Extracurricular Activities?

[Hopefully2013]

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I got a letter in the mail the other day inviting me to join my universities chapter of "The National Society of Leadership and Success". I got one last year too, but I kind of blew it off and didn't join because it seemed... well... silly.

But I've been thinking about applying next year (I know, incongruous with my username, because my advisor pointed out I could apply in three years instead of four, so that's the new plan) and so I did what I should have done in the first place and looked up the selection procedure for the school I want to get in to (Texas A&M). And there are point on the procedure for extracurricular activities.

So between these two things, it got me thinking, I'm not very active on campus. I don't do anything extracurricular. Well, I'm sort of a part of one organization (sort of meaning, I was a member of it last year and this year they meet at a time which I cannot make because I have class), but that's it. Oh, and I'm a part of my schools honors program, but I don't that that counts as "extracurricular".

I guess my question is, how important is this? Anyone out there really involved on campus vs not really involved? And I guess it doesn't have to be on campus, even though that's what I always think of when I think of "extracurricular". I suppose it could include community activities also.

I'll probably join the chapter this time around, even though it seems silly. Couldn't do anything to hurt my chances of getting in, I suppose.

 

[EllieGirl89]

Being active outside of school shows that you have a "life" and other interests outside academics. It also demonstrates that you can balance your schoolwork with other responsibilities and still maintain good grades, as well as providing you with leadership opportunities and learning experiences. Don't do extracurriculars just to say you did them. Chances are you'll be asked about them in an interview and you wouldn't want to have nothing to talk about because you joined a club or group and then didn't do anything with them.

My first two years of undergrad I stayed at home and went to community college. There wasn't much opportunity for extracurriculars there, so I accepted membership into the honor society they had there when it was offered and then just did things outside of school. I always held down a part-time job and rode and cared for my three horses daily, and showed them during the summers. Last year when I moved to Columbus to go to Ohio State, I became more involved on campus. I initially joined 3 clubs, the Pre-Vet Club, the Horseman's Association, and the Hunt Seat Equestrian Team. I ended up dropping HA because it was the least congruent with my interests (a lot of western type stuff and I'm more hunt seat). I continued with the Eq Team and Pre-Vet Club as a competitive and active member, respectively. This year I've taken on leadership roles as well. I'm Publicity Chair of the Pre-Vet club (which is a lot more responsibility and a more important role than it sounds like) and I may be taking on a higher level of competitiveness on the Equestrian team which involves taking another riding lesson each week and committing to attending all the horse shows.

So there's lots of ways to gain "extra curricular activities." Just make sure you're doing SOMETHING outside of classwork that makes you unique and interesting and gives you some dimension.

 

[scb44f]

I guess my question is, how important is this? Anyone out there really involved on campus vs not really involved? And I guess it doesn't have to be on campus, even though that's what I always think of when I think of "extracurricular". I suppose it could include community activities also.

I think I'm what you would call "really involved" on campus. I had no veterinary experience up until last August, but before then I focused my time on hall government, the National Residence Hall Honorary, national and regional conferences (including serving as a conference staff member for a year and a half), the pre-health organization, and a paid peer mentor position (not all of these occurred at the same time, but many overlapped significantly, since I was in hall gov for 3 years, have been in NRHH for 1.5 years, did the conference thing while I was in hall gov, and was a peer mentor just as I was beginning to get vet experience). I'm currently in NRHH, Phi Sigma, and am president of the pre-health organization.

I don't think what you do is as important as how you do it. I see it as they are looking for people who are going to show interests outside of veterinary medicine as well as leadership skills such as community-building (making individuals into a cohesive group), good budgeting, effective communication, initiative, conflict resolution, mentoring, etc. No matter what field you go into, you're going to have to use these in some way.

I think you could just choose whatever activity you're interested in and go for it. Get involved in a church/religious group, volunteer for a group like Big Brothers Big Sisters, find an organization on campus that interests you (i.e. swing dancing, Toastmasters, etc.), get into a mentor program with an elementary/middle school nearby (my fiance mentored the same kid for like 4 years and he looooved it), or find something else you think you'll enjoy.

 

[hunterjumper12]

Agree with Ellie 👍
I know, for me, I do a lot of volunteering as a 4H leader, so I put that down. I also play softball on my church team, and I listed that as well. So there are lots of things you can do for extracurriculars, and they don't have to be associated with your college/university.

 

[Hopefully2013]

Oh, I've been to the pre-vet club. There is no WAY I'm going back there. They're fairly useless as an organization. And I highly dislike the president, pretty sure the only thing I could get from her is how NOT to get in to vet school.

I've tried out for the equestrian team two years in a row, didn't make it (most frustrating part was the coach directly telling me "If you had ridden last year like you rode this year you would have made the team, but I just don't have the spots this year.").

Horsemen's Association I actually do enjoy but they're the ones that have changed their meeting times to times that I cannot make. Next semester will be different, I'll most likely be able to be a part again.

And it's not that I'm not interested in this leadership society thing, from the letter it sounds kinda cool. The part I'm not interested in is the $75 lifetime membership fee , but I think I might suck it up and join and pay it.

I guess there's just not many campus organizations that interest me... Now if I told the guy who runs the organizations office that, his obvious answer would be to start one, but I'm not sure what organization WOULD interest me.

