1
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

Extracurricular Activity Ideas?
Answered

I'm a freshman in high school, and due to the pandemic and just the way my school is run, they do not provide many extracurriculars. My current GPA unweighted is a 3.8, so I'm strong in the academic area but I'm afraid that my extracurricular have fallen short. I'm very introverted at my school, and I'm afraid that will hold me back from trying new things. Currently, the only extracurricular I do is marching band. If you have any suggestions, such as things outside of school, things to do over the summer, or just anything you think could help me would be great!

Also, if you have any advice on how to prep for the SAT's early on, that would be wonderful too :)

?
SAT-prep
advice
extracuriculars
1
5
🎉 First post
Let’s welcome @shelby0723 to the community! Remember to be kind, helpful, and supportive in your responses.

Earn karma by helping others:

1 karma for each ⬆️ upvote on your answer, and 20 karma if your answer is marked accepted.

3 answers

2
Accepted Answer
3 years ago

If your school offers a Key Club (a volunteering-centered club), I'd definitely suggest joining it! Key Club is an international nonprofit organization, and with 1000s of clubs in more than 38 countries, the impact of Key Club members can be felt all over the world.

I joined my school's Key Club in my freshman year, and as the years passed, I began running for positions in the club. Sophomore year I was club secretary, and junior to senior year I was club president. It really helped me go from being a shy/introverted freshman to an outspoken/extroverted student :) (because I was able to socialize/meet new people at the volunteer events I attended).

However, if there is no Key Club at your school, don't fret! You could always start one (and be able to write something along the lines of "Founded Key Club at [insert your school name]" which is pretty epic). If you feel like that's too much work, you could also try joining an existing volunteer club at your school (there's a variety of these types of clubs out there, but one other than Key Club is Red Cross)

As for things to do over the summer, maybe pick up an online course or perhaps look for internships in your area :D (Tip: if you make a Linkedin account & search for internships nearby, it makes things so much easier)

For SAT prep, you can take an initial practice exam to measure where you're at, at the very moment, and then practice the skills you're lacking (or types of questions you frequently got wrong) on Khan Academy. Their free SAT prep is so beneficial & I regret not making better use of it. Try to take a practice SAT every 2 ? weeks or however long you want to pace yourself.

Main thing to take away: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE . The SAT's questions are just variants of the same few questions. The more practice you do, the quicker you'll be able to recognize how to approach a question and answer it quickly.

2
2
3 years ago

I think it's great that you're spending time on this, but I believe you have to change your question slightly; how can I exercise my passion, and develop myself?

As much as colleges want you to do extracurriculars, they also want you to follow your passion. So if for example, computer science is your passion, learn some coding! Sure, it doesn't qualify as an 'extracurricular' but this WILL help you, as you'd be developing yourself as a person; colleges like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, etc., all of them want a wholistic and well-rounded person.

I'm not saying "Don't do extra-curricular" at all, but most of what you spend your time on should be in an area that interests you.

So here what you can do :

Find your hobby/passion.

Research what you can do with it and how you can develop it.

If there is a club for it, go join!

If not, use the power of the internet.

Most of all, stop trying to impress a college and start trying you develop yourself.

Hope that helps! :)

Cheers!

Tharun

---

ps: I've been posting this answer everywhere since people seem to have similar questions... :D

2
1
3 years ago

If you are interested in music I would suggest finding some local bands or orchestras to play in. I was like this my freshman year too and it helped me to find accepting school groups in things I was passionate about.

1
What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
Loading…
UCLA
Loading…
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Community Guidelines

To keep this community safe and supportive:

  1. Be kind and respectful!
  2. Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
  3. Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!

How karma works