Page 9 - Gazette2_60-2017

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New to Extracurricular Activities? be you working in part-time jobs, Do narrow down what you really like.
For people who have never done any blogging, volunteering, going to You can focus and work better on
extracurricular activities before or are camps outside of the school, entering each activity.
new to it, things can be pretty over- competitions, even cosplays as well.
whelming. They will find it hard to be Do look back to the list: passion,
able to work on both academics and Student Admissions leadership, and impact. After a year or
activities in a limited time. However, as Extracurricular activities can also serve two, reflect what you have done and
time goes by, they will be able to as a profile for admitting into universi- how you can make it better. You
come up with a way to multitask and ties. Many places tend to look for should be able to answer this ques-
organize their own time schedule. more than just academic achieve- tion: How does this activity help me
ments. There are 3 main things that grow?
Useful….? universities look for; passion, leader-
A lot of people assume that having ship, and impact. Do let your actions speak for you.
activities outside the classroom means ● Passion: your love towards
less time for studies and lower grade. your work. When you go out of your Don’t be lazy during summers. We all
In reality, it is the exact opposite. way to achieve something. This shows know that summers are the best time
Many pieces of researches show that your grit and perserverance- what to just lay down on your couch and
people who have engaged in extracur- many universities like to look for slack off. Look for creative ways you
ricular activities tend to have higher ● Leadership: being able to can spend time and enjoy your
success in academics, because of the bring your team towards your team’s summer such as drawing, traveling,
life skills they picked up from these goal. Many elite universities look for singing, blogging, cooking, etc.
activities can be applied in many people with great leadership skills
situations, including inside the class- because they are expected to be Don’t let your grades drop. If you start
room. leaders who will make great changes to feel like your grades are dangerous-
on a larger scale in the future. ly low, take a step back and cut off
Then...What is it? ● Impact: Depth over Breath. It’s some activities. Keep the balance
People might wonder: What really much better to spend time on one between the classroom and outside
counts as extracurricular activities? particular activity and give your all the classroom.
Well, it is almost everything. As long as than to dabble in many activities.
it’s 1) Productive and 2) done outside Don’t use all of your energy. Try not to
of the classroom. It can be anything. Do’s and Dont’s get burned out. Limit your activities. If
You can find access to many extracur- Do try out as many extracurricular you start to exhaust yourself, you will
ricular activities in school such as the activities as you can in your first year find academics and activities unexcit-
glee club, EPTS climate club, the Thai in school. ing and annoying.
classical music band, the school’s This is a year of exploration and little
band, sports, acting, etc. Just ask the homework! Of course, manage your
teacher and join! time and you will be able to fit in
Please note that extracurricular about 3-5 activities that you can try
activities don’t need to be done in out. You might be able to discover
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school or relate to school at all. It can what you never knew you liked.