Well, no, a better pre-vet club would interest me, but all the serious pre-vet students I know already aren't interested in the existing one.

In high school I did a lot of volunteering for different organizations... I just need to find something in this community that interests me I guess.

 

[scb44f]

Well, no, a better pre-vet club would interest me, but all the serious pre-vet students I know already aren't interested in the existing one.

What about joining it now to take a role in making it into what you want later on? Things can only get better if someone initiates change, and that is exactly what I'm doing with the pre-health organization on my campus right now.

 

[Hopefully2013]

What about joining it now to take a role in making it into what you want later on? Things can only get better if someone initiates change, and that is exactly what I'm doing with the pre-health organization on my campus right now.

This would be a long, boring story to tell and I'm not out to talk bad about people online (that would just be stupid), but our pre-vet club was actually dormant when I arrived on campus as a freshman (meaning it existed as a club but had zero members), and I put a lot of work in to restarting it, only to have the power ripped from my hands. So I'm not hugely interested in helping make it better.

But to divert the conversation away from what I can do to get involved, I'm still trying to work out how important it is. I mean, there's five things in a list that somehow add up to 28 points of the selection procedure. Is anyone else out there not really involved in their campus organizations?

I think I'm gonna have to go for getting involved outside of school... I've been looking over our clubs and organizations and I'm still not really interested in any of them. I miss all the volunteering I did in high school though, and I know my school's job listings also post volunteer opportunities.

 

[scb44f]

This would be a long, boring story to tell and I'm not out to talk bad about people online (that would just be stupid), but our pre-vet club was actually dormant when I arrived on campus as a freshman (meaning it existed as a club but had zero members), and I put a lot of work in to restarting it, only to have the power ripped from my hands. So I'm not hugely interested in helping make it better.

Totally understandable in that situation then.

As for the rest of your post, I can't say how important it is exactly, but if nothing on campus interests you, don't hesitate to find something in the surrounding community to get involved in. I'm sure you'll find something that interests you 🙂

 

[Hopefully2013]

Yeah, probably 😀 I tend to be easily amused... In high school I volunteered at an equitherapy facility, the city library, helped run the Kids Day at a local bank, helped with the elementary schools talent show... and probably some stuff I don't remember (and wasn't smart enough to write down), because we had to have a TON of hours for NHS. Where I go to college the equitherapy facility is too far away for me to feasibly drive to on a regular basis, but last year I did volunteer at two different museums, and habitat for humanity.

I've been meaning ever since I got here to start volunteering at the nearby animal shelter... Not that I really NEED any more animal experience hours but it would also show that I've DONE something (not that I don't do things, just not organized things... I'm pretty sure "hiking with friends almost every weekend" doesn't really count as an extracurricular).

I feel a little overwhelmed, like all of this snuck up on me... I mean, I decided last spring that I would apply for 2012, with the understanding that chances are higher that I don't get in, but I'll have gone through the application process once, can come back here and finish the degree while applying a second time, and if I do get in the first time I've just saved a year of undergraduate tuition. And all of a sudden I now have to worry about stuff like having a year less to get shadowing experience, having to start getting involved on campus...

At least I don't have to worry about animal experience. Got a couple hundred of those hours and paid too, working a job at a pet boarding facility where it was nonstop animal experience - walking dogs, cleaning their rooms, running the group playtimes, playing with cats and cleaning litter boxes... And my boss will give me hours on breaks when I'm home from school too, so I'll be accumulating hours on my school breaks.

I think I need to relax and not worry quite so much about it. My roommate is probably wondering what she signed on for when she came in and my idea of decorations include a checklist of the courses I need to take for vet school, my degree plan, and a whiteboard with a section for each course I'm taking that has the test dates (and the grade I made on those tests) and final date/time laid out for each course. She got lucky - I was lazy this semester and didn't print out the syllabus for each course I'm and tape it to the wall like I did last semester.

 

[Minnerbelle]

(not that I don't do things, just not organized things... I'm pretty sure "hiking with friends almost every weekend" doesn't really count as an extracurricular).

It most certainly does count! There's a section for hobbies.

 

[168135]

I think I'm gonna have to go for getting involved outside of school... I've been looking over our clubs and organizations and I'm still not really interested in any of them. I miss all the volunteering I did in high school though, and I know my school's job listings also post volunteer opportunities.

My vet school application had 10 spots for extracurriculars. I filled them all. Two of them were related to the university, two were part-time jobs, three were from highschool, and three were from the community. I still had three more activities that I could have included if given the space and if I had the hours. And I didn't count getting honours and being "on the society" as any of them because all that entails is a fancy dinner and a certificuit at my university. I don't think was allowed to include stuff like that anyway.

My community activites included being a Girl Guide leader, bowling in three leages over 10 years, and volunteering for a committee that didn't want to see a historic movie theatre torn down (that I found out about on FB).

I'm pretty sure you're allowed to include extracurriculars from highschool.

But if you don't have any... well, I'd start working on that. You could have a perfect app, but if someone has a perfect app + a varitey of extracurriculars, you can bet they're going to accepted before you do.

My grades are currently on the low end of getting accepted and I'm praying that my extracurriculars will help make up for my slightly low average.