What extracurriculars look strongest for a high school student applying as an economics major?

For economics, the strongest extracurriculars usually show one or more of these things: analytical thinking, interest in markets or policy, comfort with data, and engagement with real-world economic issues.

Activities that fit well include economics club, investment or finance club, debate, Model UN, math team, statistics or data-related projects, student government with budget involvement, school newspaper writing about policy or business, and academic competitions like National Economics Challenge if your school offers them.

Work and community-based experiences can also be very strong. A part-time job, helping with a family business, tutoring math, volunteering with tax prep programs, or interning with a local business, nonprofit, campaign, or city office can all connect naturally to economics if you can explain what you learned about incentives, decision-making, budgets, or inequality.

Independent projects often stand out even more than club membership. For example, you could research a local issue like housing prices, public transit usage, wage trends, or small business challenges in your area and turn it into a paper, blog, podcast, or data visualization project.