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If you’re a student preparing for boarding school applications, you might be wondering what you can do to build a good application. Many parents believe that a student’s grades and SSAT scores are the biggest factors in boarding school admissions success. However, this is not always the case.
While academics are essential for a student’s boarding school application, admissions officers also look at a student’s extracurriculars and ask: What kind of community member will this student become?
Beyond classroom hours, students have many opportunities to immerse themselves in their community, such as extracurricular activities like sports, music, theatre, dance, debate, and visual arts, all of which demonstrate qualities that schools actively seek.
Boarding Schools Are Building Communities, Not Just Academic Classes
For students applying to boarding school, you will not be solely enrolling in different classes; you will also become a part of the community, where you can grow into a well-rounded individual. The admissions committees aren’t just filling classrooms with students who learn. They are also formulating:
- Athletic Teams. Boarding school sports include varsity and junior varsity teams, including football, basketball, volleyball, and more.
- Orchestras. Music in boarding school includes playing instruments as a group, such as the piano, violin, guitar, etc.
- Choirs. Music in boarding school also includes formal singing with a group to let your voice be heard.
- Robotics Club. Students who are passionate about STEM subjects and love building, creating, and inventing new things are encouraged to join.
- Theatre Productions. Arts in boarding school involve singing, dancing, and performing for musicals and plays.
- Student Government. Students who want to represent the student body and take leadership opportunities, such as managing student activities, are highly encouraged.
- Campus Traditions. Students passionate about their school’s heritage and culture and who want to promote student-centered events should participate.
Every admitted boarding school student shapes campus life in one way or another. Through extracurricular activities, students interact in diverse communal spaces with other students and grow in their identities as well.
Why Extracurricular Talents Matter in Admissions
Sports
Boarding school sports requirements include three sports seasons: fall, winter, and spring. These sports help students grow by teaching them real-world skills for their everyday lives. They demonstrate:
- Discipline. Sports require students to practice and train to improve in their craft. When students want to do their best in their sport, be it a soccer practice or a basketball championship, they will spend time working on it rather than slacking off.
- Resilience. Through early and intensive training, students will learn to stick to a strict schedule and build physical endurance.
- Teamwork. Boarding school sports also foster a sense of collaboration between students and their teammates. It teaches them to work with people who have different values and backgrounds to achieve a common goal.
- Leadership. Sports also help students foster leadership skills by taking leadership roles, such as team captain or co-captain.
- Coachability. Students will learn how to adapt from their sports coaches, which can help them develop a growth mindset that is open to learning new things.
Here are some sports teams actively seeking or recruiting members:
- Varsity Teams – teams that represent the school and compete with national and international schools for championships
- Junior Varsity Teams – for younger or less experienced athletes who need more training, usually consists of freshmen or sophomore students.
- Recreational Sports – for students who want to join a sport for fun and fitness to relax and unwind, rather than training or competing with other teams.
Music
Music in boarding school admissions not only helps students develop their cognitive thinking, but also their physical and mental abilities. Here are some examples of music that students might be interested in:
- Orchestra. This is for students who enjoy collaborating with others and playing classical music on stage using string instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
- Choir. This is an organized group of singers that perform for a particular occasion or a church.
- Chamber Ensembles. Small classical groups (such as string quartets or woodwind quintets) where each student plays an individual part without a conductor.
- Jazz. This is for students who focus on swing, improvisation, and syncopated rhythms. Instrumentation typically includes saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section.
For music, admissions officers value:
- Long-term Commitment. This shows that a student’s commitment to an instrument or song, learning how to play it, and improving in the long run.
- Practice Habits. This shows that a student has discipline with their time to practice independently, excluding group practice with other students. An example could be setting aside Tuesdays and Thursdays for home practice, while Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are for after-school practice with the whole group.
- Collaboration. Just like sports, music fosters teamwork among students as they learn to follow a group beat without outshining one another and sticking to their own rhythm.
- Performance Experience. Music also builds students’ confidence as they perform on stage and put themselves out there in front of an audience.
Arts
Arts in boarding school admissions allow students to express themselves creatively through different mediums. These include:
- Painting: Exploring color, texture, and visual expression using mediums like watercolor, oil, or acrylics.
- Drawing: Developing foundational skills, precision, and composition through sketch, charcoal, or line work.
- Digital Art: Utilizing technology and specialized software to create modern digital illustrations and visual media.
