If you are applying to US universities, extra-curricular activities are a large part of your application. US universities look at students with a holistic approach – thus it’s important that you display excellence in the activities you are involved in. What extra-curricular activities should I do, you may ask. That is up to you! I recommend doing activities that you are genuinely interested in, rather than doing activities for the sake of it. You will naturally be more enthusiastic about your activity in your application and will be more likely to succeed if you enjoy your activity. I encourage you to figure out your interests and create a plan to get involved with various activities related to those interests. For example, if you are going to pursue sciences in university, join a Science club and try to get a leadership position in the club. If there are limited activities where you are, for example there is no Science club, take the initiative and start one!
Breadth or depth? Is it better to be involved with 20+ activities or just 5 that you are really good at? US universities do take a holistic approach which means that each student is different. Sometimes, a student will display their excellence by being well-rounded. They might be president of several clubs, an athlete, a volunteer, a teacher and do well in each of those areas. Another student, however, may display their abilities by being very strong in a particular area. For example, a student with a passion for chess might be a national champion in chess, president of the school’s chess club, and volunteer to teach kid’s chess. Both of these students will have a strong application.
Note for international students
As an international student, it can be harder to get into certain top colleges because they may have a quota on the number of international students. For example, MIT has around a 3 % international student acceptance rate (compared to ~7 % for everyone). Thus, as an international student, you may have to be more extraordinary. How would you do that? I would say that you should be doing an activity at the national/international level. A lot of the international students at MIT have competed in International Olympiads. Other students have been professional ballet dancers, top-ranked athletes in their country, and leaders of national organizations. This may be discouraging to hear, but this might help you push yourself. Like mathematics? Try a national mathematics competition. Love a sport? Try for national championships. Play an instrument? Participate in concerts. People get to the top through hard work and passion. With time and effort, you could get there too.
This concludes the university guide steps!