Projects
One of the most valued co-curricular activities, working on projects is a great way to build your profile. The projects you work on don’t necessarily have to be a part of your curriculum. You can pick any subject you like, maybe get a partner, tap into all the resources you need, and start working on it.
Course certifications
Universities look for students with a certain set of skills. And unfortunately, the curriculum does not cover everything you need to know. As a result, students who have a real interest in their subjects end up looking for sources online. They pick up trending courses and get certifications.
Research papers
The task in itself requires weeks of grueling research, analysis, and drawing conclusions. But once you’re through with it, you can send it out to get published and see how the experts in your community receive it.
Internships
While you’re in high school or college, you have enough time to intern part-time during school and full-time in the summers! So take advantage of this fact, draft your resume, apply to companies, and get an internship role that falls in line with your subject of interest.
Committee work
Apart from internships, there’s another way to build your network with like-minded individuals – join a college committee. The day you step into your college, tons of committees will approach you to join. It could be the drama club, the cultural committee of your college, the chemistry club, a committee of computer science enthusiasts, etc.
Community work
When we say community work, we don’t mean you have to sign up with an NGO, volunteer for a couple of months, get a certificate, dust off and move on. When international students apply to universities and say they have done community work, they mean that they have done it diligently.
Entrepreneurship
It’s not necessary to follow this tip, but if you choose to, you will learn a lot about yourself. Like how motivated you are, how good you are at handling finances as a student, if you have the ability to manage people, and how you deal with failure.
Extracurricular activities
Academics and co-curricular activities are only one part of who you are. You have hobbies and interests outside of your career! And if you have worked on honing them, it adds a cherry on the top of your personality.
Social media presence
Before getting started with this point, search your name on Google and see what shows up. This is your current image on the internet. And this likely is what the universities will be seeing when they evaluate your application.
Diversify Your Profile
Apart from the technical skills that you have acquired, if you have learned any other new skills through certification courses or have any sort of experience that can add value to your profile, then you need to mention it.