I am going into 9th grade and am wondering about what extracurriculars I should do. I hope to major in Political Science and eventually go to law school. I understand that this is mostly LSAT and GPA, but I hope to go to a good law school and I believe that they mostly accept from good undergraduate schools. My school has a debate team and a writing club, both of which I am interested in and hope to join. I am also interested in joining the National Spanish Honorary Society because speaking Spanish is something I enjoy. I am also doing cross country/track and field. I will probably do student council as well. My school does not have a Model UN club, so I have been thinking about starting one there. For context, I am an Asian-American male living in urban Appalachia. My high school is the best in the state and offers around 34 AP’s. My questions are:
Do you think I should start the Model UN club? Will it have an effect on my application?
What other extracurriculars should I do?
And other advice in general. Thanks!
I don’t have any super brilliant insight here. But one thing I was going to mention that both my kids did this honors civics class at about that age where they were required to volunteer for a political campaign for a certain number of hours. Even something very local would be great. This was a really positive experience here and if you connected with some local groups you may develop a relationship with someone who could be a reference.
Mostly, I think high schoolers should be doing activities that are meaningful and hopefully enjoyable for them and look for ways to stretch themselves with organization and leadership skills.
Oh I just meant that would be something you could pursue independantly of school. A lot of people running for a position will have a webpage with information on how to contact/volunteer.
It’s just not something I would have thought about for my own kids without the class requirement. One of my kids ended up continuing because he enjoyed it.
My daughter has interned with a state senator and an assembly member; she has also served on a city council committee. So those are some other possibilities that might be available. But you should do what you truly enjoy and are interested in.
Find activities you enjoy and that you can make positive contributions to. ECs can be done in your school or community. A part-time job is valued like an EC as well.
If you’re interested in getting into politics, or in political science, then volunteer on a political campaign, try to get an internship in the mayor’s office, try to get involved in some city council young person’s committee. Nothing wrong with school clubs, but local political campaigns and local government are the real thing.
You should do whatever you enjoy whether it’s sports, band, walking dogs at the shelter, getting a job or model UN etc.
It needn’t be related to a major. But you would like tenure and impact if possible. I just read a profile - most have been 20 ECs and all just a semester. You need quality, not quantity.
Also you can get to law school from any college. Think I’m wrong. Look at Harvard Law. 174 schools represent the current admission from last year. Cal state LA and Northridge. Bloomsburg of PA. Fairleigh Dickinson. U of you name it - Arkansas, Kentucky, Stetson, WVU and more and more. Yes more come from higher rated schools but that’s because those same kids who tested well getting into college tested well later but it’s not because if the school they chose to attend. In other word, it’s the student, not the school.
I think you need to be yourself and if in 8 years you truly want a top law school, you’ll have that chance.
But the beauty is you don’t need to play any game now.
Second the recommendation for getting involved in a real world activity like volunteering to work in a political campaign. You’ll get a chance to see the inner workings of political campaigns.