Why get involved in extracurricular activities at college or university?

In the many articles that I have written to date for you that are available here, most have been largely associated with studying techniques and essay writing amongst other educational issues. Therefore, in this article I thought that I would move more away from this to at least briefly discuss getting involved with your college or university in extracurricular activities so as to then get a lot more out of the college or university experiences.

Of course there is no denying that your central reason for studying for further qualifications at college or university is to further develop your learning in a particular subject so that you are then much better prepared for a future career in that area in practice. However, that should not be the be all and end all of your experience at college or university: there is also a need for you to be open to other ideas and experiences in your period of study.

The reason for this is largely centred on the example that I am about to give of someone that I know very well indeed . . .

Now I once knew a young man who, after attending college and not doing quite as well as he wanted (he got three 'C' grades when he was originally predicted 4 'A's'), had to go through the rigours of the university Clearing System in order to study law at university after his low grades meant that he could not study at the university of his choice. Rather luckily he then got in through clearing into a university right near his home and so he could go and do his law degree. The problem was that, as someone already distinctly lacking his confidence, what little confidence he had had taken a severe knock so that he was not necessarily in the best place.

However, this guy was made of sterner stuff than it may have first appeared. He rolled up his sleeves and got fully engrossed in his course – of course he had friends, but his law degree was his sole focus and reason for being at university. Three years soon passed by in no time at all and this young man got his results. He had done very well – he had missed out on a First Class Degree ('A' grade) for the course by no more than three marks and was very pleased.

But this is where his problems started . . .

This guy then went and started applying for jobs but no one would take him – he was not considered suitable for some reason that he could not fathom. As a result, he decided to not only take a Masters in law but also the Legal Practitioners Course (LPC) that was the practical assessment for furthering his qualifications in the UK towards eventually becoming a solicitor (even though he had no Training Contract lined up for the conclusion of his courses).

The trouble was that it was only when he completed his Masters and LPC that this young man discovered to his cost why he was not getting anywhere with his work applications for a Training Contract – he had few if any extracurricular activities to speak of on his Curriculum Vitae (CV).

He had no work/subject related work experience.

He did not have a job during his studies because he was lucky enough to be funded fully.

He had not been part of any clubs or teams at university.

He had not entered any competitions.

He had not written any articles.

He had not undertaken any research.

Now, do not get me wrong, this guy is still making use of his qualifications and is doing ok but he has had to adapt his career ambitions and goals significantly into teaching.

He now helps students at all levels in the UK and internationally with their studies in an effort to impart his wisdom so that they might learn from his experiences and succeed in whatever area may be concerning them – he is doing something that he enjoys and that is important too!

Hopefully by now you have picked up on a few things from this guy's experiences.

There are clearly some obvious lessons to be learnt, but perhaps the most significant of all these is that you need to participate in extracurricular activities. You need to appreciated that employers want more from their potential employees than someone who just excels in academia: they want workers and people who are able to interact with others easily in a working environment.

With this in mind, if I teach you nothing else (and I have plenty of experiences that I can refer to help you a lot) then hopefully this article will get you thinking about what extracurricular activities you can add to your CV today as I also have many other academic resources that you may find useful including 'The Secret Guide to Academic Writing & Study' to be clicked on via http://www.academicfx.co.uk that provides many further ideas and concepts for your studies.