.

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if I would’ve gotten in had I applied, but it’s a great opportunity for anyone interested in research.

🏅 Olympiads

These are academic competitions in fields like math, biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science.

Olympiads span from the local level all the way to the international level with competitions like IMO, IBO, IChO, IPhO, and IOI.

I met a surprising number of these Olympiad medalists during college.

🎨 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

These awards highlight achievement in creative fields, such as writing, visual art, film, and more. Winning a Scholastic Key Award is an amazing look for anyone’s college application.

🎓 Coca-Cola Scholars

The Coca-Cola Scholars program offers achievement-based scholarships to graduating high school seniors.

The program assesses students on their ability to lead, serve, and make an impact. Once again, it’s a prestigious accolade that looks great on a resume.

If there are any other programs you know of, DM me on Instagram (@goharsguide) to let me know! I may send out a more comprehensive list in the future.

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

And of course, if you’re ready to level up this school year, check out Scholar OS. Your purchase will also help support the Gohar’s Guide channel and the free educational content I produce, so thank you!

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar