Vertical Activity Planning: A New Approach to Student Activities

What is Vertical Activity Planning?

Vertical Activity Planning is a strategic approach for students to build a cohesive and diverse extracurricular profile focused on a specific field of interest. It integrates various activities—academic, project-based, writing, and recognition—that gradually build on one another to showcase a student's deep engagement.

For example, a student passionate about computer science might combine academic achievements with real-world projects like app development and publishing related articles. This approach highlights a student’s passion, knowledge, and skills from multiple perspectives, making them stand out more effectively than simply participating in competitions.

Why Plan Activities Vertically?

Universities seek students who show sustained interest and commitment to their chosen field. Vertical Activity Planning not only demonstrates passion but also reveals a student’s potential across different skill sets—critical thinking, application of knowledge, teamwork, and research abilities. This approach ensures that students can present a well-rounded profile to admissions officers, showing depth and breadth in their field.

Additionally, it helps students assess if their chosen field truly suits them, rather than relying on exam or competition results alone.

How to Plan Student Activities Vertically

To effectively plan vertical activities for high school students, we recommend focusing on four main areas: Academic, Project, Writing, and Recognition.

1. Academic

Academic activities form the foundation of a student’s extracurricular profile. They showcase a student’s knowledge, learning abilities, and potential in their chosen field. This is where students can prove their command of core concepts and academic skills, especially through high-stakes exams and competitions.

To integrate academic activities into vertical planning, encourage students to participate in subject-specific competitions or exams. This goes beyond school-level assessments and often involves international competitions, which provide a broader context. For example, global competitions like the World Economics Cup (for economics) or the International Psychology Olympiad (for psychology) attract thousands of students from many countries, often those aiming for top universities. Achieving strong results in such competitions provides a credible measure of a student’s academic abilities.

2. Project

Project-based work is an excellent way for students to demonstrate practical application of their knowledge. Unlike exams, which measure theoretical understanding, projects allow students to explore real-world issues, solve problems, and create tangible outcomes. This component reflects a student’s initiative, creativity, and problem-solving skills—qualities that universities highly value.

For students aspiring to pursue a degree in communication, they might conduct a communication campaign that create real impacts. For those with an interest in the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) sector, they could try addressing local sustainability issues with innovative solutions. However, guiding these projects requires a high level of expertise and commitment from counselors. If counselors lack the time or resources, another option is to recommend students participate in specialized project programs that offer professional guidance, such as Next Idea Matters, which provides eight different idea tracks. With years of experience, these programs assist students from topic selection through project development.

3. Writing

Writing is a crucial component in vertical activity planning because it showcases a student’s ability to articulate thoughts clearly and persuasively. In higher education, writing is often the primary medium through which students communicate their ideas, whether in research papers, essays, or reports. Strong writing skills demonstrate a student's intellectual depth and ability to engage with academic content at a high level.

Since the value of writing isn’t as visually obvious as project outcomes, it’s important to publish work to validate its merit. Just as researchers publish papers in academic journals to share ideas and gain recognition, students should seek reputable platforms to showcase their writing. High schoolers don’t need to aim for top academic journals, but platforms aimed at student writing with a review process can offer the right balance of credibility and accessibility.

Platforms like Global Youth Pulses offer students a space to submit work in a wide range of subjects. Importantly, all articles go through a review process before publication, ensuring quality and providing students with feedback. Moreover, platforms that recognize outstanding articles through awards can further distinguish a student’s writing as a notable achievement.

4. Recognition

Recognition is the final component that solidifies a student’s extracurricular profile. While strong academic and project work is impressive, it’s important that these efforts are validated and visible to university admissions officers. Recognition from reputable third parties adds an extra layer of credibility and demonstrates that the student’s contributions have been acknowledged by experts or peers in their field.

Many valuable activities, like developing an app or running a nonprofit, don’t come with an official certificate. In such cases, third-party recognition can validate the student’s achievements, making them stand out in the application process. For example, if two students run YouTube channels, but one has received an “Annual Student YouTube Channel” award, their channel is more likely to catch the attention of an admissions officer.

The EAE Awards, for instance, assess students based on the quality and impact of their extracurricular achievements. This independent evaluation ensures that students’ accomplishments are recognized, regardless of the prestige of the competition or project itself. Most importantly, recognition through platforms like EAE makes the student’s extracurricular efforts visible to admissions officers, giving weight to the time and energy they’ve invested outside the classroom.

Takeaway: Vertical activity planning, with its focus on academics, projects, writing, and recognition, helps students build a robust and cohesive profile that highlights their strengths from multiple perspectives. By guiding students through this process, counselors can help them stand out in the competitive world of college admissions.