I am currently a junior in high school and hoping to attend a UC in a couple of years. I do not have many extracurriculars under my belt besides the fact I’ve played freshman and jv basketball for the past two years, and I’ve held two jobs. If I started doing extracurriculars this year and filled up my resume of a few extracurriculars activities like clubs and volunteer work, would it be a bad look that I hustled to do more extracurriculars junior year because it does not prove any passion nor commitment. Thank you 
Having a job is an excellent EC. Pursue an EC that you will enjoy, not to beef up your application. Also UC’s consider UC GPA, Test scores and the personal insight essays very important while EC’s are only considered important in their application review.
Having a job is a great EC. It requires responsibility and some level of money management skills, and a lot more. Go ahead and join a “fun” EC if you want, but don’t discount the work experience.
Agreed! Work experience actually says a great deal about a potential admittees ability to work with people in a real-world situation, with challenges that have to be met without the oversight/solution of or from a faculty sponsor. Additionally, they are real hours with measurable results - some ECs can require virtually no time or effort on the part of the student and admissions officers know this all too well.
Agree… admissions officers give as much weight to a job as they would an EC.
I agree…jobs teach you about punctuality, working as a team, leadership etc.
Jobs are a terrific extra curricular activity because of the benefits of working. You might think about what skills, behaviors, attitudes you have developed through working. ECs are not evaluated on the basis of number listed, but on what you gained by participation. Part of your growth is knowing what activities are important to you personally. Recognize when any benefits of an EC is outweighed by your dislike of the activity.
I’ve been comparing myself to other students who have about 10 extracurriculars under their belts while I feel lousy with just a couple. Would it be bad to just start some late?
Take a look at this recent thread “After-School Jobs Vs. Extracurriculars on Your College Application” started by @CCEdit_Torrey
Make sure you read the short article linked in the first post.
You don’t need to load up on additional EC’s.
If you could find someplace to volunteer that is flexible and doesn’t interfere with your school or work schedules, I feel that could be beneficial. You could do your volunteering during the summer if that works better for you.
(Edited to add link)
Thats a pretty helpful thread and article. I guess it really is quality over quantity.
My S tried Forensics (speaking competition) for the first time spring semester of his junior year in HS. He ended up doing really well, winning state and qualifying for/competing in two national competitions. He did include it in his list of ECs.
So, if it’s something you want to explore (because you have an interest in it) and end up doing really well in, it could possibly be a boost to your application. But as others say, don’t just do activities to try to look better on an application. Make sure you have time in your schedule to keep up with your grades. But don’t be afraid to try new things if you have a genuine interest.