How to Boost Your Extracurriculars During COVID-19

How can high schoolers participate in extracurricular activities and prepare for college in the middle of a pandemic? Read advice from a real student here!

The uncertainty and confusion of the ongoing pandemic have led to many questions regarding what college preparation and readiness will look like this year and beyond. Apart from maneuvering existential crises, AP course loads, and virtual learning, students and their families are concerned about the future of college applications—especially the elements that in a typical year require in-person interaction, like extracurriculars. Colleges are most interested in extracurriculars that give back to society, hone transferable skills, and let students explore their interests. Now, it’s more crucial than ever for prospective college students, parents, and educators to be armed with relevant information to better facilitate and help those students find the best approach to make their extracurriculars truly stand out. Here are the best ways for students to prep for college and safely engage in extracurricular activities during the pandemic.

Extracurriculars that give back

Since social distancing is still the best practice, students should make the most out of virtual volunteering opportunities. Volunteer Match remains one of the largest volunteering networks for nonprofits and volunteers to connect and collaborate with each other. Students can also explore the social issues they’re passionate about and do their part. Organizations such as the Borgen Project are encouraging students to reach out to Congress members by email or letter about key legislation concerning global poverty. Students can also use this time to impart their own talents and skills; for instance, organizations like TeensGive are recruiting volunteers across the country to help reach and engage with communities on a needs-based basis.

Related: Give the Gift of Volunteering: 7 Opportunities for Winter Break

Extracurriculars that build transferable skills

Developing transferrable skills is crucial for college success as well as for future internships and jobs that may utilize skills and applications like Python, coding, web design, and more. Dominic Harvey, Director of the UK IT jobs site CWJobs, calls online education platforms “modern masterpieces of world literature” given what they’ve done in revolutionizing education. Online learning platforms such as Edx and Coursera offer strong foundational courses on some of these topics and skills as well as certificates of completion, which are always good to have to boost your résumés or a college essay. On the foreign language front, Duolingo and Italki are great ways to begin learning a language from scratch; Italki even offers students the opportunity to take one-on-one classes based on your language level.

Related: Transferable College-to-Job Skills for Students

Extracurriculars that foster passion and pursuit

If you’re unsure of what you want to take up, start by curating a list of clubs that are still offered safely at your high school that also match your interests and pursuits. Now is also a great time to have your parents share their own professional wisdom and introduce you to platforms such as LinkedIn so you can begin building your own professional profile and connections. In an article from Inside Higher Ed, college counselor and consultant Susan Chan Shifflett suggests using this time to “stand out” and “think out of the box.” Admission officers are now looking for new and dynamic qualities that can help ascertain a student’s resourcefulness.

One of the best ways for students to continue to diversify their skills and knowledge base is by engaging in their areas of interest. During this time, there are a variety of colleges offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). You can also try looking into other academic and skill-developing platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, and Academic Earth. E-learning platform Myntor is miles ahead in preparing students for the unpredictability of high school, online learning, and extracurricular activities. Myntor students pass AP Calculus five times faster than those at a traditional school and work on projects like modeling for COVID-19, robotic exoskeletons, and heart failure.

Related: How to Discover and Pursue Your Passions as a Student

Overall, traditional college planning advice may not be applicable for a lot of things right now, or for helping students prepare for the coming years. But you can still pursue immersive and enriching extracurriculars during this time for self-growth and a stronger college application by adapting your approach accordingly to the changing times.

For more important information you need about the ongoing pandemic, please visit our COVID-19 student resources page.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Shivani Ekkanath

Shivani Ekkanath

As a person applying to college this year, I want to chronicle this crazy and unpredictable yet rewarding and fascinating journey so the experience feels less daunting for other students. I'm currently preparing to study Political Science for my undergraduate degree while trying my best to win a battle with the pressures of the IB diploma. I'm a lover of music, debating, reading about current affairs, dancing, baking (not too well), and writing. I'm also an an aspiring journalist and hope to attend Columbia University one day and work for the New York Times or Wall Street Journal.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Wendy Thompson

Wendy Thompson

Owner, Westport Educational Consulting

I just discovered your site and LOVE it—fun, interesting, full of incredible information you can’t find anywhere else, and a godsend for those of us in the college counseling business. I am a fan!

Rhiannon Teeter

Rhiannon Teeter

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2012

I have spent a lot of time aggressively searching for scholarships. It was a long and frustrating process until I found the CollegeXpress network. This site made my search so much easier. With the simple check of a few boxes, the site sorted out scholarships I was eligible for and led me directly to the correct websites. Winning this scholarship has definitely given me and my family some financial relief, and CollegeXpress has allowed me to improve my chances of winning further financial aid. Thank you so much!

Josiah Kegg

Josiah Kegg

High School Class of 2021

I want to sincerely thank you all for this amazing website that's legitimately helped me find so many different scholarship opportunities. I've been stressing out for the longest time about paying for college since I would rather stay out of debt and have been working days trying to find any scholarship opportunity. When I found CollegeXpress, I discovered many easy scholarships that have given me hope for the future. Thank you and God bless!

Joycelyn

Joycelyn

High School Class of 2023

I’m currently a college freshman attending Towson University. My major is Information Technology, and I plan to minor in Electronic Media & Film to achieve my goal of becoming a production engineer. Upon graduating high school earlier this year, I was awarded a $5,000 scholarship from CollegeXpress, which greatly assisted in paying my tuition. Truthfully, this financial reward was the difference in affording my room and board and tuition, along with other expenses for school. My family and I haven’t stopped celebrating my award since it was bestowed on me. I will never forget this opportunity for allowing me to get my foot into my university financially.

Lexie Knutson

Lexie Knutson

High School Class of 2021

This whole website has helped me overcome the attitude I had before. I was scared to even approach the thought of college because it was so much. I knew it wasn’t just a few easy steps, and I panicked mostly, instead of actually trying. Without realizing it, CollegeXpress did exactly what I usually do when I panic, which is take it one step at a time. With college I forget that because it’s more than just a small to-do list, but this website was really helpful and overall amazing. So thank you!

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Fordham University

Bronx, NY

Messiah University

Grantham, PA