How important are extra-curricular activities?

As far as I'm aware, 'good' universities tend to put more emphasis on applicants academics and the genuine interest/passion they possess for their subject. I think that sometimes schools can over-exaggerate the importance of extra-curricular activities (including my own). If you simply listed all of the activities you take part in on your UCAS application, the admissioners wouldn't take a second glance.

If I were you, I would try to pick activities that I genuinely enjoyed and that I thought I could be successful in; it's the quality of them not the quantity. Also, try to pick activities that you feel have a relevance to what you intend on studying. If you intend to study languages at University, the fact that you read/watch German films/books shows that you have an interest outside of the curriculum. Don't just take part in activities because they 'look good', you won't enjoy them and I guarantee you'll give them up within a few weeks/months.

Hello all,
I've been told by my school's guidance teacher that I need to start doing more extra-curricular activities. I don't do much - I play the piano, albeit abysmally, I took up squash last year, although I haven't been doing anything serious, attend the school cross-country club, and am currently doing my Duke of Edinburgh silver award. However, I'm not very commited in any of these activities, i.e. my standard isn't very high. I do read enjoy reading, and I try and watch a lot of German videos and read German books, seeing as I enjoy foreign languages and am taking Higher German this year. However, I don't feel that I do anything that would be considered worthwhile, and am worried that this will hinder me from getting into a good university (although I don't yet now what I want to study, I'm thinking something along the lines of languages/history/international relations).

And, sorry I rambled on a bit!