Freshman Year Extracurricular Goals
College is a whole lot more than simply taking the classes you need to complete your major and graduate with your degree. Along the way, you'll enjoy countless opportunities to get involved with varsity or intramural sports and an amazing array of campus and community activities.
The sad part is, you can't even come close to sampling them all.
What you can do, though, is brainstorm a list of things you'd like to try during freshman year or during college generally, so that you'll have a better way to manage the barrage of opportunities as they come at you.
Were you recruited to play varsity athletics in college? Maybe you weren't recruited, but believe yourself to be good enough to "walk on" to the team. Or maybe the sport you're most interested in wasn't offered in your high school — but is offered at your college. And what about club sports or intramurals? Is there a sport you'd like to learn or get more involved with on a social level?
Have you always wanted to explore acting or singing? If so, maybe trying out for a play, a musical, a student film, or a singing group should be on your list.
What about politics or religion? Interested? If so, maybe the campus political unions or campus chapter of the Young Republicans, Young Democrats, or Green Party needs to be paid a visit. Thinking of switching religions, exploring a new religion, or simply becoming more devoted to your own? Perhaps you'd like to check out the local congregations or groups.
What about working in the community? Want to explore teaching by volunteering in an underserved school for an afternoon a week? Or explore medicine by "candy striping" at the local hospital? Or use your skills by teaching languages, sports, or other skills to area kids?
Want to write for the campus paper? Or the literary journal? Want to get involved with the campus radio station?
Want to interview prospective applicants, give campus tours, or help run your college's recruiting effort?
Is there something you're interested in doing in college that doesn't seem to have a group yet? Would you be interested in finding out how to start such a group?
The sky's the limit as to the extracurricular activities you can do in college. So dig deep inside and think about the things you might want to do. Think too about the things you did in high school and whether or not you want to continue them in college.
Grab a pen and paper or face your computer screen. You have five minutes to write out the ideas that bolt toward the top of your list.
Go!
Okay. So now you have your list of potential extracurricular activities that are of interest to you. You'll no doubt supplement this list as you get to know more about your college of choice. Think of this as a starting place.