EC’S

Alyssa Pendon (she/her)

Editorial Team Member

I hate people who only do things for their college applications. 

Hate is a strong word but I think in this case it applies quite well. 

In the past couple of years, hundreds of students have been notorious for only doing extracurricular activities, classes, and service just to put something in their college application in hopes of “looking better to colleges.” In turn, these students just waste their time and energy on activities that won’t even matter in the long run. 

Although I’m completely against this, I also can understand why people do this. Colleges are becoming harder and harder to get into and lots of students want to elevate their chances of getting admitted. I’m even a small contributor to this since I only applied to my school’s National Honors Society because I felt like it was the thing I needed to do, even when I really didn’t have to. Students want to look good and devote time to activities. They are afraid that what they're doing or their lack of activities is just not enough against competitive applicants. 

But at the same time I believe this is a terrible notion to live by and  people should never think like this. Although colleges want to see you active, there's no point in being “active” in activities you don’t care about. The activities you put your time into should be ones that you’re interested in or want to try. Or else you are just wasting your time. It shouldn’t be about what is considered “good” or “competitive,” because any activity can be considered “good.” All that matters is what you do with that activity. 

If you input “babysitting” as an extracurricular, it could be seen as “basic,” but if you described unique activities and impact you’ve done with clients, that could be an amazing extracurricular.

I feel like people are too caught up in something that should come naturally. Everyone can spot a poser since anytime someone is fake, it will always show on the outside. Even though college applications can be scary, it’s best to do what you want with your life, not what someone else tells you to do. 

The best growth comes from you taking a risk and taking new opportunities. You could find your passion in life if you just tried something new. Life is meant to be yours, so don’t take anything for granted. Wasting time on something that doesn’t matter to you is one of the worst things you can do, especially if it’s not mandatory. So don’t be afraid to quit something or find time to spend with yourself to figure out what you really want in your life.