Applying for College Archives - Page 4 of 4

Involvement in high school is really one of the only things that allow colleges to see your passions and personality. It is really one of the only ways on your applications that you can set yourself apart from others other than the essay section. How important is doing a bunch of different high school activities to help when applying for college? The answer is it is extremely important but the trick is to know what are the key activities to boost your college application. There are many things that you can get involved in that are a low time commitment and still, look good on an application. Things like sports is a type of involvement that looks good, shows character, and that a lot of high schoolers are involved in. You don't have to be star quarterback to show a college that you listen to direction, have determination, and can follow rules. They are simply looking for students who will succeed, follow the rules, and represent their university well. If your grades or ACT score happens to be right on the edge of what they usually accept, it can really help push you over the edge when you have involvement and leadership roles. This means that this can really help you get into your top choices for colleges. Colleges have been getting more competitive each year and the more you have to put on your application, the better. Here is some information about why involvement is so important in high school for college applications as well as some tips and tricks to help you along the way. Scholarships Involvement is one of the main factors of most college and high school scholarships. There are so many scholarships out there based off of specific involvement in high school like a choir, sports, etc. If you are interested in getting scholarships to pay for your schooling, it is vital that you are truly involved in high school activities. These are the types of things that you can write about in scholarship essays and show scholarship committees that you are the right student to give their money too. Once again scholarship committees are not always looking for the smartest student but someone who is going to be successful but may not otherwise have the means to do so. One of the best possible ways that you can show your success in high school other than grades and test scores is to show your involvement in your school and community. Having leadership positions also looks very good on scholarships and college application. These are harder to obtain so don't be too worried if you can’t get a leadership position, they are just a plus. Pick Low Time Commitment Involvement If Needed If you need more things to put on your applications, but you are busy with school, work, and other things, then try to find some clubs at school that is a very low time commitment. The more you can put on your application the better. It doesn’t always have to matter how involved you are in the club because they realize that you can’t be the president of every club. As long as you are showing that you are an engaged successful student then they will probably see you as a good candidate for the school or scholarship. You don't have to feel like you need to be overly active in every club offered at your school. All that this will do is overload you and take away from your time spent on scholarships and applications. High school is a good time to start finding the balance of all of the things going on in your life because that will be one of the main things you will have to focus on your first year of college. You also want to take the time to enjoy high school because all of these memories will last you a lifetime. Even though college can sometimes be more fun and exciting than high school, you still want to take the time to enjoy high school, senior year, and everything that goes with it. This is the last time that you will ever have these few responsibilities again because you will soon be living on your own as an adult in college. Sports Being involved in a sport really shows that you are a focused and determined person. It shows that you have been dedicated to going to practices and working on yourself for a while. Colleges will also realize that this means you are able to follow the rules and not get in trouble. They know that you can get kicked off the team for getting in trouble. What this shows them is that you could take college as seriously as you took this sport. They want students like you who are going to take college as a serious responsibility and be determined to succeed. This could also mean that you are interested in being a varsity or club athlete which really gives back to the university as a whole and makes you a more rounded student. Now, if you aren’t someone who’s good at sports don't worry there are many other ways you can show your dedication. Other Activities Sports is not everything because there are so many other extracurricular activities schools provide besides sports. You alsoi need to remember to do activities outside of school. Things like church mission trip or help build a house for people in need. Other activities include : BandChoirDrama clubChess clubMath clubMission TripsVolunteerSki club Things like drama club can also show that you are reliable, make it to rehearsals, and have a passion. This also means that you could be someone to get involved in these types of clubs on campus and make the college an overall better place. You should just want to show that you can be a successful student and that you will show interest in being an involved college as well. In the end, they simply just want the best for their university and for you. Involvement Helps Prepare You to Be a College Student Being involved not only helps you get into college an receive scholarships, but it also helps you be prepared to be a college student as well. You are going to have so many things to balance as a student and it is important that you start balancing things in life now so that you don't feel so overwhelmed then. If you want to be an involved and engaged college student, then what better way to prepare other than to be an involved and engaged high school student. Interviews If you are going to be having an interview for a job or a scholarship, the number one thing that they will be most concerned about speaking about is always your involvement. People are more interested in these types of thing rather than grades and test scores because it shows more about you, your personality, and what you will bring to their school or workplace. You want to be able to have something fun to talk about and really show your personality. Interviews are so much easier when you have something interesting to talk about or a story to tell. Most of the time people are just interested in seeing the real you and this a great way to showcase that. Resume When you get to college and you build your resume, you may have some high school information on it until you have enough college information and involvement to fill it out completely. This means that some of the most important clubs and involvement may actually end up being on your college resume for a little bit. You may have some information on any employers or bosses for internships/jobs/ club or organization positions on your resume. If you want to major in nursing then you need to volunteer at a hospital to see if you like that profession and show you want to work in that field. College admissions love when they see the dedication in students by volunteering to learn more about the profession they are interested in. Major Sometimes the things that you are involved in throughout high school can actually pinpoint what you are good at and enjoy. This actually means that your high school involvement could help you find out what you are interested in your major and career being. Believe it or not, there is actually a lot of students who found their passion during a club or even in high school. Take advantage of the resources and opportunities you have while in school because they can have an overall large effect on your life. If you can find out this information while still in high school, it can have a really big impact on your overall college career. Just remember to take these opportunities now because you may never have them again. Conclusion Overall there are so many different reasons why it is important to be involved in high school. Not only are you making memories to last you a lifetime, but you are also working on things to put on your college applications, scholarship applications, and college resume. They may seem like little things now, but they really add up and can make a difference for you as a student. Take every opportunity that you can that will help you get into your top colleges and receive scholarships. If running for president of a club in high school helps get you accepted into your dream college, it really seems well worth it. You just want to be a part of everything that you can that will help you be the most successful. Stay involved and good luck on all of your college and scholarship applications, you deserve what you work for.