Getting good grades in high school is a big part of building for your academic and employment future. Colleges and prospective employers love to find students who have excelled at their studies. However, getting the best grades is not the only thing that matters. Admissions boards at colleges and universities are also looking for well-rounded students. This means that they are looking for young people who have interests beyond just academic studies. Whether it is sports, art, music, civic activities, or other pursuits, the college admissions people want to build a student body of diverse and interesting students.

There is another reason why colleges and employers want to see students who have other interests. This is because some people express their intelligence and leadership skills in ways beyond just getting great grades on high school tests and projects. By showing other skills, students can increase their future prospects beyond their grades. Each activity you engage in either inside or outside of school has the potential to increase your future chances. This applies whether you are planning to go to college or decide to join the workforce upon graduating from high school. Here are some different areas of extracurricular activities you can consider and how they will help you with your future.

Sports and other athletics

Engaging in athletic activities can be a reward in and of itself. Let’s face it, nothing can compare to leading a healthy lifestyle, and engaging in sports at a young age will help you with physical fitness as you get older. The great thing about athletics is that it is such a broad and varied category that there is sure to be a sport that you will find you enjoy.

When most people think about sports, the ones that come to mind are football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey. But there are plenty of team and individual sports that go beyond these ones with their organized leagues. Swimming and track are both great sports to get involved in, will promote a healthy lifestyle, and also help you when you apply for a job or college admission. They also don’t cost much in the way of gear, making them an easy sport to enter. You can also consider tennis, golf, volleyball, badminton, archery, gymnastics and bicycling.

No matter which sport you choose, you will be demonstrating to college admission boards and human resources departments at companies that you have personal commitment. In addition, sports helps build leadership skills, especially among team sports. The captain of a high school lacrosse team with good grades may have a better chance of admission than a student with better grades but who didn’t participate in sports or other activities. This is because the team captain has proven herself to be a leader.

Arts and music

If you enjoy arts and crafts, this can also help you with your future prospects. It doesn’t matter if it is painting, sculpture, conceptual art, or sewing and knitting. College admissions are always looking for talented young people who are creative. In addition, getting involved in arts can lead to a future in design, architecture or graphic arts. Each of these fields can be quite lucrative.

Similarly, music can help open doors. Whether you sing or play a guitar, drums, piano, violin, saxophone or tuba, your involvement in music can help demonstrate skill, talent, perseverance, and creativity. Also, the type of music doesn’t matter. Colleges and universities are always looking for students who are into rock, jazz, hip hop, rhythm and blues, classical, and country. This is because involvement in music can be a building block for the future, or even a career itself. In addition, it doesn’t matter if you played in an organized band, orchestra or ensemble. Being a solo musician is also fine. Best of all, if you write your own music, you will demonstrate a level of skills often far and above what the admissions officers and hiring directors expect in someone graduating from high school.

Civic organizations

If you are like most high school students, then you probably have come across many opportunities to volunteer in civic organizations and clubs at school or in your community. Some of these are quite well organized, like the Rotary that has chapters all over the world. Some may be associated with an ethnic group or religion that you belong to. In addition, there may be opportunities to volunteer at local blood banks, food banks, and libraries. All of these show prospective employers and college admissions officers that you are a person with empathy, who is willing to use his or her free time to make the world a better place. Also, like sports, this can demonstrate leadership skills, especially if you create a charitable activity either alone or with some fellow classmates. You will be showing the world that you can identify a problem that may be local or global in scope, come up with a way to address it, and work to solve the problem through a charitable activity.

Acting, mock trial and debate

While at first glance you might think that acting in a school play may have nothing to do with participating in mock trial or debate. However, these three activities are fairly well connected. First, all three require an individual who is willing to get up in front of strangers and talk. The ability to engage in and do well at public speaking is a skill set that many employers look for in their employees. Whether you are doing sales, working customer service, or putting on an internal presentation, you need to be comfortable doing public speaking. Each of these activities will help you build that skill set.

The second way they are all interrelated is their requirement that you think on your feet. In acting, it is not enough to stand in the right place and say the right thing. You need to engage with the other actors so the audience can engage with you. In addition, with mock trail and debate, you may get a question or comment from the other side or the judge that you weren’t expecting. You need to sometimes go outside the lines.

The skills developed in acting, debate, and mock trial are crucial to being able to interact with others, either on a college campus or at a job. When a college admissions board sees these activities on your application, they know they are dealing with someone who can engage with others in the classroom, improving the academic experience for the other students.

Extracurricular activities are a building block for the future

These are just some of the different extracurricular activities you can consider. We are sure there are plenty of others at your high school or in your community. Just like other parts of your personal resume, extracurricular activities are something else that will help you get admitted to the college of your choice. It will also be one more thing to make your application for a job stand out from the rest. This is critical in today’s ultra competitive world. Not only do extracurricular activities give you the opportunity to make friends while doing something enjoy. They also may help you open more doors in your future.

Sources:

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/plan-for-college/college-prep/stand-out/extracurriculars-matter-to-you-and-to-colleges#:~:text=Participating%20in%20extracurricular%20activities%20like,you%20an%20offer%20of%20admission.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/types-of-extracurricular-activities-2601430

https://www.asvabprogram.com/media-center-article/56