How important is it to do clubs/extracurriculars in college?

Applying to College
1

I don’t believe that it will be easy for me to partake in any clubs at my community college due to the fact that a majority of the extracurricular activities occur either in the middle of the day when I have class (I take 5 classes and a majority are in the morning and middle of the day) or the afternoon (I have a part time job in which I work 6 hours for 3 to 4 times a week (I can’t quit since I have to help my parents pay bills in our financial situation))

I am currently volunteering in my area (I’ve been there for about 2 and a half years), but I MIGHT have to quit since I might need to work extra days (I’m not sure if I should do this since this action will basically leave me with no extracurricular activities until the summer).

  1. Is it really important for me to be a part of clubs in college? Or is it sufficient enough for me to have a part time job throughout the year, and just volunteer/ intern over the summer?

  2. Will I not be able to win a lot of transfer scholarships if I don’t do much clubs?
    (There aren’t any clubs at my college that revolve around my healthcare major)

2

Your job is your main EC. If other things have to be passed by so you can earn a living, so be it. Colleges will understand that.

There are VERY few transfer scholarships so that shouldn’t even be a consideration.

3

The most important thing is your GPA. Concentrate on doing well in your classes.
Working IS your EC.

4
  1. ECs can include anything you do outside of school which can include having a job or anything else in your community (ex. volunteering at a soup kitchen, library, church etc.) It is not required to join school based clubs. If you do join clubs in school it is not necessary to join clubs related to your major – you can do anything you have interest in and that fits into your schedule.
  2. Did you say you would be a transfer student? It is generally hard for transfer students to get merit aid.
5

Like many HS seniors, you’re holding onto the myth that ECs matter a lot for future admissions (college or college transfer or grad school). MOst colleges simply want to know you can succeed academically. Only the super selective ones with a major surplus of vastly qualified applicants, have the luxury of looking at applicants’ ECs. I highly doubt any of your target 4-year colleges will care – they’ll most look at your current CC success as evaluative criteria. And like Erin’s dad said, your prime EC is your job. Colleges know that.