Extracurricular Activities for Canadian University Applications
Learn when extracurricular activities matter for Canadian universities and how UBC, Waterloo, Ivey, Schulich, and Queen's assess real experience.
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- 01Do extracurriculars matter for Canadian universities?The answer depends on what the institution actually collects.
- 02Build an evidence bank before draftingAn evidence bank separates facts from polished application language. For every possible experience, record:
- 03Keep the writing applicant-ownedThe applicant must own every submitted word. Planning support can:
There is no universal list of extracurricular activities that Canadian universities prefer. Many programs do not ask for a general activity record at all. Activities matter when the exact program, scholarship, Personal Profile, supplementary application, portfolio, or interview says they matter.
Fast answer: check every target program before choosing an activity strategy. If it collects activities, use real responsibilities you can describe specifically, reflect on honestly, and support with a credible verifier. Depth, fit, and evidence matter more than copying a prestige list.
Reviewed August 31, 2026 for Fall 2027 planning. The examples below come from current first-party UBC, Waterloo, Ivey, Schulich, and Queen's instructions. The live form and applicant portal remain controlling.
Do extracurriculars matter for Canadian universities?
The answer depends on what the institution actually collects.
- A grades-and-prerequisites program may not request a general list. In that case, adding clubs to a résumé the university did not ask for does not change the official selection file.
- A program-specific supplement may assess writing, video, an interview, a portfolio, an activity record, or some combination.
- A scholarship may collect leadership, service, financial context, school nomination, or references even when the admission program does not.
- A personal profile may treat paid work, family care, community responsibility, or a personal project as meaningfully as a formal club.
Start with the Canadian supplementary applications guide and the exact program page. The admissions-strategy hub keeps this activity work beside the Grade 11 and grade-context decisions that shape the rest of the file.
Five current examples—and why they are not interchangeable
Five current examples—and why they are not interchangeable comparison tableSwipe or scroll horizontally
| Institution | Who uses it | What the current process collects | What the official source emphasizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UBC | Most high-school applicants, subject to published exceptions | Up to five activities or accomplishments, deeper reflection, responsibilities, learning, and referees | Engagement, leadership, substance, voice, and no preferred activity type |
| Waterloo | Listed AIF and supplementary-form programs | Activities at school, in the community, at home, and at work, with current-period hours | Time management, interpersonal and leadership skills, varied interests, authenticity, and program understanding |
| Ivey AEO | Separate AEO applicants | Two activity essays, up to five additional activities, and verifiable references | Leadership and experience weighted alongside academics, with named qualities and no academic-credit activities |
| Schulich BBA | Fall 2027 direct-entry applicants | Three to five Leadership Profile experiences, a reference for each, then Kira video and timed writing | Fewer than three experiences or missing or incomplete references make the profile ineligible for evaluation; the Fall 2027 form controls its final fields once published |
| Queen's | Current Commerce, four-year Nursing, and on-campus Health Sciences applicants | One written and one video response | A specific example, perspective, responsibility, impact, initiative, adaptability, problem-solving, and reflection |
This comparison is a routing tool. It is not a common scoring system.
UBC: responsibility and reflection can come from many parts of life
UBC's current Personal Profile instructions list clubs, family or community responsibilities, arts, work, athletics, volunteering, service, and other experiences. Applicants can describe up to five activities or accomplishments and then reflect more deeply on one or two.
UBC explicitly says it is not looking for one type of experience or a long list of achievements. Its published criteria are engagement and accomplishment, leadership, substance, and voice. It considers activities across multiple years and says examples can come from family or a smaller community.
That makes two planning errors especially costly:
- hiding meaningful paid or family work because it lacks a club title; and
- joining a last-minute activity merely because someone called it prestigious.
Use the complete UBC Personal Profile guide for the current questions, character limits, referees, evidence-bank method, and applicant-authorship boundary.
Waterloo: no required engineering-themed activity
Waterloo's current AIF page says it is not looking for specific extracurricular activities and does not expect Engineering applicants to have engineering-related experience. It looks for evidence such as time management, interpersonal and leadership skills, varied interests, and authentic program understanding.
The current outside-the-classroom section includes school, community, home, work, and sustained interests. For Fall 2027, Waterloo asks for hours from January 1 to December 31, 2026. A part-time or summer job can be useful, especially because Engineering students later compete for co-op roles.
The AIF is not university-wide. Waterloo currently uses it for Engineering except Architecture, Mathematics, Computing and Financial Management, and other listed supplementary routes. It is not used for the general Arts, Environment, Health, or Science processes listed on that page. Use the Waterloo AIF questions and deadlines guide before building a Waterloo-specific record.
Ivey AEO: a defined activity application with references
Ivey's current secondary-school AEO page says the separate AEO application evaluates academics and leadership experience equally. It currently asks for two activities in essay format, up to 500 words each, and up to five additional activities in point form.
Eligible examples include volunteering, paid employment, entrepreneurial work, clubs, sport, and other organized groups. Activities that earn academic credit, such as a co-op placement, are excluded. Every activity needs a reference who can verify the involvement.
This is a specific application design, not evidence that every business program wants seven activities. Use the Ivey AEO pathway guide for the separate Western application, current deadline, video, references, and progression boundary.
Schulich BBA: follow the 2027 Leadership Profile workflow
Schulich's Fall 2027 supplementary page requires a Leadership Profile, video interviews, and timed writing. The profile must list a minimum of three and a maximum of five experiences, and every experience needs a reference who can verify it. Schulich says profiles with fewer than three experiences or with missing or incomplete references will not be evaluated. The profile must be uploaded before the applicant continues to the later Kira components. The page also publishes separate early and regular deadlines and a $50 non-refundable fee for the Fall 2027 cycle.
