--- title: "Computer Science Extracurriculars, Ranked by What Actually Counts" description: "Computer science extracurriculars ranked into what carries real weight, what is worth doing but rarely decisive, and what is filler. Based on published admissions criteria from NACAC, MIT, Oxford and UCAS." canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/computer-science-extracurriculars keywords: ["computer science extracurriculars", "best extracurriculars for computer science", "coding extracurricular activities", "CS activities for college applications", "coding classes for kids and teens", "learn AI online"] source: src/pages/computer-science-extracurriculars.html --- > Computer science extracurriculars ranked into what carries real weight, what is worth doing but rarely decisive, and what is filler. Based on published admissions criteria from NACAC, MIT, Oxford and UCAS. [Courses](/courses)/ CS extracurriculars # Computer science extracurriculars, ranked by what actually carries weight. Most lists give you twenty activities in no particular order. Admissions systems do not treat them equally, and one major system says outright that extracurriculars are not a selection criterion at all. Here is the ranking, with sources. Talk to a mentor[WhatsApp us](https://wa.me/919123366161?text=Hi%2C%20I%20want%20advice%20on%20computer%20science%20extracurriculars)Since 2020Teaching students to build10,000+Students taught25+Countries![CS Extracurriculars poster, Modern Age Coders live online coding classes](/images/adm-cs-extracurriculars.webp) ## This page is for you if - You are choosing what to spend the next year on - You want to know what is worth the money and what is not - Your child is applying to more than one country - You suspect some of this is theatre and want to know which parts Courses ## Where the Tier 1 activities become possible Competitions, open source and research all assume independent coding ability. These are the classes that produce it. [![Python and AI classes for kids and teens thumbnail, Modern Age Coders](/images/python-teens.webp) Beginner Python and AI classes for kids and teens The usual starting point. Language fundamentals to the level where a first real project becomes possible. View course](/python-and-ai-classes-for-kids-teens)[![AI, ML, Python and Java track thumbnail, Modern Age Coders](/images/python-college.webp) Advanced AI, ML, Python and Java track The longer route for students aiming at research-grade work rather than a single app. View course](/master-ai-ml-python-java)[![Vibe coding, used properly thumbnail, Modern Age Coders](/images/vibe-coding-teens.webp) All levels Vibe coding, used properly How to build with AI assistance and still be able to explain every line, which is what an interview will test. View course](/vibe-coding-classes)[![AI and ML course for college students thumbnail, Modern Age Coders](/images/ai-ml-college.webp) College AI and ML course for college students For undergraduates who need depth quickly, including those applying to postgraduate research. View course](/ai-ml-course-for-college-students) [See every course we teach](/course-atlas) In short Computer science extracurriculars range from competitions and open-source contributions to clubs and online certificates, and admissions systems weigh them very differently. US colleges read them holistically but rate grades far higher. Oxford states that extracurricular activities do not form part of its selection criteria, while subject-related work does help. UK applicants describe theirs in the UCAS personal statement. Modern Age Coders teaches the part of this that is teachable: building real software and being able to explain it. To talk through what is worth your child's time, use the form below or message us on WhatsApp at +91 91233 66161. ## The short version - Nothing on this list outranks grades. That is not our opinion, it is what colleges report. - The activities that carry weight share one property: somebody outside your family validated them. A judge, a maintainer, a selection committee, a user. - Oxford is explicit that extracurricular activities are not a selection criterion in any subject, but that super-curricular work, including programming experience, helps build the picture. - For 2026 entry, the UCAS personal statement became three structured questions, with the third asking specifically what you have done to prepare outside education. - Certificates without a build attached are the weakest thing on this page. They prove attendance, not ability. The evidence ## What each system actually says The four systems your child is most likely to face, quoted from their own published guidance. 