Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are important. Yes - it may seem hard to do things outside of school, homework and friend stuff. Here are some reasons that you should participate in extracurricular activities.

Colleges Care
The good news is that colleges pay attention to your life inside and outside the classroom. Yes, your academics probably come first, but your activities reveal a great deal about you, such as:

* How you've made a meaningful contribution to something.
* What your non-academic interests are.
* Whether you can maintain a long-term commitment.
* Whether you can manage your time and priorities.
* What diversity you'd bring to the student body.

Maintaining a Balance
Colleges don't have a checklist of requirements when it comes to extracurricular -- they want to see your individuality -- and your consistent commitment.

Haven't Got Involved Yet?
Lots of school, community, and religious organizations give you chances to explore your interests and talents. If you haven't felt drawn into something yet, there's no shortage of opportunities for you to explore. For example:

School Activities
It's pretty easy to find out about activities available at school. Once you start exploring, sometimes the challenge is figuring out how much to do. Here are some quick tips:

* Most importantly, when you find something you like to do, stick with it.
* If you're interested and have extra time, try to excel in more than one area. For example, write for the paper and volunteer. But make sure you're giving your all to each activity, and, most importantly, to your school work.
* Don't worry about being president, or captain. The key is whether you've done something significant, center stage or behind the scenes.