泰蓝背景为大家搜集了全美前30大学对于学生课外活动及背景条件的详细解释和解读，希望能够帮助到家在申请过程中，少走弯路，申请成功。
哈佛大学
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-requirements/application-tips#activities网址链接
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES & WORK EXPERIENCE
We are much more interested in the quality of students’ activities than their quantity so do not feel you need to fill in the entire grid! Contributions students make to the well-being of their secondary schools, communities and families are of great interest to us. So indicate for us the time you spend and the nature of the contribution to extracurricular activities, the local community, work experiences and help provided to your family. Activities you undertake need not be exotic but rather might show a commitment to excellence regardless of the activity. Such a commitment can apply to any activity in your life and may reflect underlying character and personal qualities.
For example, a student can gain a great deal from helping his or her family with babysitting or other household responsibilities or working in a restaurant to help with family or personal expenses. Such experiences are important “extracurricular” activities and can be detailed in the extracurricular section and discussed in essays.
Some students list only activities they feel will appear significant to the admissions office, while others endeavor to list every single thing they have ever done. Neither approach is right for everyone. Rather, you should think about the activities (in-school, at home, or elsewhere) that you care most about and devote most of your time doing, and list those.
We realize that extracurricular and athletic opportunities are either unavailable or limited at many high schools. We also know that limited economic resources in many families can affect a student’s chances for participation on the school teams, travel teams, or even prevent participation at all due to the costs of the equipment or the logistical requirements of some sports and activities. You should not feel that your chances for admission to college are hindered by the lack of extracurricular opportunities. Rather, our admissions committee will look at the various kinds of opportunities you have had in your lifetime and try to assess how well you have taken advantage of those opportunities.
译文：
我们对学生活动的质量比他们的数量更感兴趣，所以不觉得你需要填写整个表格!学生对他们的中学、社区和家庭的福利作出的贡献对我们来说是非常有趣的。因此，请向我们说明你花的时间和对课外活动、当地社区、工作经验和帮助你家庭的贡献的性质。你所从事的活动不需要有多么富有国际性，而是要表现出对承诺的恪守和热情。这样的承诺可以适用于你生活中的任何活动，也可以反映出你的内在性格和个人品质。
例如，一个学生可以从帮助他或她的家人照顾孩子或其他家庭责任，或在餐馆工作来帮助家庭或个人开支。这些经验是重要的“课外”活动，可以在课外活动中详细讨论，并在申请论文中讨论。
一些学生只列出他们觉得对招生办公室有意义的活动，而另一些学生则努力列出他们所做过的每一件事。两种方法都不适合每个人。相反，你应该考虑你最关心的活动(在学校里，在家里，或者在其他地方)，把大部分时间都花在做这些事情上，并把它们列出来。
我们意识到，在高中学习中，课外活动机会和体育活动的机会是有限的。我们也知道，许多家庭有限的经济资源会影响学生参加学校团队、旅游团队的机会，甚至是由于设备的费用或某些运动和活动的后勤需要而使学生无法参加。你不应该觉得你进入大学的机会因为缺少课外机会而受阻。相反，我们的招生委员会会关注你一生中所拥有的各种机会，并试着评估你利用这些机会的机会。
解析：
哈佛作为全球最顶级的学校之一，想来对于学生的内在品质是极为关注的，在硬性成绩的要求下，课外活动以及学校和老师出具的报告成为反应学生真是品质的宝贵意见。你要清楚，能够进入筛选的人，全部成绩都是极为优秀的，所以在顶级名校申请中，成绩只是门槛，而最终决定录取与否的就是背景条件。
哈佛的背景要求明确提出了三个要点：
质量（开篇第一句话：We are much more interested in the quality of students’ activities than their quantity）一定要好（简而言之你要花时间在上面，而不是短频快的进行）。什么样的课外活动和背景条件被称为质量好？对于社区或者家庭有贡献的活动。从这里可以看出，哈佛的录取哲学首先是看你的课外活动是否发自内心和有意与他人！真诚善良成为了首要重视的品质。
坚持（Activities you undertake need not be exotic but rather might show a commitment to excellence regardless of the activity）恪守承诺和不计代价的坚持。坚持你的课外活动，它也许并不是高大上，也许非长普通，甚至不值一提，但是你的坚持确实难能可贵的品质，你的恪守内心的热爱和承诺，是被录取的最亮眼表现。
敏锐（Rather, our admissions committee will look at the various kinds of opportunities you have had in your lifetime and try to assess how well you have taken advantage of those opportunities.）招生委员会将评估你利用课外活动的机会，你的眼光和你的能力，将直接体现在你如何利用这些极为有限的机会中。
重视你课外活动质量，展现你兴趣爱好或者自我奉献的坚持，抓住并利用每一次机会。这三点能力，将让你至少在申请中会让跟感到十分有趣，吸引更多来自招生委员会的目光。那么你还在等什么呢？赶快开始行动吧！