are the popular clubs actually worth it?

We’ve all heard of those clubs that every Ivy league-bound high school student participated in: Model UN, student council, National Honors Society (for those in the United States of America), DECA, FBLA, Key Club, etc. As a high school student myself, this definitely put quite a bit of pressure on me to ensure that I join these clubs, or those that are very similar—especially when I was just starting my freshman year.

However, after having experienced high school for a little bit, I’ve understood that it doesn’t matter which clubs you join if you don’t create a meaningful impact in your school community. Before we get into that though, let’s talk a little bit about what each of the clubs are, as well as what some basic responsibilities are in said organization.

• Model UN: According to the actual United Nations website, “Model UN is a popular activity for those interested in learning more about how the UN operates. Hundreds of thousands of students worldwide take part every year at all educational levels. Many of today’s leaders in law, government, business and the arts—including at the UN itself—participated in Model UN as student.”

• Student council: According to Wikipedia, “A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research organizations around the world.”

• National Honor Society: According to the National Honor Society’s website, “the NHS is a nationwide organization for high school students in the Untied States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship, leadership, service, and character.”

• DECA: According to the DECA website, “DECA Inc., formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a 501 not-for-profit career and technical student organization with more than 177,000 members in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, DC; Canada, China, Germany, Poland, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain.”

• FBLA: According to the FBLA website, “The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization headquartered in Reston, Virginia.”

• Key Club: According to Key Club’s website, “Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others.”

Now that you have a brief overview of a few of the popular clubs, here’s why I don’t think you should break your back trying to get into them, and should rather focus on enjoying clubs that actually spark an interest within you.

More than specific organizations and clubs, universities value the impact that you’ve made in your school (something I’ve been told many times during my extensive and frantic research about what these postsecondary institutions value). If you join the student council but don’t do anything meaningful and just joined it to put it on your college resume, it will not make a difference. However, if you join—for example—biology club and host a few different educational events, it shows post secondary institutions that you enjoy what you’re doing and were able to influence your peers in a positive way. This is much more valuable than just joining things left and right without purpose.

When joining extracurricular activities, it is also crucial to understand that they should align with what you wish to pursue during your post-secondary education (while also helping you expand your interests). For instance, let’s say you want to become a professional writer in the future: you should try to join a creative writing club or the English scholars in your school that help other students edit their essays. This shows that you’re already kick starting your journey and are committed to your chosen path.

Overall, just make sure you make mindful and meaningful choices when deciding on your extracurricular activities.

Yours Truly,

Dear Youth Global,

Kalpita Gangwar