Education in San Antonio

The single most important thing that colleges consider when looking at your application package are your grades. If you have a proven track record of being a strong student, then they will look at what else you have to offer their university. That’s when a look at your extra-curricular activities factor into their decision process. It doesn’t matter if you end up being a leader or a strong team-player behind the scenes, but get out there and find something you can get excited about. Then, stick with it! Here are some suggestions on where to start:

1. School. You probably are aware of plenty of clubs you can join or teams available to try out for. What are your interests? Just because you’ve been in the choir since the fifth grade doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t make a great debate team member, too. Make sure that you continue to evolve and don’t pigeonhole yourself into something out of habit.

2. Look for work. Being gainfully employed says a lot about a person’s responsibility level and ability to manage time. The paycheck would help your college savings account, as well. Even if you find work that doesn’t pay, such as an internship, the college admissions board will be impressed with your efforts to juggle work and your studies at the same time.

3. Volunteerism. Giving of yourself is a great way to help yourself as you help others. Reading to grade school kids or walking dogs at the shelter will make you feel good about yourself and send a strong message of what kind of person you are. Ask your guidance counselor if your volunteer work is applicable toward academic credits.

Don’t stop with just one activity. If you do enough soul-searching, you can probably find a couple of vastly different areas of yourself that lend themselves to activities. Prioritize your responsibilities, make sure that your grades aren’t suffering and then feel free to join away.

Your efforts should be rewarded once your application package is in the hands of the college admissions board. They make their decisions based on putting together the most diverse group of students possible. So, if you’ve made a serious effort toward broadening your horizons, you should get the good news you’ve been waiting for.

Thomas Burke assists working adults in selecting online colleges and online degree programs.