A question the team at Great College Advice regularly gets from families is some version of this: “Which is more important — grades or extracurricular activities?
Here’s the answer:
Easy. Grades. Hands down.
Why is that? Well, the answer is pretty simple, really. Schools like to admit people who perform well at school. Certainly, it’s nice to be an all-conference left fielder or volunteer hundreds of hours at your favorite non-profit. And colleges will be happy if you want to bring those talents with you to their school. But not unless you have the GPA and academic rigor to do well in the classroom. Grades are more important than your extracurricular activities.
Many students, however, would prefer to believe that the grades on their transcript don’t matter much. After all, we have all read or heard second-hand stories that being involved in many activities can sway an admissions office decision.
But the point is this: grades are the measure of your work in school. They are the assessments of your academic performance. And they are recorded and presented to college admissions offices on your transcript.
The Importance of Your High School Transcript
The number one most important element of your college application is your transcript. The transcript is the record of your academic performance. It gives information about the rigor of your courses (e.g., honors, college prep, remedial, Advanced Placement, etc.), as well as your performance (your grades in those classes). You have a GPA that is a mathematical representation of your performance through high school. And this GPA is used to compare your performance with other students at your school. They will recalculate your GPA to standardize across applicants, focusing on your real GPA.
College admissions officers read and re-read your transcript. They will focus on your primary academic subjects, including math, English, science, social studies, and world languages. They will pay much less attention to your grades in your “extracurricular pursuits done while in school,” including music, theater, business, art, debate, and sports conditioning.
These subjects are academically light-weight. Your grades in these subjects may say more about your dedication than they do about your talent. I mean, it’s nice to have good grades in these “extracurricular” subjects, because they demonstrate you are responsible and that you have a decent work ethic.
School Is School (Not an Extended Holiday)
But again, a college is a “school,” not a Fun-Zone (okay, okay, college can be fun, but the real work of the college is done in the classroom). Colleges want to know whether you can analyze literature, perform a chemistry experiment, identify the causes of the Vietnam War, or solve difficult geometry problems. So they will focus on your grades in the core academic subjects.
Admissions officers may also likely recalculate your grade point averages. They will probably strip the extra little points you may get for honors or AP or IB courses. They do this so that they can really compare your performance against others in the same class in the same school.
The fact you got a B in that AP US History course but that you got a “bump” in your GPA to make it “equal” an A does not wipe away the incontrovertible fact that you did not get an A in AP US History. College admissions officers are well aware of the shenanigans high schools engage in to reward students for taking hard courses.
So your high school transcript is more important than just about everything in the admissions process.
But there are some other things that are also super-important–more so than your extracurricular achievements.
Standardized Test Scores
The other academic factor is your test score on the ACT or SAT. While these scores are not really a measure of your intelligence or your classroom abilities, they are measures of how well you understand English and basic mathematical computation. These fundamental academic skills are important if you are to succeed in college. The colleges that require these scores are giving you a chance to show off those skills.
Now much has been said about the diminishing importance of standardized tests in the admissions process. Many colleges and universities remain “test-optional” after first doing so in 2020. But, some elite . Here is the most updated list from the College Board, which includes MIT, Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, and others.
But even if colleges remain test-optional, you should still attempt the test. A strong test score is another academic feather in your cap that demonstrates your prowess in the classroom. It is an imperfect measure of your intellectual gifts, but it certainly gives college admissions officers some solid information about your basic mathematical and English communication skills–not to mention your ability to do well on standardized tests!
What’s more, a good test score might help you score some merit scholarship dollars at your preferred college (assuming that your preferred college awards merit-based scholarships…many of the most selective colleges do not).
Teacher Recommendations
Other academic factors also enter the mix at most colleges. The first is your teacher recommendations. Not all colleges require them, but certainly, the more selective ones generally do. These recommendations do not focus on all your extracurricular achievements—but on your curricular ones.
Your teacher knows very well how you do in the classroom, whether your assignments show sophistication and your tests indicate mastery of the material. For more about getting great letters of recommendation for college, see this post.
Extracurricular Achievements
Once admission officers have considered these academic factors, they will turn to your extracurricular achievements. These activities can show dedication, perseverance, and distinctive talents, and often provide a platform for developing leadership abilities. So extracurricular accomplishments are definitely important. Every admissions office wants to fill their class with hard-driving, creative, and interesting people who are willing to make their college a better place.
But they won’t just skip over your poor academic performance and let you in because you can run fast and debate with the best of them. They may admire your creativity, but if you can’t demonstrate that you can hack the algebra and the five-paragraph essay, you won’t get in. The fact remains that grades are more important than your extracurricular activities.
Summary: Which is More Important — Grades or Extracurricular Activities?
If you haven’t figured it out before, there is a clear answer to this question: grades. Extracurricular activities can be important, not only for college admission but for giving you fun and interesting experiences throughout high school. And beyond.
But in the college admissions process, your grades are far and away more important. If you don’t have the grades, no amount of extracurricular achievement can make up for your inability to perform well in school.
So if you want to go to college, go study!
Need help with the college admissions process?
The expert admissions counselors at Great College Advice can help with high school course selection to balance rigor with GPA. We also provide assistance in developing your extracurricular activities along with researching colleges, essay support and overseeing the college application process.
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation.
Since 2007, the expert team of college admissions consultants at Great College Advice has provided comprehensive guidance to thousands of students from across the United States and over 45 countries across the world. Great College Advice has offices in Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, North Carolina and Massachusetts.
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