Super curricular activities in action

Meet Arina, a student with an impressive super curricular portfolio.

Amongst her university offers were:

St Andrews University - BSc Economics & Sustainable Development BSc

UCL - Urban Planning, Design and Management BSc

LSE - Environment and Sustainable Development with Economics BSc.

Apart from getting excellent predicted grades, Arina engaged in a range of super curricular activities, which resulted in a fantastic personal statement. It really stood out for its quality and highlighted her passion for sustainability and environmental policy. This allowed her to secure offers from such high-ranking universities and even a scholarship offer from St Andrew University.

Here are super curricular activities that Arina mentions in her personal statement:

• Film: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
• Article: Taking the Naturalness out of Natural Disasters by Phil O'Keefe, Ken Westgate and Ben Wisner
• Book: Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
• Book: Corruption: A Short History by Carlo Alberto Brioschi
• Book: Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich 
• Book: The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
• Book: Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser
• MOOC: Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Notes from our super curricular expert: Arina’s super curricular activities show a real breadth and depth in exploring her topics of interest. It is quite book-heavy, which is a sign of commitment and often welcomed by universities, although there is no expectation that an applicant would read a certain amount of books and sometimes just reading relevant chapters is sufficient. It is great to see that Arina has also completed other activities, such as films and an online course, which is also a great way to learn. There is a clear theme to the activities that she has chosen, looking at the environmental impact of people’s actions and subsequent economic outcomes and policies.