11
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

What are extracurriculars/volunteering I could take to help my college resume (child-psychology)?
Answered

I'm a sophomore in High School and I want to go down the route of child-psychology, but I want to take some extracurriculars and/or volunteering opportunities to help out. Any suggestions?

psychology
resume
extracuriculars
volunteering
11
5
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5 answers

4
Accepted Answer
3 years ago[edited]

A great volunteer opportunity would be to help run and work with kids at local summer camps. You could also sign up to tutor or watch elementary school kids at after-school programs because many elementary schools offer programs after school for kids to stay at until their parents can pick them up after work.

While this one isn't as easily accessible, I know my school offers a class where high school students can volunteer at the preschool down the road as an 'internship' opportunity for the class hour each day. If your school doesn't have something like that, you could still contact a local preschool or early learning center and see if they have any internship opportunities that work with your high school schedule.

Another impressive one would be reaching out to a professor at a nearby college/university and asking them about their research and if you can help them conduct new research. They might say no or that they don't have any research currently, but at least you learned a little about what they've done and you can also ask if any of their graduate students have research they want help with.

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4
3 years ago

if you are going to major in psychology with the hopes to study child psychology when you graduate, I would not limit yourself to only activities with children involved. if you have the choice between tutoring children and being involved in psychology competition/research that isn't focused on children etc. definitely choose the latter because that will be more impressive. it just depends if your hook will be helping children or interest in psychology. you can do both but getting involved in psychology will stand out since so many people major in it, while a lot of people tutor, volunteer at summer camps etc.. good luck!

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2
3 years ago

I think you should start interning/volunteering for research in psychology at a lab if you can. Since psychology is also part of the medical field, you should also try volunteering at a hospital, though it will be nearly impossible for a while due to Covid. Several people have mentioned working with children, but I think it wouldn't be as valuable/impressive as researching/volunteering at a hospital/clinic. You could also start a psychology club at your school with an interest in researching psychology. Psychology is a growing field, and having experience with it could boost your chances of admission into a college. Best of luck!

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2
3 years ago

Have you thought about babysitting? It's fairly easy and you can earn money while you're at it.

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0
3 years ago

To be 100% transparent, obviously it won't hurt to get started early especially if you're aiming for more competitive schools, but psychology usually isn't a very competitive major to get into (relative to many others). Quite the opposite, actually. It's always good to get a headstart, but don't worry too much about it.

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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
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800

Extracurriculars

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