Extracurricular Activities For Your College Resume

College Resume Tips from an Irvine Admissions Consultant

As a high school student, it’s important to demonstrate more than just a good grade sheet. Colleges and universities look for a well rounded group of applicants. A good grade sheet is only considered a prerequisite for college acceptance. Students in 2015 should be prepared to demonstrate more than just success with course materials – make sure your grades are where they should be with the help of one of our Orange County academic tutors.

       (AP Photo/The Chronicle-Tribune, Jeff Morehead)

Students who want to attend a fine college or university should consider joining multiple extracurricular activities. There are a few things to think about before making a multi-year commitment, including whether this particular activity represents you as an individual (Read: “8 Reasons Applicants Fail to Get Into the College of Their Choice“).

One – Model United Nations

Students who have any interest in international relations, sociology, psychology, or communications may be a good fit for Model UN. Students participating in this after school activity will find that they have to argue points that they may or may not ultimately believe in. However, this teaches students valuable skills about empathy, which can come in handy in any given field where students will have to work with people. Public speaking is also required when participating in Model UN and, although this can be terrifying at first, it’s an extremely valuable skill for both college and life (Read: “A Letter to My High School Self“).

Two – Team and individual sports

Both team and individual sports take up an incredible amount of time. To be successful in sports, a student must have an extreme amount of physical discipline as well as demonstrated team spirit. Students who make a three or four year commitment to a sport in high school, show potential universities that they can make a long-term commitment to something strenuous. Students who don’t make the team or students who are more geared towards an individual sport can join a club that is not directly related to the school. Many sports clouds, run clubs, and other individual sports offer their members spirit points or participation points, which can be documented and later shown on a student resume. Even students who are not at a level where they might receive a scholarship can still impress potential colleges by participating in some sort of sport after school.

Three – A kindness club

Many high schools have started a kindness club, sometimes called “It’s cool to be kind”, in response to recent widespread allegations of bullying throughout high schools. These groups are often student led but are generally officially recognized by their high school (READ: “Kindness Clubs for Kids“). Students who wish to study in any field, but especially in a helping profession, such as a teacher, therapist, or nurse, may find that this particular afterschool commitment is especially impressive to potential universities. This is also a great way to fill community service hours and a good way to help the community and other young people in general.

Four – A fine arts or music club

Unfortunately, most high schools have all but done away with art and music. This leaves most public school students at a disadvantage later on. Students who graduated 10 years before current students will have had the opportunity to have participated in art and music to some degree. Even if they are not in an art or music field, they will have gained a lot of right–brain (problem solving, creative thinking) knowledge from participating in these activities. To make up for that deficit, current high school students can demonstrate a well-rounded education by joining a club that has to do with arts and music. Students who live right here in Southern California will have plenty of opportunity to participate in museum or concert field trips, many of which are free or very low cost to full-time students.

Five- Peer tutoring

If a particular student does extremely well in one subject, for example English, they may consider participating as a peer tutor. There are many outreach programs that pair any current high school student with a student of the same age or younger who needs academic help. There are multiple English as a second language (ESL) programs right here in Orange County where a student can do some excellent community service to count towards high school graduation. Regardless of what subject a student might excel in, there is sure to be some opportunity for peer tutoring. This is especially beneficial to a future teacher or any student who wishes to work with people as part of their career.

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