I'm still in high school & I'm considering going into the optometry field. i am hearing many people talk about colleges checking you extracurricular activities. what is that exactly talking about, so that i can still prepare while in high school? thank for all your help!. Created by .nyc. education-reference-en - higher-education-university--en

applying to college extracurricular activities?

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It's never too late to build-up or enhance your high school resume for colleges. But I'm sure you have had extracurriculars before though. Do you play an instrument? That's one. How about sports? Have you ever participated in a sports team? Have you ever taken interesting classes out of high school? Maybe a series of ballroom dancing classes or even classes in improv comedy. Those are all extracurriculars. School clubs also count as well. If you haven't joined any, join one or two you think you would enjoy this year. Don't try to join in too many because it'll show that you're unfocused and may look like you're just joining clubs to look impressive. Good luck.

Anonymous

Admission officers look for students who not only excel academically but are well-rounded, too. Extracurricular activities show that a student is dedicated and has a strong work ethic which will stay with them in higher education and elsewhere. If would want to be in good academic standing raise your GPA to a 3.5 and take the SAT. Get at least a 1700 on that to be well-regarded by admissions. For me, I got a 1990 on the SAT Reasoning (second attempt without studying) and a 29 on the ACT and 11 for the writing bit (brought it up from a 27 by studying somewhat the second time). On the SAT II's I got 740 for Math and 690 for Molecular Biology. My GPA was 3.9 unweighted and 4.2 weighted. Also, I was: in American Red Cross, the school newspaper, on the chess team, AVID, on the school Site Council, big on volunteerism, etc. You need to see the bigger picture if you are to succeed and get in the college of your choice. If you have not started on your extracurriculars already I strongly advise you to do so before it is too late.

It can include sports teams or clubs, as well as volunteer work (at hospitals, treatment centers, elementary schools, etc.) Extracurricular activities can give more of an incite into your personality that test scores and grades cannot.

Anonymous

Colleges want to see that you're about more than just academics. For the most part, it doesn't matter what the activities are, they just want to see that you were able to maintain a good GPA while being involved in other activities like a debate team, athletics, part-time job, volunteering, etc