<p>I came into high school excited about being able to participate in clubs and become involved, so I eagerly attended meetings for some clubs I was interested in. I soon found that clubs at my school were hollow, pointless, application-padding wastes of time.</p>
<p>Spanish Club- Eat at a new mexican restaurant once every 2 weeks. Get a T-shirt.
Fishing Club- Have a 15 minute meeting about nothing about once a month. Get a T-shirt.
History Club- Spend the whole year "planning" for a short civil war reenactment. Get a T-shirt
NHS- Meeting once a month for 10 minutes, 25 required "volunteer hours"(some examples are serving food at a rich elementary carnival and donating a stuffed animal, which gives you 2 hours per animal). Get a T-shirt.</p>
<p>Is this how clubs are at all high schools?! They act like giving out a T-shirt makes up for the fact that they do nothing</p>
<p>How do colleges know about what you did in these clubs (like fundraisers you held, how much money you’ve raised, what you’ve done)? Through guidance counselors?</p>
<p>My school is the same! Except we don’t even get t-shirts. i ditched all the clubs and found other more fulfilling things to do outside school. i hope that doesn’t come across as lack of school spirit.</p>
<p>I think it’s pretty common but not all clubs are like that.</p>
<p>I’d imagine admissions officers are experienced enough to see right through pointless clubs. If there’s a club that is truly active, there should be things to show for it.</p>
<p>Are there academic teams at your high school. Teams that participate in Math League, Chemistry Olympics, Science Olympiad, National Oceans Science Bowl, etc. Depending on your intended college major, maybe skip the useless clubs and join an academic team.</p>
<p>Yes there are many academic teams but I am a rising senior and am probably not smart enough for them. Now when I fill out the extracurricular section of applications it always seems so empty without the usual club filler most kids have. I chose to pursue my passions on my own and actually benefit rather than waste my time in these sham clubs, but now I have no leadership positions lol. I have sports but how can I communicate to colleges that the clubs mean nothing and do nothing?</p>
<p>All I have to say: START your own club…do something meaningful (Model UN/Congress, Math Olympiads-which most schools SHOULD have, American Red Cross, etc.).</p>
<p>I’ve actually heard National Ocean Science Bowl uses awful question format, but is very fun because they get to go to cool new places every year. Quizbowlers only gets to go to Chicago. -_-</p>
<p>Anyways, you shouldn’t be joining clubs based to pad your application. A lot of them are pretty fun, especially the worthless ones that don’t go onto your college application. Although one of my friends is putting being Anime Club President on his application… -_-</p>
<p>I know how you feel, clubs at my school seem mostly inactive. Lol about the T shirts, only academic & sports teams get those at my school ;)</p>
<p>I’m starting my own club (as a rising junior) because I do not feel like my school offers me what I desire in a club. I am on academic teams, but those are not year-long ordeals. I need something to do in the off seasons besides sports lol.</p>
<p>I suggest that you convey through your essays what your passion(s) you pursued outside of school. I mean, if you found that the school clubs were pointless, and you better used your time outside of school, then yoou made the right decision IMHO. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>BTW, “filler clubs” do seem pointless because the name of the club & listed activites reveal that the club is a shame to a trained eye.</p>
<p>Either start your own club and make it a meaningful organization or work hard to add meaningful activities to the already existing clubs in your school. Many schools do have clubs that do meaningful things. What happens depends on the actions of the students involved.</p>
<p>I agree with Northstarmom. I am a teacher and the advisor to two school clubs. We do have basic requirements to stay in the clubs, but a club is what the members make of it. If you think your club should be doing more, than take the initiative and get a project going. YOU do it, start the ball rolling:</p>
<p>Fishing Club? Plan a field trip, get a guest speaker…</p>
<p>Spanish Club? Start a dialogue with a school in Spain or another Spanish speaking country. Plan an exchange visit. Host a dinner (Spanish foods) to raise funds…</p>
<p>History Club? Talk with your school’s administration and have a day at school where you celebrate different times in history…think booths, games. Go to a Medieval fair. Go to a museum…</p>
<p>NHS? Do community service that means something. Tutor, work with underprivileged kids in their community center, plan a dance at your school for the local senior citizens. Community service should not be looked at as a punishment, but a way to invest yourselves into the community…</p>
<p>A school club is only as successful as its members want it to be.</p>
<p>And, if you do get the club more active, guess who is probably going to get elected for an officer position in the club? Guess who is going to get the great college recommendation from the club advisor? Guess who gets the great entry for their college resume?</p>
<p>Do you really think it is possible to join a club as a senior and be elected an officer? Also when do they elect officers because I might have already turned in my applications</p>
<p>I will give angling club another shot because i love to fish on my own and maybe joining the club would help me develop my skills with other knowledgeable anglers.</p>