>>Is my kid really going to be a better student because she volunteered at a hospital or played high school softball? Yes, IFF the activity was pursued serious

>>Is my kid really going to be a better student because she volunteered at a hospital or played high school softball? Yes, IFF the activity was pursued seriously, as in a serious sustained effort seeking mastery. There are lesson learned in serious endeavors that simply will not be learned in any class, yet apply to every part of life. My example: I was very serious about alpine ski racing in my teens+; it was not really affordable, but I found support, put in sometimes crazy effort and got to international levels. The small role it played in getting me into college was the least benefit - the lessons learned played a huge role in my being able to succeed in college and in life. For example, I completely leaned to control test anxiety and knew how to reliably put down my best performance (pretty easy to do it sitting in a chair vs launching out of the starting gate on an iced trail where the test is at 85mph). Applying oneself to study vs physical training, again the training improved the study. On and on. Also, pursuing activities usually entail travel, and if it is international, it's far better. Going to other countries as something other than a tourist gives a far broader perspective to life, which lasts a lifetime And I can tell you similar stories from every athlete, musician, and other person I met at my college and others. Being 'well-rounded' is a real and valuable characteristic. Of course, as others mentioned, this must be a serious effort, not merely an exercise in box-ticking. But even having said so, even just getting experiences as an exercise in box-ticking can provide more experience than sitting home. The key thing is to have kids try enough different things so they find the thing THEY are passionate about. Then, organize their studies and activities around that. I just read one very interesting story about a girl doing just that -- fun read [0]. She got interested in mycology, made a boat from mushrooms, and would up with a full-ride scholarship. THAT is how it should work. [0] https://theheartysoul.com/this-community-college-student-made-a-boat-out-of-mushrooms-and-sailed-it-down-a-river/ https://theheartysoul.com/this-community-college-student-mad...