A question we get asked with some frequency is: 鈥淲hat clubs should I join in high school to have a shot at getting in to a top college?鈥� (Or variations thereof). This is on the face of it a reasonable question, top colleges clearly care about extracurriculars, but there are a lot of those available and only so many hours in a day. People want to know the best ones to choose, the right way to spend their time to maximize their chances.
The real answer, however, is somewhat underwhelming: there is no 鈥渞ight鈥� club to join to get into a top college.
That doesn鈥檛 mean all clubs are created equal however, nor that all extracurricular involvements are on a level field. In this article, we鈥檒l go into what the best way to involve yourself in high school extracurriculars are, and how certain activities can prepare you better or worse for college admissions. There鈥檚 a lot of nuance in this, but everyone loves that, so let鈥檚 get started!
Why Colleges Care 吃瓜官网 High School Clubs
We are going to be focusing on high school clubs specifically in this article, rather than extracurriculars as a whole (though some of the things we say and conclude will apply to both). High school clubs are the most accessible extracurriculars for most students, and often the most misunderstood, so we wanted to focus on them for this article.
The first thing to note is that colleges don鈥檛 generally distinguish between kinds of extracurriculars, at least in terms of how you got involved with them. Playing club soccer or playing for your high school team are equivalent in theory. There are certain extracurriculars which only occur through high school (like student government), but the most important takeaway from this article is this: there is no single extracurricular you can take part in that will, on its own, increase your chances of getting into college.
Admissions officers don鈥檛 use checklists, going down your application to see how many clubs you joined, how many varsity teams you participated in, and giving points based on the clubs themselves or how many you signed up for. The clubs you join are instead used as proxies, ways for colleges to try and measure the actual things they do care about. These are:
- Passion. They want students who care about things, and who have taken the time to pursue those things they care about.
- Leadership: They want students who have shown initiative and stepped up to take on responsibilities.
- Community. They want students who can work well with others, who can join a group larger than themselves and contribute meaningfully to it.
High school clubs give you one of your best opportunities to demonstrate all three. In the rest of this article, we鈥檙e going to explain how, and how certain clubs can help, or hinder, your efforts.
Demonstrating Passion Through High School Clubs
Simply joining a club which is related to a subject you are interested in can indicate passion, but it doesn鈥檛 do much if that鈥檚 all you do. The trick is to find the things you care about, the things that excite you, and then apply yourself to them fully. As an example of how this looks to admissions officers, here鈥檚 two students, both of whom want to study engineering:
- Student A joined the robotics club, the computer science club, and the rocketry club at their school, and went to meetings for all three each week.
- Student B joined the robotics team for their school. They sought out competitions for the team to participate in, helped the team fundraise, participated in every step of the design process, actively recruited new students, and was the lead programmer for their robot.
Based on just these descriptions, which student seems more passionate about robotics? Which one seems to care more? This is a somewhat extreme example, but this is also pretty much all the data an admissions officer has to go on. They don鈥檛 get to meet you, talk with you, they only see what you have done, and read the essays you send them. Student B shows off passion; student A might have it, but they don鈥檛 show it, even though they have joined more clubs related to their passion on paper.
Your passions can be related to the major you intend to pursue, but they do not have to be. That said, certain competitive majors do benefit from showing interest early. If you intend to study computer science, and have never once tried to learn a programming language in high school, colleges may question your passion for the field. The general rule is that the more opportunities there are to get involved with an activity you might want to major in, the more expectations colleges have. Students interested in computer science need to show that; students interested in archaeology have a little bit more leeway.
Demonstrating Leadership Through High School Clubs
Colleges want leaders; that is students who have displayed qualities of leadership. This doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean you have been in charge of everything you鈥檝e been a part of, but that you have shown that you鈥檙e willing to step up and take responsibility, that you show initiative, and that you work well without needing constant outside reinforcement.
Colleges look for this as a sign of maturity, that you will be able to handle both the rigors and the freedoms present on a college campus. AT college, you will be in charge of your own schedule, and will need to hold yourself responsible for getting your work done. The best way to show you have done this is demonstrating that you have done equivalent things before.
This is a measure of quality, not quantity. Just as passion is not demonstrated through the sheer number of clubs you join, neither is responsibility indicated by becoming president of every club. You can take on leadership roles in multiple organizations and ways, but these can vary in appearance and commitments.
You can also show leadership without being the president of a club, or even an officer. Here are the best ways to show leadership through the clubs you join:
- Assume responsibility. Whether it鈥檚 for a single event, a component of a larger project, or the official responsibility of running the thing, show that you are willing to step up and handle something solid and real. This means taking the initiative to get things done, and knowing when to stop and ask for help.
- Acknowledge failures. You may be lucky and have everything go well, but if things do go wrong, acknowledge your own part in what happened, and reflect on what you learned from it. This demonstrates emotional maturity and depth.
