How to Choose Extracurricular Activities
How should students go about finding the right extracurricular activities? My answer is simple: Students should do what they love to do -- and then expand that passion into a meaningful and significant activity or project that will be about more than them, something for the greater good. Volunteering just to fulfill a community service requirement or participating in a particular activity because someone else said it would “look good” on a college application will lead neither to a fulfilling life nor to a remarkable resume. Extracurricular activities should reflect who a student actually is and how they relate to the community, rather than superficial endeavors that contribute nothing important to anyone.
A student should resist the temptation to assemble a “laundry list” of activities or clubs in which they merely dabble. Students who become leaders and devote themselves to an organization or students who devise a long-term project that actually improves the lives of others demonstrate initiative and commitment, and are always more interesting than students who just show up once a week to a meeting. In addition, there is no activity in which a student must participate; everyone is different. A student who writes for a website or who teaches gymnastics or ice skating to younger students is just as important as a student government member or tennis player. As long as a student is deeply and creatively involved in activities of their choice, they will grow as a person, and college admission committees will take note. In contrast, it helps no one for a student to engage in multiple activities in a lightweight fashion only to try to impress; the student gains nothing, and admissions committees can detect such fakery a mile away.
So how does a student discover what they love to do? I have found that most students actually do know what those activities are, but may have been dissuaded from pursuing them, or may not know how to express them or turn them into larger undertakings. That is where I can help. I can draw out a student’s passions by various means: asking questions, exploring a student’s past experiences with them, and having knowledge of similar students. It is always an exciting process for me to aid a student in identifying what they really want to do -- and then figure out how to do it. I have over thirty years of experience in helping students find their “thing,” create projects, and secure internships in their areas of interest; it is a journey that involves moving from an exploratory stage as a younger student to an advanced level of involvement as an older student. It is truly gratifying to watch a student begin to do what excites them, and then mature as their commitment evolves.
Summer is the perfect time to expand an activity in which a student is involved. When there are fewer demands on a student’s time, they can serve as an intern and/or do research in their chosen field, or take an on-going project to a higher level or a wider audience. Paid employment can also be a worthwhile enterprise, as long as the work is a student’s chosen area. Working to raise funds for a student’s own project or a charity in which they are involved is also a great idea. Spending a summer pursuing or funding that which they love will help a student develop as a human being -- and also show admissions committees that they are serious.
A student’s extracurricular profile should mirror who that student is and who they want to be. There is no “wrong” activity except one that is not genuine. Students should not try to please anyone else with what they do when they are not studying; if they insist on following that path, their activities will be empty entries on a resume. In order for a student to be successful -- do a great job -- in whatever they do apart from schoolwork, and to be able to translate that activity into making a difference in the student’s world, that activity must come from a student’s heart. The activity must make a student happy and proud. What will follow then are a life well-lived and a truly impressive college application, one that includes both memorable activities and powerful essays written by a student who has something to write about.
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