6.5% ### United States: read, but rarely decisive Only 6.5% of colleges surveyed rated extracurricular activities of considerable importance, with 44% at moderate. Grades in college prep courses were rated considerable by 76.8% and total grades by 74.1%. [Source: NACAC, Factors in the Admission Decision](https://www.nacacnet.org/factors-in-the-admission-decision/)Not a criterion ### Oxford: extracurriculars do not count, super-curriculars do Oxford states that tutors decide on academic ability and potential alone, and that extra-curricular activities do not form part of the selection criteria in any subject. It then says super-curricular work, including programming experience, helps build an overall picture. [Source: Oxford Department of Computer Science](https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/how_to_apply/personal-statement.html)3 questions ### UCAS: one question is exactly this From 2026 entry the personal statement is three structured questions inside a 4,000 character total, with a 350 character minimum per section. The third asks what you have done to prepare outside education and why it is useful. [Source: Guide to the 2026 UCAS personal statement](https://www.theprofs.co.uk/student-resources/university-applications/how-to-answer-the-new-ucas-personal-statement-questions-for-2026-entry/)Optional ### MIT: a formal slot, clearly bounded MIT accepts a Maker Portfolio for technical work, requiring a codebase and a working demonstration for code projects, and repeats that portfolios are truly optional and should only be sent when the work is significant and relevant. [Source: MIT Admissions, Creative portfolios](https://mitadmissions.org/apply/firstyear/portfolios-additional-material/)The list ## The ranking Three tiers. The dividing line is whether someone outside your family put their name to it. Tier 1 ### Carries real weight Externally validated #### Placing in a genuine competition USACO has four divisions from Bronze to Platinum, is free, and is open to anyone from any country with an account. Promotion between divisions is earned on score alone. USACOFreeAny country A division promotion is an objective, dated, externally issued result that cannot be manufactured. #### Winning through to a major science fair Regeneron ISEF is not open entry. Finalists come through 365 affiliated fairs across more than 60 countries, and projects are capped at 12 months of continuous research. ISEFAffiliated fair first The qualification path is the proof. You cannot enter ISEF by deciding to. #### Merged contributions to real open source Issues reproduced, fixes written with tests, and code reviewed and merged by maintainers who have never met you. GitPublic record Public, dated, and validated by a stranger with no reason to be kind. #### Selection for a competitive research program Programs like RSI select roughly 100 students from around the world each summer. Prior research experience is not required to apply. RSIMIT PRIMES Selection itself is the signal. The research output is a bonus on top. #### Software with users who are not your friends A tool, app or extension that people found on their own and kept using. Download counts and reviews are evidence you did not write. ShippingReal usage Usage numbers are checkable and boring in the right way. Nobody assumes a parent arranged them. Tier 2 ### Worth doing, rarely decisive Good, but common #### Hackathons MLH events accept students at any level of study including middle and high school. A weekend build is a start, not a finish. MLHWeekend Valuable for skill and nerve. Only becomes strong evidence if you keep developing what you built. #### Running a club or teaching juniors Leadership counts when it produced something measurable: students taught, a curriculum written, a competition team that placed. Leadership Strong with numbers attached. Weak as a title on a list. #### Advanced coursework beyond school University-level material taken seriously, with the assessments actually completed rather than the videos watched. Rigour Reads as academic appetite, which is what the UK cares about most. #### An internship where you shipped something Rare at school age and worth naming only if you can point to what you built and what changed because of it. Industry The value is the artefact, not the company name. #### A technical blog you actually maintain Writing up what you built and what broke, consistently, over months. Writing The date stamps prove sustained interest, which is exactly what a personal statement claims. Tier 3 ### Mostly filler Spend the time elsewhere #### Certificates with no build attached A completion certificate from an online course proves you finished the videos. Attach a project you built afterwards and it becomes worth mentioning. Avoid alone Universally available and therefore not differentiating. The project is the part that counts. #### Membership without contribution Being a member of the coding club, robotics club and three others, with nothing produced by any of them. Avoid A list of memberships reads as breadth without depth, which is the opposite of what these systems reward. #### Tutorial clones presented as projects The same to-do app, weather app and portfolio site everyone else submitted, following the same video. Avoid Instantly recognisable to anyone technical, and it invites the question you least want asked. #### Paid publication in a predatory journal Services that place high school research in journals with no real peer review, for a fee. Avoid Actively harmful. Readers who know the journals will discount everything near it. The standard ## The test to apply to anything on this list Before committing a year to an activity, run it through these six questions. If most answers are no, pick something else. 01 ### Who validated it? Name the person or body outside your family who judged, merged, selected or paid for it. If nobody did, it is self-reported. 