How to Choose Extracurricular Activities in Middle School

How to Choose Extracurricular Activities in Middle School The following piece was written by Eddie LaMeire. Eddie has been featured in ourAdmissions Expert seriesand has previously worked in admissions at Loyola University and University of California at San Diego. He is also the founder of LaMeire College Consulting. Last year, NPR ran an April Fools story on the so-called Porsafillo Preschool Academy, a fictional school taking drastic measures to ensure the quality of the students they admitted. What was so interesting about the piece, entitled, N.Y. Preschool Starts DNA Testing for Admission, was that it resembled a real NPR report more than an article fromThe Onion.In other words, weve gotten to a point in education where helicopter moms and achievement crazed dads are more the norm thanwellnormal people. So, any talk about getting kids involved earlier in the college preparation process will justifiably raise a few eyebrows. Here, though, were not concerned about success, performance, or prestige, but exposure. And, the project of exposing middle school students to academic activities is only intended for them to better identify their strengths and goals. This exposure comes in a number of ways, but today well be speaking about the three Cs of academic activities:Competitions,Camps,and Creative Projects. Lets start withcompetitions, since these are the easiest to both find and explain. Even further, competitions are fun activitiesfor competitive kids. A timid 7thgrader probably wont develop as well with competitions, but some students thrive in that environment. Not surprisingly, the most well organized competitions come in science and mathematics fields. First and foremost among these is Science Olympiad, which might sound intimidating. However, at this level the 6ththrough 9thgrade Division B where kids compete on everything from tree identification to traditional egg drops, its mostly a lot of fun. The same can be said for MathCounts, the math version of Science Olympiad. MathCounts provides guidelines for setting up clubs, interesting projects for teachers, and activities for students, as well as both individual and team competitions. In both cases, check with your middle school to see if they have a team. For kids who arent necessarily competitive and even for those who are campsare a great resource. But, the difficult part about camps is that new ones pop up annually, and its hard to determine quality. There are two, though, that are generally well respected: CTY and EPGY. CTY, the Center for Talented Youth, provides both online and residential programs, and has run for over 30 years. The program is administered by Johns Hopkins University, but held at various locations across the country, all offering courses in the humanities, math, writing, and science. CTY tends to be selective, and students qualify largely based on standardized test scores. The Education Program for Gifted Youth, or EPGY, is Stanfords version of CTY, hosting two-week sessions in computer programming, writing, the natural sciences, and so forth. Unlike CTY, EPGY is held only at one location, Stanford, so this is somewhat restrictive. On the other hand, the range of acceptable tests for admission is far larger than that of CTY. In either case, both programs are intense, fun, and well respected. Even further, theyre great springboards to more advanced programs in high school. But, competitions can be stressful and residential camps arent for everyone, so why not just build your own program? TheseCreative Projectsentail activities that arent quite as self-contained as competitions and camps, so putting such a program together is difficult. But it can be done! Take, for instance, the 8thgrader who has shown signs of entrepreneurship. She wont find too many competitions that fit her, and classes could be a little too hands off. Still, she could build a nice summer through bundling together different, related activities. Our student would begin with Junior Achievement, or JA, a national non-profit organization with the mission of getting kids financially literate. Attending business workshops and skill building sessions for young entrepreneurs are great ways to explore business, a complex field that JA makes accessible. The summer would continue with involvement in a Toastmasters youth program. Another established non-profit, Toastmasters is a wonderful way for people of any age to expose themselves to training in public speaking and leadership. To finish up the summer, she could spend a few days shadowing professionals in finance, accounting, or marketing. Quite a few companies have established programs that offer a day of job shadowing for teens. Even organizations that dont have such policies are worth contacting; its probable that theyve never before had a request. The summer is built for younger students to get exposed to academics in a way theyve never done before usually in a way thats hands-on, active, and fun. The most painful part of the process is the planning, which there can be a whole lot of. Even though were only in March, ensure that the summer will be productive and enjoyable. Review the three Cs above and start building the groundwork for June. It will come quicker than you think! VisitLaMeire College Consultingfor more information.The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.