- Design: Applying creative problem-solving to structure ideas visually across print, digital, or structural medium.
- Photography: Capturing real-world perspectives through technical mastery of framing, lighting, and composition.
- Sculpture: Building spatial awareness and tactile skill by working with three-dimensional forms like clay, wood, or metal.
- Filmmaking: Telling compelling visual stories through video production, cinematography, and editing.
Through these mediums, students can express themselves creatively by contributing to:
- Exhibitions. This is a platform where students can publicly showcase their artworks and pieces in museums and galleries to draw the attention of many people
- Publications. Students can publish their artworks in magazines or websites to build their portfolios. They can also contribute to the school’s newspaper or magazine as an editor or graphic designer.
- Yearbooks. Students can join the yearbook editorial board and learn to work with a team, showing a physical or digital representation of their school and recapping the events that happened in that respective school year
- Campus Marketing. Students who enjoy digital design and video editing can help create promotional materials to encourage people to enroll in boarding school.
- Theater Sets. Students who enjoy theatre but do not like to perform can help create the set design, backdrop, props, and costumes for the theatre play.
Boarding Schools Want Well-Rounded Students
Boarding schools do not only look at students who excel academically or have high GPAs. Although these are good aspects for a student’s boarding school application, other aspects also matter. Boarding schools also appreciate the following traits:
- Commitment. This shows students who are devoted to their extracurriculars and are willing to commit to something long-term, despite the hardships and setbacks they may encounter.
- Depth. This can help students build richer ideas, grow in their social life, and learn life skills that academics can’t teach.
- Growth. This can help students learn from past setbacks and apply lessons from sports to real life, such as patience, discipline, and endurance.
- Leadership. This demonstrates a student’s ability to lead others, which manifests good character and sportsmanship.
Activities Help Students Find Their Community After Enrollment
Sports, music, and arts help students:
- Make friends faster. They form bonds with their teammates or clubmates over a common activity, establishing their relationship
- Adjust to boarding life. They can help students find a community so they can fit in faster in an unfamiliar place.
- Build Confidence. They can boost a student’s confidence and happiness when they win championships, hold recitals, and have art exhibitions.
- Reduce Homesickness. This can help students cope better when they miss their families or their homes.
- Create a Support Network. Students can contribute to initiatives and foster a strong support system through sports, music, and art, allowing them to connect with others and build a support system.
Since parents worry about a student’s social adjustment in boarding school, these activities play major roles in a student’s growth and adjustment. They can help them make new friends and feel at home, easing their transition.
What If Your Child Isn't an Elite Athlete or Musician?
Some students are genuinely not interested in or not good at music, sports, or art, which is still fine. Admissions officers appreciate students who:
- genuinely enjoy participating
- show improvement
- contribute consistently
- support teammates
- demonstrate passion
These qualities show a student’s willingness to learn and refine their skills rather than winning medals and awards without having the heart for the sport at all. The students who enjoy these fields end up staying and practicing to become better. This also shows their willingness to grow and improve in their respective sports, music, or arts.
How Admissions Officers Evaluate Extracurricular Activities
| Less Competitive Profile | Stronger Profile |
| Joins many clubs for one year | Commits to music for five years |
| Lists many activities | Demonstrates leadership in a few |
| Focuses only on awards | Shows growth and contribution |
| Participates passively | Takes initiative and mentors others |
Admissions officers value a student’s holistic profile of good quality, rather than listing many activities that do not contribute to their growth as a student. Here are some private boarding school admissions tips for students who want to apply:
- Identify each student’s strengths early. Doing this early on will give more time to improve what works for them and explore what doesn’t.
- Develop a balanced extracurricular profile aligned with boarding school expectations. This can help students stand out to boarding school admissions.
- Help students select meaningful activities rather than chasing résumé fillers. Students can focus on their passions and growth, rather than simply winning awards.
- Guide students in presenting their experiences effectively through applications and interviews. This can help students build their confidence as they present themselves to boarding school admissions.
Build a Boarding School Application That Stands Out
Selective boarding schools look beyond grades and test scores. They want students who will enrich their campus community through leadership, creativity, and meaningful involvement. Ivy Talent Education helps students identify their strengths, develop authentic extracurricular profiles, and craft compelling applications that showcase who they are beyond the classroom.
Schedule a consultation with Ivy Talent Education to start building a competitive boarding school application.
