Extracurriculars that strengthen an application here
Activities matched to the subjects this university teaches, with how each one is read by admissions teams.
Genes in Space Competition
Tier 1 WinnerSpace Biology
Designing DNA experiments flown and performed aboard the ISS.
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.
MATE ROV Underwater Contest
Tier 1 (World Final)Marine Engineering
Designing and piloting remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
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.
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.
VEX AI Competition
Tier 1AI Robotics
Fully autonomous multi-robot matches utilizing GPS and object detection.
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.
RoboCupJunior Rescue AI
Tier 1Autonomous Robotics
Robotic search-and-rescue obstacle clearing using sensors and computer vision.
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.
BioEHSC Biotech Contest
Tier 2Bioengineering
7-week bioengineering competition hosted by UC Berkeley.
Admissions impact: Tier 2 — regional or competitive selection. Adds credible depth to an application and shows sustained subject commitment beyond the classroom.
UPenn SAAST Applied Science
Tier 2Engineering Academy
3-week college credit program in Nanotech, Biotech, or Computer Graphics.
Admissions impact: Tier 2 — regional or competitive selection. Adds credible depth to an application and shows sustained subject commitment beyond the classroom.
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.