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disagree. extra-curriculars can be faked, gamed, etc. you can take this to a crazy extreme and end up with burned-out kids. but, colleges weighing these activit

by fargle 2y ago

disagree. extra-curriculars can be faked, gamed, etc. you can take this to a crazy extreme and end up with burned-out kids. but, colleges weighing these activities for admissions? 100% the right thing to do. > Is my kid really going to be a better student because she volunteered at a hospital[?] as a sibling comment pointed out, certainly. because you'll know what your getting into vs. a romanticized fantasy or some salary-based-major selection. > Is my kid really going to be a better student because she [...] played high school softball? yes, 100% yes. of course it doesn't have to be sports, but it has to be something other than sitting on the couch. sports teaches teamwork and leadership skills. music does the same and more. other hobbies promote exploration and independent learning, and could be tied to developing interests. kids that have done stuff are going to be way better at college and life than those who never did anything outside of the limitations of public school. - just don't take it to extremes (if one extra-curricular activity is good, 5-10 should be great!) - just don't get focused on sports only. not everyone is an outdoor sportsman. anything should be fair game.

itronitron 2y ago
All of my 'extracurricular' activities that turned out to be useful/productive/important were not organized in any way by adults. I think many people are arguing that students should have more free time available to develop their own interests.
- fargle 2y ago
  sure, many of mine were the same. and i bet you could have tied that to what you wanted to do in an essay. so to me, that isn't a problem, certainly not a good example of why colleges have their "heads up their asses" (oh and i certainly think they do). and yes, in fact, volunteering at a hospital should be viewed favorably for pre-med. and yes, you will be a better student if you play some kind of team sport like softball than if you did nothing. so perhaps the comment i was replying to made bad arguments? for example, if a school only liked mainstream athletics and ignored anything else (which is probably not a stretch), that would be a better example of "having their heads up their asses". but the specific examples given were the opposite - they actually make sense.

by fargle 2y ago

itronitron 2y ago

All of my 'extracurricular' activities that turned out to be useful/productive/important were not organized in any way by adults. I think many people are arguing that students should have more free time available to develop their own interests.

fargle 2y ago
sure, many of mine were the same. and i bet you could have tied that to what you wanted to do in an essay. so to me, that isn't a problem, certainly not a good example of why colleges have their "heads up their asses" (oh and i certainly think they do). and yes, in fact, volunteering at a hospital should be viewed favorably for pre-med. and yes, you will be a better student if you play some kind of team sport like softball than if you did nothing. so perhaps the comment i was replying to made bad arguments? for example, if a school only liked mainstream athletics and ignored anything else (which is probably not a stretch), that would be a better example of "having their heads up their asses". but the specific examples given were the opposite - they actually make sense.