Extracurriculars

Answered

11th grade is tricky since colleges like to see consistency and long-term ECs. My advice: Nigeria has some national competitions, so try to do some of those if possible. Be very active and involved in your community, civic service and volunteering, and school clubs. Maybe even found a new school club, or start your own community initiative. If you can't find enough out-of-school activities, or don't have the time, apply for leadership positions in school, such as Head Boy/Girl, Prefect, or leadership at clubs (although typically you'd need to be a club member for a while before getting to the leadership position).

For programming, its a good idea to get certified in programming languages, or do online courses and actually make things with your new skills. For example, participating in hackathons, making an app to solve a problem you see, etc.

As a Nigerian, you are at a disadvantage compared to American students who have access to national programs and competitions, competitive high school summer camps and countless other opportunities. But what you do have access to is a community where there is a lot more potential for you to create your own meaningful change. Basically, AOs know African countries aren't as developed as the US, and you can emphasise that by focusing on building your community. Start a program to tutor low-income primary students, or something similar that helps improve the world around you. You can also use your strengths to your advantage- if you're interested in sport, technology, or reading, there's something you can do to share your passions and skills with people who may not have access to the same opportunities. This will also show AOs that you are an individual with the potential to become an innovator, and you have something unique you're passionate about.

I'm going to be frank with you- you have a busy year ahead of you if you want to build up an EC profile that's strong enough for a UC. I know some people applying who have been in the same clubs for all 4 years of HS, leaders of school clubs and volunteers at well-known organisations like the Red Cross, and are still only average applicants from the EC perspective.

A great idea is to do community service or volunteering out of school, either joining a community service based club if there are any in your area or doing it on your own, you could also start one, that would look great! I would also recommend starting clubs within your school if you can.

You could start a computer programming club or computer science club at your school. Here are the steps you can take to get that done:

1. Find a sponsor. Your favorite teacher or a teacher whose professional field aligns with your club. To convince them: have your club objectives and purpose ready. A sponsor can help you spread the word and make your club official.

2. Attract members. I know some schools have requirements on how many members there have to be for a club to be official so find that out and get the word around.

3. Have a fun interest meeting.

If that does not work, some other clubs you can join that most schools already have are Key Club, Debate, Student Council/Student Government, Math Club, Honors Societies, Engineering Club, Black Student Union, or STEM club.

Aim for leadership positions if you're really passionate about the club. Hope this helps! Good luck :))