02 ### Is there a date on it? Public, dated evidence is worth far more than a claim. Commits, results pages and merge records all carry dates. 03 ### Can it be checked? A reader who wanted to verify this in two minutes could do so. Anything unverifiable is worth roughly what a stranger would assume. 04 ### Does it survive one follow-up question? The second question is where manufactured achievements collapse. Rehearse it. 05 ### Does it fit the rest of the application? An isolated achievement unrelated to everything else reads as arranged rather than genuine. 06 ### Is it subject-related? For UK applications this is the whole game. Oxford excludes extracurriculars but welcomes super-curricular programming work. Timing ## A sensible order to do these in Trying to do all three tiers at once is how students end up with a long list and nothing finished. Year one ### Get fluent enough to build Nothing on the Tier 1 list is reachable without being able to write and debug code independently. Start here. Year one, later ### Enter one free competition USACO costs nothing and gives an objective placement. It also tells you honestly where you stand. Year two ### Ship one thing to real users One project, finished, in front of people who are not related to you. This is the load-bearing item. Year two, later ### Contribute to something you did not start Open source review by a maintainer is the cheapest external validation available. Final year ### Apply for the selective things Research programs and portfolio submissions, built on the evidence of the previous two years rather than assembled in a panic. Two ways in ## Tier 1 rewards years, not months Every activity in the top tier assumes a student who can already build independently. That is why when a family starts matters as much as what they choose. The long journey ### Starting at 6 or 7, building for years Start at six or seven and the Tier 1 list is simply reachable by the time it counts. Competitions, merged open source and research all become normal rather than aspirational. - **Ages 6 to 9**Block coding and logic. Finishing small things, which is the habit everything later depends on. - **Ages 10 to 13**Real code in Python. First projects that another person can actually run. - **Ages 14 to 16**AI and machine learning, own datasets, work that goes in front of real users. - **Ages 17 to 18**Portfolio, competitions and research-grade work, with years of history behind it. By the time it matters, the repository is years deep. That cannot be assembled in a hurry, and it is obvious to anyone who looks. The short route ### A deadline in weeks, not years Starting late is not disqualifying, it just narrows the list. One free competition and one finished, used project is achievable inside a year and still counts. - **Weeks 1 to 2**Scope honestly against the time left. Most ideas get cut down here, and that is the useful part. - **Weeks 3 to 6**Build the smallest version that genuinely works, with the repository open from day one. - **Weeks 7 to 8**One real user, then fix what tripped them up. - **Final week**README, recorded demo, and rehearsal for being questioned about it. Smaller and finished beats ambitious and broken. We will tell you before you start if the deadline does not allow honest work. Tell us the age and the time available and we will tell you which tier is realistically in reach, including when the honest answer is Tier 2. How we do it ## The part of this we can actually teach We cannot get a student selected for a research program. We can get them to the level where applying is not absurd. Portfolio Program ### The route from Tier 3 to Tier 1 Everything in Tier 1 depends on being able to build independently. That is what our classes produce: live teaching in small batches, real projects rather than worksheets, and a mentor who asks the follow-up questions before an admissions reader does. - Coding fluency first, because every Tier 1 item assumes it - One build carried to a finish instead of five left half done - Competition preparation where the student wants an objective result - Guidance on contributing to open source that maintainers will accept - Practice at explaining the work, which is where UK applications are won Ask what is worth doing Where students usually begin, depending on how much they can already build. [Python and AI classes for kids and teensBeginner](/python-and-ai-classes-for-kids-teens)[AI, ML, Python and Java trackAdvanced](/master-ai-ml-python-java)[Vibe coding, used properlyAll levels](/vibe-coding-classes)Fees ## What our classes cost One published fee per tier, the same whichever