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[quote=Anonymous]Saw this today - did anyone else's kid change the activities depending ont he school they are applying to?

https://ingeniusprep.com/blog/optimizing-your-activities-list-for-the-ivy-league-and-top-30-universities/

One of the biggest mistakes strong applicants make is treating every Activities List the same. At the top schools, optimization isn’t just about what you did — it’s about how you signal alignment with what that school values.

Colleges shift priorities each year. One may emphasize civic engagement, another global perspective, another research. A New York Post report pointed out that even high-achieving applicants sometimes get into Ivies but are rejected at “peer” schools because their applications weren’t tailored. The Activities List is one of the easiest places to send subtle signals of fit.

For example, the same tutoring activity can be framed three different ways:

For Georgetown: “Organized 200-hour civic engagement project in local schools.”
For MIT: “Tutored peers in STEM; developed problem sets to expand AP curriculum.”
For Stanford: “Created AI app to support student learning; used by 500 peers.”
A second lens I stress with students: evidence for your intended major. As we discussed in training, “you still want to put what major you plan on [studying]… but you want to show evidence for that particular major you’re thinking about right now.” You don’t have to be locked in, but the activities should make your academic direction feel inevitable.

TRY THIS: Take your most flexible activity and try writing it three ways. Which version matches your dream school’s culture best?
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