- Create lasting change. The best leadership roles are ones that change things in the long term. If a club flourishes while you are present but dries up once you leave, then you are not as effective as you could be as a leader. Show how you took steps to nurture the next generation in the organizations you are part of.
This can be done in any student club or organization you join. Every organization needs people who are willing to step up and work, and those are the kinds of people colleges are looking for. Even if you don鈥檛 have a solid leadership position to describe on your activities list, this is still something to explore in your essays.
Demonstrating Community Through Your High School Clubs
Admissions officers are trying to build communities, groups of people who will work and thrive together on campus. There is a stereotype of academics and scientists working alone in labs, cackling as lightning flashes and discoveries are made, but almost all academic work takes place in groups, and life on campus is communal. Thus, admissions officers want students who will contribute positively to their shared community.
The most common way students try to demonstrate this is through volunteering; this is an excellent approach, but you can do the same through your high school clubs.This is true regardless of what the club is; while some allow you to involve yourself more in the affairs of the school community as a whole, all clubs are communities unto themselves.
How you go about doing this, what it looks like, depends on both the club you are a member of and your own personal talents. Not everyone builds community in the same way, or has the same skills, and that鈥檚 okay; colleges look for these distinctions and unique talents.
When describing your activity in your clubs, however, there are some things you should pay attention to, and try to discuss, if only in passing:
- How you were able to work with others in the club, serving as part of a team working towards a common goal. Colleges want leaders, but they also need people who can unite as part of a common vision.
- How you were able to handle conflict and disagreement. People argue; that鈥檚 a normal and healthy part of any relationship or group. What matters is how you handled it, and found common ground with your chosen community.
- How you specifically contributed to the group. You want to show both what you were able to do, your own strengths and values, and why contributing is important to you, why you want to help make the places and groups you are part of better.
This is easiest to show through your essays. That you were part of a group is clear from your activity list, but how you contributed, what kind of member you were, is what top colleges want to see. Again, being a quality member of a few clubs matters more than dallying in a great number.
Thoughts on Specific High School Clubs
We cannot cover every high school club and activity, but we will discuss some of the most popular, and some broad categories of clubs. None of these are inherently better or worse for your application, but we will point out some ways you can make sure you are making the most of the clubs which appeal to you.
Student Government
Whether you鈥檙e on student council or in charge of the whole thing, student government is a popular way to contribute to a school community. Be wary of the problem of all politicians, over-promising and under-delivering. When writing about your accomplishments in government, you want to show genuine care for the school community, and use hard numbers to demonstrate how you tried to make it better. Here, more than most clubs, you can impact the school as a whole; there is a lot of potential to do good here.
Sports
High school sports may be the most popular set of extracurriculars as a whole. At the high end, the very best athletes will get some admissions boost to some schools. For most high school athletes however, they won鈥檛 get this boost, and should instead treat them as any other club, focusing on leadership and community. We advise always having some extracurricular involvement beyond sports, unless you know you are one of those rare talents who coaches will actively recruit.
Academic Teams
From quiz bowl to debate to chess club to the various academic olympiads (and beyond), these are a great way to show off your passion for various academic subjects. Placing very well in these competitions can meaningfully impact your chances of admission, but even if you don鈥檛 reach those lofty heights you can still contribute to the environment of the clubs.
Art and Music
A lot of high school students participate in art and music and dance without intending to major in any of those fields. This is fine; there are great ways to demonstrate your maturity, your willingness to work hard towards a distant goal through these engagements. It is easier to showcase many of these values through something like orchestra or a stage production than a more solo pursuit of art, but you still can and should try to engage with the broader artistic community at your school, whatever your involvement with it is.
Interest and Social Groups
This is the broadest category, and these are often the clubs which require the least active involvement, which can easily fall by the wayside, especially if you join a lot of them. When joining these clubs, do so intentionally, with the desire to find and build a community. You don鈥檛 have to devote all your time to them, but don鈥檛 just join a bunch of these clubs so you can check off a few more boxes on an activities list. Pick a handful, and do something meaningful within them.
Final Thoughts
There are many many clubs you can join in high school, and any of them can set you on the path to getting into a top college. There is no one 鈥渞ight club鈥� or 鈥渞ight sport鈥� or 鈥渂est extracurricular鈥�; there is no hidden secret to find the key to what admissions officers want. We hope that this article has helped you understand what admissions officers look for from high school clubs, and how you can demonstrate it yourself.
If you are looking for advice exploring your own passions, or taking your extracurricular involvement to the next level, then 吃瓜官网 can help. Our mentors are experts at every aspect of the admissions process, and love helping young students explore and discover their passions. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can set you on the path to collegiate success; we鈥檙e always happy to hear from you.
