The moment a student steps into high school, they are swarmed by the multitude of activities and extracurriculars to take advantage of. While some may be overwhelmed, others take the opportunity to dive into all the school has to offer. Extracurricular activities have been more recently seen as a way to build a resume for college applications, but are not fully appreciated and recognized for the importance they bear in shaping a student’s school life.
99.8% of all public schools have extracurriculars available to all students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. From this statistic, 79.9% of students participate in an extracurricular activity offered at a public school. As stated by the U.S. Department of Education, “extracurricular participation supports students’ character development by giving them skills required for personal success, such as leadership skills, time-management skills, and the ability to accept constructive criticism.”
While there is a wide range of people who participate in extracurriculars, the number who are only involved in extracurricular activities for college applications has grown. Despite the fact that good GPAs and test scores can be beneficial when applying to colleges, it is not the only criteria colleges rely on, and the vast majority of students participate in extracurriculars to further enhance their applications.
Although it can be helpful for one’s future, extracurricular activities must be seen as something that will further a student’s growing life, not just as something to write down on an application. According to the College Board, “While grades and test scores are important, colleges also want to see the person you’re becoming and the skills you’ve learned outside of class. They want to know what makes you unique, and the extracurricular activities you participate in will help you stand out.”
Though extracurricular activities are important for college applications, there are other benefits that have been often overlooked and need to be further recognized. Since the start of my high school career, I have been involved in at least one extracurricular. While my freshman year was online, I still wanted to join as many clubs as possible, such as virtual class planning and the Paper Bridges Club, to become more involved in the community and to get to know more people. An online club expo was held virtually, and I remember knowing that I wanted to try out for cheer my sophomore year, and interview to be a Patriot Ambassador in the spring. When I came back into the school building for the first time sophomore year, being a part of these clubs and teams, I knew people from different grades, because I had taken the time to go outside of my comfort zone and join that club or team.
The extensive list of extracurricular activities not just in this school but in the community allows students to dig into their surroundings, and become greater engaged with the people around them. Instead of going to extracurricular activities for college applications, students should participate to learn more about their community, and different perspectives and to get to know themselves more. At this school, the Patriot Ambassadors organization is involved in community service events and activities, allowing students to help contribute to their community, as well as see the diversity of the other members of the club and community. In the club, I was able to show my leadership skills, and also realize that I work well with others and in a team, while also voicing my opinion, something that I may not have been able to recognize had I not joined the club.
Not only does participating in extracurriculars allow students to be more involved in the community, but it also allows them to make more friends, and get to know a greater number of peers. Students can go into school on the first day knowing that because they joined that team, or participated in a club over the summer, they will know more people than they thought they would. Being a part of a team brings a second family, and participating in a club could give you a community surrounding you. “You’re instantly a part of a brotherhood or family and everyone on the team is incredibly close-knit to one another,” senior volleyball player Eli Umar said.
Students often join clubs at the beginning of high school or the academic year, not realizing the extent to which they have signed up. If a student only joins a cluster of clubs to further their applications, they can quickly become burned out attempting to be active in each and every club they are a part of, trying to get leadership positions or show their functioning role in the community. While it is great to be involved in different clubs, the pressure to stand out on a college application is causing students to stray from the big picture of extracurriculars: to have fun doing what you like to do.
Instead of joining as many clubs as possible, students should choose a few clubs that they feel actively demonstrate what they wish to do to help or be involved in the community, and become immersed in those clubs. “My sister did Best Buddies when she was in high school and thought that I could join a club that meant so much to her. I really enjoy hanging with my friends and started to go to meetings every month, and being co-president helps me do that,” co-president of Best Buddies senior Alexa Vinner said.
Actively being involved in the community and the school could change a student’s perspective on what they want to do in the future. A student could go into a DECA meeting being sure they wanted to work in theater and come out realizing that business is for them, and that is what they want to do with their life. “Being part of Best Buddies helped me discover my love for supporting neurodivergent individuals, especially children. I always knew I wanted to go into the medical field and Future Doctors of America provided insight into different specialties I could potentially explore. The combination of these clubs fostered my interest in pediatric neurology and led me to engage in many extracurricular activities I enjoy and influenced my decision to major in neuroscience on the pre-med track,” senior Lily King said.
Although I can’t say that I have never participated in a club just for a college application, I can say that after concluding my extracurricular activities thus far, the activities that I have participated in such as being a Patriot Ambassador and being on the cheer team have given me a greater understanding of how much they truly shape a student and should be more appreciated for what they do outside of college applications.
While I started off high school attempting to join as many clubs as I could, I eventually realized that I could not do everything I wanted, and whittled the number of extracurriculars I was interested in into around four different activities. I decided that being on Common Sense, the cheer team, Patriot Ambassadors, as well as being on the board for a non-profit Birthday Cakes 4 Free, helped steer me toward my goals to work in the communications field. I became involved in these extracurriculars, getting leadership positions as the co-president of Patriot Ambassadors and online editor-in-chief of Common Sense, and gaining valuable friendships as well as experience.
Extracurricular activities should be used as a way to gain valuable experience and become more involved in the community, and instead of focusing on how to use these activities to further one’s college applications, they should be used to further one’s place in the world and community.
