How important are extracurricular activities, summer plans, and community service?
What are the colleges looking for? Colleges are looking for students who not only are top students but who also participate in after school activities. An”extracurricular” can be anything from participating in the school jazz band, to performing in the school plays, to playing on a sports team, to doing community service or even to holding down a job after school. Students should begin exploring their interests as early in their High School career as possible, and they should follow through with pursuing these interests throughout their High School years. The colleges want to see commitment and growth — not necessarily to great numbers of activities but, more importantly, in a few areas that are particularly meaningful to the student. If a student is interested in acting, for example, s/he should go out for the play each year, even if that means holding a smaller part at first and then working her/his way up to a leading role by senior year. If a student is interested in fine art, s/he