The Fall 2027 Leadership Profile was not yet available on August 31, 2026; Schulich said it would be released in September 2026. Wait for that published form and follow its exact fields rather than using a prior-cycle template or repurposing an Ivey essay, UBC activity list, or general résumé. Use the Schulich BBA pathway guide for its direct-entry requirements and supplement sequence.
Queen's: examples and reflection, not a universal activity inventory
Queen's current supplementary page identifies the programs that require one written and one video response. The public supplementary rubric values clear, relevant, specific examples; appreciation of other perspectives; responsibility for personal contributions and impact; initiative; adaptability; problem-solving; persistence; and reflection.
That rubric does not authorize guessing a live question or producing a generic Queen's extracurricular list. Applicants must answer the assigned prompt in their own voice and keep the example within the exact program's current format.
Build an evidence bank before drafting
An evidence bank separates facts from polished application language. For every possible experience, record:
Build an evidence bank before drafting comparison tableSwipe or scroll horizontally
| Evidence field | Question to answer | Weak shortcut to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Context | What was happening, for whom, and over what period? | A title with no situation |
| Responsibility | What task or decision was actually yours? | Claiming the team's entire result |
| Action | What did you do, change, organize, test, repair, or communicate? | Vague participation verbs |
| Effect | What changed, including an incomplete or mixed result? | An invented percentage or reach number |
| Learning | What did the experience change in your later behaviour? | A generic “I learned leadership” ending |
| Verification | Who directly knows the facts and is eligible under the form? | Naming a prestigious person who cannot verify the work |
Keep dates and hours only when they are accurate and useful. Save supporting records such as schedules, job descriptions, project notes, event plans, version history, or a supervisor's contact details. They help the applicant remember facts; they are not attachments unless the institution requests them.
Activities that can supply strong evidence
The category does not create value by itself. The responsibility and reflection do.
Paid work
Record customers served, recurring duties, safety or cash responsibility, scheduling, a process improved, a conflict handled, or a skill built over time. Do not hide paid work because it is not volunteering.
Family or community responsibilities
Caregiving, translation, transport, household coordination, religious-community work, and regular support for relatives can demonstrate planning, reliability, judgement, and service. UBC and Waterloo explicitly leave room for evidence at home.
Clubs, teams, sport, and arts
Attendance alone supplies little detail. Record the role, practice, collaboration, decisions, setbacks, performance or event, and what changed because of the contribution. A formal leadership title is not required to show initiative.
Personal, technical, or creative projects
Record the question, audience, iterations, feedback, failure, revision, and what the applicant learned. Do not inflate downloads, users, revenue, or community impact.
Volunteering and service
Describe the need accurately, what the applicant did with or for people, the limits of the contribution, and what remains unresolved. Avoid saviour language or taking credit for a community's work.
Choose evidence by fit, not prestige
Score each candidate experience privately from 0 to 2 on five questions:
- Does it answer the actual official prompt?
- Can the applicant describe a specific responsibility and action?
- Is there a concrete, supportable effect or learning moment?
- Does it add a dimension not already shown elsewhere in the application?
- Can an eligible person verify the facts?
The score is an organizing aid, not an official rubric or admission predictor. A modest responsibility with clear evidence can be more useful than an award the applicant cannot explain.
Keep the writing applicant-owned
The applicant must own every submitted word. Planning support can:
- explain the official instructions;
- organize applicant-provided facts;
- identify a missing action, effect, or reflection;
- flag a claim that a reference may not verify;
- check length, clarity, grammar, and whether the response addresses the question; and
- preserve a copy and submission receipt.
It must not invent an experience, write a live response for the applicant, create fake hours, generate a false reference, or turn another person's story into first-person evidence. Waterloo says the applicant must complete the AIF on their own and may reject or revoke an offer when another person wrote it. UBC also protects authentic applicant voice.
A 12-month activity plan that avoids résumé theatre
First: protect academics and prerequisites
Do not let an optional activity undermine the grades, sleep, attendance, or required courses that every target program uses. The Grade 11 marks guide explains why early evidence can matter while the academic requirements guide keeps the final prerequisites visible.
Then: deepen existing responsibility
Before starting something new, ask whether the applicant can take on a real next responsibility in work, family, a project, team, club, art, sport, or community service. Depth comes from sustained decisions and feedback, not merely staying enrolled.
Add a new activity only for a real reason
Choose a new commitment because the work matters and the schedule is realistic. Define the audience, need, role, minimum useful result, and weekly time before joining or launching it.
Review evidence monthly
Write factual notes while the experience is fresh. Confirm dates and responsibilities with a potential reference. Do not wait until the application deadline to reconstruct a year of work from memory.
Final checklist before submission
- The exact program actually requests this component.
- The applicant used the current form, limit, and deadline.
- Every activity and hour is truthful.
- “I” describes the applicant's own action; “we” preserves shared work.
- The effect is supported and not exaggerated.
- The reflection shows a changed understanding or later action.
- The reference is eligible and can verify the facts.
- The response uses the applicant's natural voice.
- No link, résumé, attachment, or extra material is assumed to be reviewed unless the institution says so.
- A copy and submission receipt are saved.
Return to the admissions-strategy hub, compare the Canadian supplementary application formats, and use the current official page for every target program before submitting.