Most students wait until junior year to think about extracurriculars—but the smartest students learn how to start building a college activity list in 9th grade. Doing so gives them a head start in college admissions, especially when it comes time to fill out the Common App.
Starting your college activity list as a freshman isn’t just about staying organized. It’s about capturing the full story of your high school journey while the details are still fresh. If you wait until junior year, you’ll likely struggle to remember the achievements, dates and personal impact of everything you’ve done.
Many students believe that only official school activities are important. But colleges value anything that shows initiative, passion, and impact:
Early extracurricular planning for college helps students focus their time wisely. While official clubs are important, colleges are also interested in personal projects and life experiences. When you begin tracking activities in 9th grade, you:
When you track activities immediately, you remember the specific projects you led, the number of people you helped and the exact skills you developed. These details make your application stand out from generic activity descriptions.
Starting in 9th grade helps you spot your genuine interests and strengths, not just activities you think colleges want to see. This authentic approach leads to more focused involvement and better leadership opportunities.
Instead of scrambling to join everything in 11th grade, early tracking helps you commit to activities that matter and build meaningful experiences over multiple years.
If you’re unsure how to start building a college activity list, create a simple spreadsheet or use a digital tracker. Include:
Update this list monthly and encourage your child to reflect:
At AcceptU, our former admissions officers go beyond simply listing activities—we turn that list into a powerful admissions narrative. Starting in 8th or 9th grade, we help students shape and grow their involvement with intention and impact.Our former admissions officers guide students from 8th grade onward to build and shape their activities in ways that reflect authentic interests, leadership, and long-term growth. Here’s how we do it:
Every month, we walk students through a reflection process:
Together, we set strategic goals for the upcoming school year, including:
We help students avoid “checkbox” activities and instead pursue quality over quantity—crafting a story of sustained interest, initiative, and impact.
By senior year, our students don’t just have a list of 10 activities. They have a cohesive narrative that makes them stand out in a sea of applications. Ready to build a strategic activity list? Schedule a free consultation to meet with an AcceptU advisor and start crafting your admissions story early.
Ben received a BA from Cornell University and has spent more than 15 years working within education and college preparation. Prior to joining AcceptU, Ben was a long-time teacher with Kaplan, and subsequently built and launched multiple tutoring and test prep programs through Varsity Tutors and Learner.com.
