Don't have any extracurricular activities - how to get into college?

Question

I'm about to be a freshman at high school and though I'm not quite certain what career path I want to take, I really do want to land a good college.

I'm fairly certain I'll do well enough academically. What I feel I lack is a list of extracurricular activities. I'm not involved in anything, and the only interests I truly have are writing, web design, and graphic art (Photoshop). I don't see how those could count as extracurricular unless I make a good use of them (which I'm not sure how to do).

I was thinking of trying to get some writing published, but again, I don't see how I can realisitically do that. Where should I begin?

My family's going to India next summer - perhaps I could participate in community service there for a wider purpose - there certainly is a larger need there than here. Thoughts? Ideas?

Answer 1

Do something in high school that you enjoy doing, not something that you feel will get you into a good college. Still, writing for your high school newspaper would be a start -- and you would be using you love of writing. Do you have a computer club at school? That's another possibility. And I would definitely do some kind of meaningful volunteer work (that you enjoy). In your letter to various colleges I would simply mention too that you lived overseas, not that you did anything so special. Tell the school admissions people what you learned about the culture. Often visitors go to foreign countries and learn absolutely nothing about the natives. Don't be like that.

Answer 2

I'm going to answer this nice and simple for you. I'm physically handicapped, so I can't participate in sports, so these are the activities I do instead:

Studen Council (looks VERY good on a college application, you meet upperclassman, it's fun, and you can get out of a lot of classes)

Choir (also looks good on a college application, it's fun, it builds up your lung capacity, it's an easy A)

Key Club (your school may not offer it, but join it if they do. You basically do good will efforts in your community by helping at fundraisers, food drop offs, collecting money for hospitals, cleaning up highways, etc. The community work looks great for college)

Drama (Now, I'm not sure how your school works, but there's a drama club at my school, but it's not associated with the plays. Everyone has to try out for the plays. Fortunately, I made all three last year when it was my freshman year. It looks great on a college application, but it's very hard work. If you don't mind staying at school for an extra 2-7 hours per day, go ahead and go for it. I loved the plays and musicals.)

Now look at what I've done, this is no longer simple, but I suppose that I'll keep on going.

You're into writing you say? Same here, infact, I'm writing a play-write and it has its own website. You can visit it by going to: www.freewebs.com/evolutionsbylella. I too am not sure how to get it published, but it is nice to do on the side.

Photography? Gee, we certainly do have a lot in common. Do you have a digital camera? If so, start taking some pictures, and bring it with you where ever you go. You never know when you're going to see that perfect snapshot. Though you probably won't be able to during your freshman year, try to join a photography club or class if it is offered by your school. There, you can learn new techniques, and your photos will get more praise. You can also start an online photo gallery so that people can see what your photos are like (if you end up making on, tell me).

It also sounds like you would really enjoy a writing club, though I'm not sure how to join that. Meanwhile, the best club for you sounds like art club. I'm sure that your school probably has one, and if not, you can probably talk to your art teacher about creating one. There, you can have fun snapping photos and creating while getting your extra-curricular excersice.

If you have any questions, feel free to E-mail me. I'm only one year older than you, so I suppose that we'd have a lot in common.

Talk to you later, and I hope that you can find something that you are interested in!

-Lella^_^

Answer 3

Well if you want to get into a top college you'll need top grades. You don't need extracurriculars but they would help. Join the band or choir or play a sport it shows that your well rounded. Otherwise get into your student government. Be sure to volunteer for the community/church/wherever. Join the school newspaper? or the local town paper as a teen reporter. At least where I'm from we have a whole section of the daily paper that is written by local high schooler about what's going on at the school etc...

Answer 4

im going to be a sophomore next year, and i have found that volunteering at the local hospital for two hours a week is really easy. For extracurriculars...have you thought about starting a writing or web design club at your high school? not only will it give you extracurriculars, it will give you leadership points as well. also if your any good at any sport, you can always try out, because that will make a difference.

Answer 5

I'm being completely honest and not sarcastic at all when I saw I doubt it. There are a ton of students who have all As and are 4.0 or above students, have similar or better test scores, and have extracurriculars. So, your chances are definitely down in comparison. It's not a complete failure because you still could get in but it's harder to convince them now that you're worth taking in because you haven't done anything outside of grades ann test scores.

Answer 6

Volunteer at the public library. They can always use someone to help with the computers. You can learn how a library functions which can help you get work at the college library. Also, you will meet communiy leaders who can write recommendations for you. It only takes a few hour per week, but if you start as a freshman, you will have hundreds of hours of public service by the time you enter college.

Good luck to you.