Sample atlas
This is a sample. The student isn't real.
Daniel is a fictional junior we built to show exactly what your own atlas looks like. Yours is generated from a survey that reads your real interests, temperament, and constraints. You answer first and generate it.
The Pursuit! Atlas
Your extracurricular roadmap
Daniel Okafor · 11th grade · intended Computer Science
Your strategy
Hybrid
Daniel, you read as a builder who also likes to figure things out, and you'd rather make something real than chase a ranking. The play is one clear technical spike (a project people can actually use) wrapped in two supporting roles that show leadership and service, so your application reads as a maker who lifts others, not a résumé padder.
- Grade
- 11th grade
- Direction
- Computer Science
- Horizon
- Junior year — the highest-leverage window before applications.
- What you lean toward
- Building & making · Investigating & problem-solving · Leading & organizing
Your activities, ranked for you
#1 · Entrepreneurship
Build and launch an app or software product
high fit
Ship something real to users and iterate on actual feedback.
This is your spike. You told us you lose track of time tinkering until something works and you'd rather make a thing exist than win a trophy. A shipped app with real users is the strongest, most unmistakably-yours signal a CS applicant can carry.
- How to start
- Pick one annoyance at your school, build the smallest version that solves it, and get five classmates using it this month.
- Why it strengthens your application
- Usage numbers and a real story beat a long list of clubs. Depth plus a visible result is what reads.
- Time commitment
- real (5-6 hrs/week)
First step this month: Write down three problems you personally hit this week; pick the one you could prototype in a weekend.
Real opportunities right now
-
Congressional App Challenge
deadline: each fall
U.S. House of Representatives
A district-level app competition open to high schoolers; a perfect home for your spike project.
Open to students in participating districts; check your representative's listing.
Open the official page →
#2 · Competition
Competitive programming / hackathons
high fit
Solve algorithm problems or ship hackathon builds against the clock.
You said you come alive when something might fail in front of people but the upside is worth it. Hackathons turn your build instinct into a track record of wins, and they pair naturally with your app project.
- How to start
- Find one local or online high-school hackathon this semester and go, even solo. Bring your app idea.
- Time commitment
- moderate (3-4 hrs/week)
First step this month: Register for the next dated hackathon in your area or online (see the opportunities below).
#3 · Volunteering
Donate a real skill to a nonprofit
medium fit
Build a website, run socials, or analyze data for an org that needs it.
This is your "lifts others" thread. It turns the same coding skill into visible impact, which balances a profile that could otherwise read as all-solo-building.
- How to start
- Email two small local nonprofits offering to rebuild their site or set up a simple system. Pick the one that says yes fastest.
- Time commitment
- moderate (3-4 hrs/week)
First step this month: Make a list of five local nonprofits and send two short offer emails this week.
#4 · In-school club
School STEM / robotics / science club
medium fit
Join (or revive) a club that builds and competes in science or engineering.
A low-cost way to find your team and a leadership lane. You said you slide into the "doer who builds the thing" role; aim to grow into running a project by senior year.
First step this month: Show up once and offer to own the next build. If there's no club, that's your opening to start one.
#5 · Independent project
Contribute to open source
medium fit
Get real code merged into projects people actually use.
A free, location-independent way to level up the exact skill your spike needs, with a public record of merged contributions to point to.
First step this month: Find one "good first issue" on a tool you already use and open a pull request.
#6 · Part-time job
Freelance a skill for pay (tutoring, design, code, media)
medium fit
Turn a skill into paid gigs and a track record of real clients.
If you need the income, this is the version that still builds your profile: tutoring younger students in coding pays and demonstrates the teaching you're already drawn to.
First step this month: Post a simple "I tutor intro coding" note in two local parent groups.