Hi, I was wondering how universities ensure that people’s extracurriculars are credible. Like do they call the schools/ check Instagram posts of the club or make you upload certificates or something? Also, would they suspect someone if they have “too many” extra-curriculars.
hey there,
might you be asking because you’re one of those people with a suspicious number of extra-curriculars?
nah, jk. there’s no such thing as too many extracurriculars, in my opinion. if you can handle it, you can handle it. and if so, wear that proudly and put it on your resumes/applications! i think the likelihood of them thinking you’re lying is pretty low, and the best plan is to just be honest (and show off that resume!!).
that’s to say, biggest side-eye to anyone who lies about their extracurriculars. lying about your extracurriculars to get into university would be crAzy when you’re applying to a university that (for most programs) only looks at your grades.
because at least in U of T’s faculty of arts & science, you pretty much just input your grades to the system, upload your transcript, and call it a day – at least that’s how it worked for me when i applied.
outside of the faculty of arts and sciences however, they do ask for some sort of supplemental application. this is the case for the rotman business school, the engineering faculty, architecture faculty, and the faculty of music. (not an exhaustive list, just the main ones i can think of out there).
and that brings me to your question. how do universities ensure the credibility of your extracurriculars? do they ask for paper proof? do they call your school? do they show up at your front door step? is that why you had to put your address in your application?
well, considering U of T – like most large universities – receives tens of thousands of applications each year, they aren’t able to lean into that level of helicopter parenting. most of the time, if they do ask you to write about your extracurriculars, applications will explicitly say whether or not they will be verifying those extracurriculars.
often, there will just be a box where you write the name, email, and phone number of a couple people who can be your reference for that extracurricular. they could say something like, for example, “we may reach out if further verification is required”. in other words, they might not actually contact the references you put down. other times, they will definitely reach out to that reference and say something like “we will reach out for an informal assessment via email or phone”.
so overall, i hate to say it, but the way universities ensure the credibility of your extracurriculars just depends on the university and program you’re applying to. they all do it differently! but if they do plan to verify anything, you will know ahead of time and it will be you choosing who they might contact as verification. as in, they won’t randomly call up your school out of the blue.
as for certificates, i also don’t think they’ll ask you for these as paper proof of extracurriculars. the only instance in which i’ve seen these required is if you’re asking to use something for university credit, which wouldn’t be part of your application anyways.
anyhoo. i hope this was helpful and answered your question! best of luck.
over and out,
aska