Let us allow for a moment of pure honesty. If you want to succeed in life, and this is especially if you plan to study a field of STEM, you need to work for it. If you plan to attend a college, you need to be and stay passionate as a student in the past, present, and future. This means you need good grades and scores, especially if you are taking a rigorous curriculum, to prove you are worth being accepted into your desired college and/or major. Furthermore, several prestigious colleges institute extracurricular activities, such as athletics and/or community service, as a requirement for applications. According to one university themselves, “Contributions students make to the well-being of their secondary schools, communities and families are of great interest to us.” In short, both GPA and extracurriculars are highly recommended for getting into college.

However, extracurriculars hold special benefits. For example, my dream is a career in aerospace, and to do that I want to attend either a meticulous school or a highly technological one. The issue comes with my current resume: my grades are prideful, but I suffer from a lack of membership in clubs and organizations potentially integral to my future. This is something I have noticed as time has gone on as I feel loneliness seeing the achievements of others in said extracurriculars, and while I am currently working at this, my main priority has become to increase my extracurricular participation this year and throughout all of high school, as not only will it allow me to foster my love for science, technology, engineering, and math, it also lets me socialize with others, and I am able to make a difference as well.

For example, take my current participation in the national Cyberpatriot competition and the mainly statewide Student Astronaut Challenge. These competitive extracurriculars allow me to collaborate and socialize in a team, and the skills learned, both behavioral and technological, can later be applied to the future job I end up choosing. Then, you have my induction this year into membership in the National Junior Honor Society (additionally I plan to join the National Honor Society as swiftly as can be), which allows not just for collaboration on projects but also that these projects allow me to make a difference and contribute to the world, a wish I have had since my youth. Additionally, I am a prospective cadet in Civil Air Patrol, which is essentially the middle ground between these two examples, supplying collaboration, leadership and STEM education, and service hours, which all will look great for when I apply to colleges.

Overall, while a high grade-point-average is cardinal for a future in a STEM field, it should be noted that extracurriculars are just as salient to getting there in the first place. They can give you the chance early to do something good and feel good, and help develop paramount skills in leadership, teamwork, technology, and overall pose great convenience eventually regardless of what exactly you wish to do and in what field. However, you shouldn’t pile up on too much without having large responsibilities in each one. Imagine as if you were skipping stones: don’t throw too soft and you’ll dip, throwing too rough will have comparable results, and not throwing it all means you can’t get anywhere. The idea is to throw each with the right force, while having enough to make an impact.

References:

Application Tips. (n.d.). Harvard College. https://college.harvard.edu/guides/application-tips