Extracurriculars that strengthen an application here
Activities matched to the subjects this university teaches, with how each one is read by admissions teams.
Wharton Investment Contest
Tier 1 GlobalFinance / Portfolio
10-week virtual stock portfolio strategy challenge by UPenn Wharton School.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
Nat. Economics Challenge (Adam)
Tier 1 (Nationals)Advanced Econ
Advanced division covering micro, macro, and international economics.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
Harvard Economics Review Essay
Tier 1 WinnerEconomic Writing
Academic essay evaluating market structures, inflation, and policy.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
IEA Student Essay Contest
Tier 1Free Market Econ
London Institute of Economic Affairs essay on deregulation and markets.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
USA Computing Olympiad (USACO)
Tier 1 (Gold/Plat)Computer Science
Premier national competitive programming competition (Bronze to Platinum divisions). Official site: usaco.org
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
Google Summer of Code (GSoC)
Tier 1Open Source Dev
Global program pairing student developers with open-source software organizations for stipend projects.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
European Girls' Olympiad in Info (EGOI)
Tier 1Competitive Prog.
Prestigious international programming contest modeled after IOI exclusively for young women.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)
Tier 1 InternationalCompetitive Prog.
The premier international high school computer science olympiad globally. Official site: ioinformatics.org
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
AMC 10 / AMC 12
Tier 1 (Distinction)Mathematics
Flagship MAA contests serving as the first qualifying step for the US IMO team. Official site: maa.org
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
AIME (American Invitational Math Exam)
Tier 1Mathematics
15-question, 3-hour invitational exam for top 2.5%-5% scorers on the AMC 10/12.
Admissions impact: Tier 1 — national or international selection. Admissions officers read this as strong, externally validated evidence of subject excellence, and it is the most differentiating part of a competitive application.
No activity guarantees admission — these are ways to build evidence of genuine subject interest.
What PathPilot has recorded
Missing items are not guessed. Check the official website for them.