How Do I Build Up My Portfolio? [Part 2]

One important yet often neglected aspect of our education is portfolio building. It is particularly important for applications to merit-based scholarships or overseas universities (especially the US). In this article, I’ll share some advice about building up one’s portfolio, a skill which has enriched my learning and enabled me to win scholarships and placings in competitive universities.

Portfolio Building Tips

1. Start early

• If it’s possible, don’t wait till A-Levels is over to start building your portfolio, especially if you are a girl and don’t have 2 years of NS to potentially make up for lost time. Even if you’re a boy, NS will significantly restrict the range of opportunities you can take on (e.g. because you’re forbidden from moonlighting i.e. doing a paid job during NS, you can’t take on internships). Therefore, make strategic use of your June and December holidays to find learning and developmental opportunities outside the classroom, so you have more time to get really good at whatever you do.

• Think about your future education and career plans, which can then guide your portfolio-building strategy

  • E.g. I wish to go to Oxbridge Law, so I should go for law internships, Model UN/Debates, participate in law essay competitions, do relevant online courses, and read up on the foundational thinkers in the field of law / relevant books like Just Mercy.

  • E.g. I hope to go into NTU Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP). So I’ll embark on interesting and groundbreaking personal engineering projects, intern at a start-up, take university-level online courses about Computing, Physics and Math, join a research program in sch/take a relevant H3 subject, take part in robotics competitions and STEM conferences.

• However, even if you do start later, there still are ways you can improve your portfolio, so don’t give up.

2. Remember the qualities evaluators look for

• Pay attention to what evaluators look for, so that you can customise your portfolio activities and sell them well. Common qualities include:

  • Initiative: Showing proactive attitude, taking the first step. This could include reaching out to relevant persons/organisations for an extracurricular opportunity (as opposed to having it offered to you), founding your own organisation etc. E.g. I registered for a social service course normally aimed at social workers by reaching out to the course provider, because I wanted to understand the social service sector and improve my community service leadership / I reached out to XX for an internship/research position at his organisation.

  • Leadership: It’s not just the size of your organisation or how high your position is within it (important in their own right). Show that you have vision, people management skills, and make real, significant contributions to the organisation. E.g. I was responsible for the expansion of our community service to these additional estates / I helmed this important project that reached XX number of people / I noticed a major flaw in the organisation’s procedures and implemented ways to optimise it.

  • Commitment: Better to pour a 100 hours into really dedicating yourself to a volunteer activity you’re really passionate about, than to split the 100 hours amongst 10 different organisations. Extracurricular activities that you’ve spent years in shows more dedication than one-off events.

  • Scale: In general, the larger the scale, the better. International/national competitions with thousands of participants tend to shine more than smaller local competitions. Volunteer activities that help more beneficiaries are also naturally valued more.

  • Recognition/accreditation: This is especially important in making informal extracurricular activities like hobbies or student-led initiatives shine better. Otherwise it is hard to ascertain their validity and degree of achievement. E.g. Getting a national award for songs you published on Spotify as part of your musical passions / winning a prize in a competition for a piece of literature you wrote / gaining recognition or partnering from a government body like MSF or a major charity.

  • Relevance: If you’re applying for a specific scholarship or a course in a competitive university, it is advisable to have at least some (not necessarily all) activities that demonstrate relevant experience.

• Remember, quality over quantity. The moral of the story is to commit yourself to a set of activities you really care about, and max out the aforementioned qualities. Don’t overcommit yourself to a billion activities. You’ll learn less, contribute less and fail to impress.

3. Have some degree of specialisation and focus

• Evaluators for scholarships, universities and companies like to hear a coherent story about you, what you care about, what you’ve achieved, how you’ve contributed. Therefore, it is advisable for you to engage in multiple high-quality extracurriculars that revolve around a handful of areas of focus/interest, rather than being all over the place. You’ll also learn a lot more, and potentially be able to transfer knowledge and skills gained from one experience to improve your work in another. Not all your activities must obey this, but it is good to have some degree of specialisation to further demonstrate your passion and experience.

4. Be proactive, resourceful and creative

• You have to be really proactive and resourceful about finding new opportunities, programs, competitions, internships, because no one is going to do that for you. You can find them from various sources:

  • JCs: Many JCs have message boards that publicise such opportunities.

  • Education and Career Guidance (ECG) units: Some ECG units may even offer help with securing internships during your JC break.

  • Your social network: Seniors, parents, religious groups etc.

  • Linkedin: One really handy tip if you are not well-connected is to find inspiration by looking through the profiles of upz university students (if they made it into the particular program/university/scholarship you are gunning for, that would be even better). They often list the many activities and programs they have participated in, which you could consider.

  • Internet: A simple search on Google can reveal lots of relevant opportunities.

• Think outside the box. In primary and secondary school, our idea of what constitutes a portfolio-building extracurricular activity is quite narrow, focusing on things like formal academic, clubs and sports competitions and school-based volunteering opportunities. But there’s far more than that. Can’t find any formal opportunities? Why not start your own? Found a ground-up initiative that serves a neglected need in the community. Conduct a personal research project, aided by MOOCs from top universities. Start a Spotify podcast about your pet passion (geopolitics, youth well-being, human rights?). Community service doesn’t need to be mediated by your school too; there are so many opportunities out there offered by NGOs and charitable organisations.

For ideas/inspiration about what kinds of extracurriculars you can join, refer to part 1 of our extracurriculars series here where we compile different ideas.

Contributed by anonymous