<p>Do you join clubs at school for college or because you find the topic interesting?</p>
<p>At my school, I joined an animal welfare club out of interest. But eventually, I realized most of the members(Which wasn't a lot since most of the club's members were graduating) just joined for college. The club office people(President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) were probably the worst cases for it. I remember they'd just email everyone to come and help out so they can 'look better for college' instead of helping out animals. One week, nobody went to the club besides my brother and I, and I remember them yelling at everyone because 'it'll look bad for college if you join but never come'. </p>
<p>Has anything like that ever happened to you?</p>
<p>I joined the two clubs I’ve been actively involved in during freshman year. I didn’t have much of a concept for joining “for college” at that point, it was all for fun (Debate, now President, and Junior Classical League, was Consul/President last year, but now the Latin teacher left). I am starting up a club this (senior) year, but I don’t expect it to help with anything for college.</p>
<p>Plenty of people do seem to want officer positions “for their resumes”, and don’t want to actually do any work.</p>
<p>I joined Robotics and MUN because I loved them.</p>
<p>I did have a goal at MIT my freshman year, but for those at my school who know me, they know those are my 2 passions in life.</p>
<p>Sadly, I work extremely hard in robotics, yet the coach and her son believe that this should help us for college. Meaning we do everything just to look good.</p>
<p>I’m starting a math club this year, to help facilitate the numerous math talent in my school.</p>
<p>Colleges notice when you were very lightly involved freshman and sophomore year and all of a sudden joined 10 activities junior and senior year. Meaning, they recognize a sudden “resume building” and wonder if you truly were interested in all those things.</p>
<p>I would suggest trying to work them into your admissions essay somehow, to show that you really were interested. But since it’s only 2, it doesn’t look like quite a scramble to just look “good” to a university, so I wouldn’t worry.</p>
<p>Ugh, I could rant about this. I think colleges need to have students talk about clubs more on the app to weed those posers out.</p>
<p>I actually joined for a mix of those two reasons, but my outlook changed after I was in the clubs. Firstly, I realized that the work I was doing in some of those clubs weren’t even worth putting on my app, so I’m dropping a few next year. I’d rather have a nearly empty EC space than random fluff. Secondly, I regretted not making a club myself because (and excuse my conceitedness) I felt as if I could’ve ran a club better than certain people who did.</p>
<p>I’m doing Quiz Bowl and MUN most likely, and I got top 300 out of 10,000 for teen Jeopardy 3 years in a row…so that should explain my quiz bowl affinity.</p>
<p>Most people join for both interest and for advantage when it comes to colleges.
If you join for interest, though, you will have <em>fun</em> doing it, rather than just doing it because you feel like you have to.
Enjoying what you do is probably more important than trying to look good for college.
(Of course, if what you enjoy is like science, math, environment, etc., that brings you fun AND advantage.)</p>
<p>I join because I want to, not for college. Freshman year I joined Key Club because it sounded fun. I stopped that after that year because of bad leadership. Sophomore year I joined National Art Honor Society because I love art. I plan to continue that one. (: I don’t see why people would do things just for college.</p>
<p>Some clubs I’ve tried because it would look good for college for another club (that’s what the supervisor advertised it as). I ended up not liking it so I finished the year then quit. I’ve heard the admissions ppl can see right through that so if don’t like it I shouldn’t bother and I should put my time into the other clubs that I actually enjoy. Other clubs I joined for college but I ended up really liking them and participating whole-heartedly.</p>
<p>Oh, dear. This kind of haunts me a lot. I joined two clubs my freshman year, one solely for “looking good” and the other out of pure interest. Though I have positions now in both of them, I can’t help but dread every meeting, planning, and errand associated with the first one. (btw, MITHopeful is in this club at his school, ahem) </p>
<p>Maybe…it’s because the parent equivalent of a teacher sponsor is totally forcing his kid into all the top notches, maybe it’s because I know I didn’t join it for the right reasons. More likely it’s a mixture of the two. Ugh. And I can’t exactly just drop out this year, for so many complications. I’ll probably not even use it on my app. Thinking about it makes me sad.</p>
<p>This is my sophomore year, and I plan to join three clubs (would that be considered an “upward trend” or an app-padding frenzy, do you guys think? ). The thing is, one is basically purely for college, and the other two, while I take interest in them, would probably not have joined if not for college. Omigosh what a loser. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>A little of both. Though in high school I was very successful in FFA and was an officer for three years. According to the article below, that was apparently a very bad idea.</p>
Thinking about it makes me sad.</p>
). The thing is, one is basically purely for college, and the other two, while I take interest in them, would probably not have joined if not for college. Omigosh what a loser. :rolleyes:</p>