<p>Hi. I am a sophomore in high school concerned about my extracurriculars. I had no extracurricular activities freshman year, except for Boy Scouts. I also got no community service hours. This year, I joined newspaper club, swim club, and Interact. Are these good enough extracurriculars? I plan on joining my school's swim team by May, as well as becoming an Eagle Scout by Junior year. I also want to get more involved with writing, too. I haven't read much lately, but I think that would benefit me a lot. I played viola for three years in middle school, but don't have time to anymore, unless you think it would be helpful? I am not a master at any of these things but still believe I can achieve in them.
About community service, I wanted to volunteer at my city's no-kill animal shelter, but must wait until I'm 16 in April(I'm 15 right now). Will Interact help with community service or will a a lot of hours at random places look bad?
So here's basically what I plan to do:
-Get more involved with newspaper club, writing contests, writing for fun, etc.
-Reading more about subjects that interest me
-Join school swim team
-Participate more in Interact Club
Is this good? Any other suggestions? Thank you for reading this and I await your responses!
P.S. Does everything I do have to be for college admissions? I like learning about other religions (as I'm questioning my own right now) but am wondering if that will take up time from preparing for college. What do you think?</p>
<p>Extracurriculars are nice and everything, but when it comes down to it, they don’t make or break an application. Join what you are interested in, not what you think will look good on apps. If you join clubs you’re interested in, you’ll be more likely to pursue leadership positions, which do have some weight. You have a lot of time to do community service, so don’t panic. Contact the animal shelter and ask if there’s anyway you can help now, so you have a foot in the door when you’re 16. I think it’s great you’re interested in religions, maybe up the road (as in 11th/12th grade) you could consider taking a theology class at your local community college. The way I see it is, enjoy yourself in high school. Figure out what you like or dislike. Colleges don’t want to see a person scattered all over the place with no clear life goals. If you be yourself, it is less stressful and easier in the future. Good luck!</p>