activity a student is aiming at. Nothing on this page carries a separate charge. ### Group class Batches of 5–8. Good for building the fundamentals. ₹1,499per month ### Mini batch 3–4 students. More airtime per student. ₹2,999per month ### One to one 1:1. The usual choice for a project with a deadline. ₹7,500per month Prices are per month and shown per region. We charge for teaching hours, never for an admissions result, because no school can honestly sell one. See [full pricing](/pricing) for every subject and tier. Proof ## What our students build Real projects from Modern Age Coders students, published on Student Labs. ### Pracy, a coding practice and quiz platform Multi-user, with question banks and scoring. Big enough that architecture decisions had to be made and defended. ### MyDay, a social productivity organiser Accounts, data that persists, and a UI someone else has to understand without being told. ### Word Counter The kind of tiny utility that teaches string handling properly, and gets used far more than expected. ### LumenFX, an AR and VR photo effects studio Real-time image processing where performance is the whole problem, not a footnote. [Browse the full Student Labs](/student-labs) ## Ask us what is worth your child's time Tell us the year group and what has been done so far. We reply within one business day with a straight answer on what is worth the time and what is not. ### Want a second opinion first? Message us directly. We will tell you if an activity you are considering is not worth the fee somebody is quoting. [WhatsApp+91 91233 66161](https://wa.me/919123366161?text=Hi%2C%20I%20want%20advice%20on%20computer%20science%20extracurriculars)[Call+91 91233 66161](tel:+919123366161)[Emailcontact@modernagecoders.com](mailto:contact@modernagecoders.com?subject=Portfolio%20Program%20enquiry) Your details are used only to answer your enquiry and are never shared or sold. We teach coding and maths, and we do not offer admissions consulting. Questions ## Frequently asked What are the best computer science extracurriculars? The ones validated by someone outside your family: placing in a competition such as USACO, qualifying through an affiliated fair to a major science fair, getting code merged into real open source, being selected for a competitive research program, or shipping software that strangers use. Do extracurriculars matter for computer science admissions? In the US they are read but rarely decisive: 6.5% of colleges rate them of considerable importance against 76.8% for grades in college prep courses. At Oxford they are explicitly excluded from the selection criteria, though subject-related super-curricular work does help. What is the difference between extracurricular and super-curricular? Extracurricular means outside the classroom generally, such as sport or music. Super-curricular means related to the subject you are applying for, such as programming projects, competitions or reading. UK universities care about the second and, in Oxford's case, only the second. How many extracurriculars should a student have? Fewer, done properly. A list of memberships reads as breadth without depth. One project taken to a finish, plus one externally validated result, beats eight lines of participation. Is USACO worth doing? It is free, open to anyone from any country with an account, and produces an objective placement across four divisions. As a low-cost way to get a real, checkable result, it is hard to beat. Are online course certificates worth anything? On their own, very little, because they prove attendance rather than ability. Attach a project you built after the course and the pair becomes worth mentioning. Do UK universities look at extracurriculars for computer science? Offers are driven by grades and admissions tests, A*AA at Oxford with the MAT and A*A*A at Cambridge with the TMUA. Subject-related work appears in the UCAS personal statement and often comes up at interview, so it matters through conversation rather than as a scored component. Can Modern Age Coders help with these? We teach the buildable part: coding fluency, real projects, and the ability to explain the work under questioning. We do not offer admissions consulting and we do not promise outcomes. Keep reading ## Related guides [Passion project ideasIdeas that survive a sceptical reader, and the ones that do not.Read the guide](/passion-project-ideas-computer-science)[How to build a coding portfolioThe finished standard: repo, demo, build log, defence.Read the guide](/how-to-build-a-coding-portfolio)[Hackathons for high schoolersWhich ones accept school students, and what to do after.Read the guide](/hackathons-for-high-school-students)[Summer research programsWhat selective programs ask for and how to be ready.Read the guide](/summer-research-programs-coding)[Coding roadmapWhat to learn in what order, by age and goal.View roadmap](/coding-roadmap)[Course atlasEvery course we run, in one page.Browse courses](/course-atlas) --- *Canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/computer-science-extracurriculars*