by Amber Lee
While in high school, students are told that they must be heavily involved in community service and extracurricular activities if they expect to get into a good college. But it doesn’t stop there. Colleges
like students with extracurricular experience because they expect them to be just as involved in the community while in college.
According to Child Trends, students who actively participate in extracurricular activities in high school “have a higher level of engagement in college activities (which is associated with higher levels of college retention).” Of course colleges want to capitalize on this and to do so they are thinking of new ways to guarantee student involvement. This is most evident at Robert Morris University, where they have actually appointed a dean to preside over how much their students are involved. Here, students must complete a certain number of hours in various types of extracurricular activities (arts, culture and creativity, leadership, etc.) in order to graduate. Although it is uncertain whether other colleges will follow this example, it is evident in the increasing number of internships, co-op opportunities, and student organizations that colleges want their students to take advantage of any extracurricular prospects they can provide.
However, some may worry that many extracurricular activities will overburden the student and have negative effects on their academic performance. But studies have shown otherwise; students with extracurricular activities perform much better academically than those without. For example, students who take advantage of internships and co-op opportunities are able to draw upon their outside experiences and use them to better understand and solve problems brought up during class. It is much easier to understand the concepts that the professors teach when you have firsthand experience.
Ultimately, involvement in activities outside of the classroom is beneficial to the student, the college, and the community. The students are given the chance to meet new people and establish connections that can benefit them in the future. The colleges are more likely to retain their students. And the community is given an invaluable resource to better itself.
While in high school, students are told that they must be heavily involved in community service and extracurricular activities if they expect to get into a good college. But it doesn’t stop there. Colleges
like students with extracurricular experience because they expect them to be just as involved in the community while in college. According to Child Trends, students who actively participate in extracurricular activities in high school “have a higher level of engagement in college activities (which is associated with higher levels of college retention).” Of course colleges want to capitalize on this and to do so they are thinking of new ways to guarantee student involvement. This is most evident at Robert Morris University, where they have actually appointed a dean to preside over how much their students are involved. Here, students must complete a certain number of hours in various types of extracurricular activities (arts, culture and creativity, leadership, etc.) in order to graduate. Although it is uncertain whether other colleges will follow this example, it is evident in the increasing number of internships, co-op opportunities, and student organizations that colleges want their students to take advantage of any extracurricular prospects they can provide.
However, some may worry that many extracurricular activities will overburden the student and have negative effects on their academic performance. But studies have shown otherwise; students with extracurricular activities perform much better academically than those without. For example, students who take advantage of internships and co-op opportunities are able to draw upon their outside experiences and use them to better understand and solve problems brought up during class. It is much easier to understand the concepts that the professors teach when you have firsthand experience.
Ultimately, involvement in activities outside of the classroom is beneficial to the student, the college, and the community. The students are given the chance to meet new people and establish connections that can benefit them in the future. The colleges are more likely to retain their students. And the community is given an invaluable resource to better itself.
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