Guide/02 Grades 9–11
Building Activities That Matter
How to choose and grow activities in grades 9–11, what "impact" and "leadership" really mean to admissions officers, and how to start a project that isn't just for show.
Chapter 8 of 863 min readUpdated October 1, 2026 Preview
Admissions officers don't count activities. They look for what you did with a few: commitment over time, growing responsibility, and real impact on something or someone.
This chapter shows how to choose activities, how to grow in them, what counts as leadership (it's broader than a title), and how to start a project that actually means something...
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What’s in this chapter
- 1Depth beats breadth
- 2The activity tiers (a rough guide)
- 3What "leadership" really means
- 4Jobs and family responsibilities count
- 5Starting a project (that isn't just for show)
- 6Competitions worth knowing
- 7Summers and research