Aline Your Clubs with Your College Application
What to put on your college application to make you stand out.
I’ve been at this college application process for a couple of months and I’ve had an overwhelming amount of advice from my parents, friends, uncles, cousins, and even strangers and some of the advice was great. Some are just plain awful but they have the best intentions. But what they all have said to me was, “Make sure you make yourself stand out.”
Clubs
They say during high school, be as involved as possible but I say don’t. Freshman Year, you join every single club and you may start overwhelm yourself that you don’t get as involved in the clubs. You can't move up in the ranks. When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter how many clubs you join if you don't move up in the ranks, all college admissions will see is that you joined the clubs just to join.
My Advice/ Experience
Join two or three clubs that you really enjoy so that you have the chance to get to know the members, the sponsor, the works of the club. When you do, get as involved as possible in those clubs. These will open up a plethora of opportunities for you so that when senior year rolls around, you could become VP or even President. When college administrators see this, they know you stay committed and you work hard.
I’ve been a member of the same two clubs since Sophomore year of high school, and as a senior, I managed to move up as VP for both clubs. Though my schedule was busy, I had time to participate because I wasn't running around trying to keep up with what club meetings I had to attend. The clubs I joined corresponded to the major I plan on studying in college. I joined a club named HyperStream which deals with learning how to code website, Graphic Interfaces (I/O’s). It corresponds with the Computer Science major which I will be pursuing in college. You don't want to confuse the admissions board by joining all these journalism clubs when you’re intended major will be Science or Mathematics. You want to stay consistent so they can see what you are interested in your major.
Now, I'm not saying to not join a club that involves one of your hobbies. You can still be an engineering major with a list of two clubs that involved learning about engineering but you can still have an art club because it's something you enjoy.
In the end, it's all about finding something you love and staying consistent. Don't be afraid to explore, but at the same time, don't be timid towards your aspirations. Clubs are meant to get you involved in your school community while building extracurricular contexts for your academic resume - make the most of them!