Extracurricular activities are a great way to make new friends, develop leadership skills, and explore your interests before entering college or a career.
In addition, many colleges look at your extracurriculars to get a better idea of who you are as a student beyond the books. If your school doesn’t offer a club that interests you, or you want to show off some of your skills, consider starting a new club. Here's a list to help inspire you to think outside the box and try something new.
How Many Clubs Should I Be in During High School?
We understand the temptation to get involved in everything! While extracurricular activities are useful for applications and gaining life experience, you do not need to join hundreds of clubs/activities, etc. to gain college admission or a job. There are so many options for extracurricular activities, but be realistic about the limited amount of time you have to spend participating in them.
As you're deciding what clubs to join, give more consideration to the actual subject, rather than the number of clubs. Getting involved at a deeper level in a few areas speaks volumes to colleges about your level of commitment. For example, you may be passionate about science and spend time getting involved in a robotics club with a leadership role than joining two or three clubs. By spending more time on just a few activities, you will gain more understanding, skills, and appreciation in that field, which can reap rewards such as award nominations and real-life experience.
Pro tip: Join clubs you are truly interested in and not just ones that you think colleges want to see. Participating in clubs should be fun, help you build skills, and help you discover what you're passionate about as you make decisions about what's next!
Clubs You Can Start in High School
Sports
- Fishing Club
- Morning Runner Club
- Weightlifting Club
- Ultimate Frisbee Club
- Kickball Club
- Dodgeball Club
- Double Dutch Club
- Yoga Club
- Cornhole Club
- Surf Club
- Volleyball Club
- Snorkeling Club
- Quidditch Club
- Esports Clubs
- Skateboarding Club
- Mountain Biking Club
Outdoors
- Nature Club
- Hiking Club
- Garden Club
- Astronomy Club
- Hammock Club
- Students for No Waste Club
Hobby
- Book Club
- Scholarship Club
- Vintage/Thrifter Club
- Guitar Club
- Trivia Club
- Comedy Club
- Video Game Club
- Board Game Club
- Astrology Club
- Volunteer/Community Service Club
- Foreign Language Club
- Chess Club
- City Explorers Club
- Senior Trip Club
Art/Creative
- Photography Club
- Zine Making Club
- Art Club
- Poetry Club
- Sewing Club
- Knitting Club
- Crochet Club
- Theatre Arts Club
- Playwriting Club
- Short Stories Club
- The Mural Club
Careers
- Future Influencer/Content Creator Club
- Careers Club
- Future Engineers Club
- Future Lawyers Club
- Future Medical Professionals Club
- Future Sports Broadcasters Club
- Future Screenwriters Club
- Future Entrepeneurs Club
- Future Cryptobillionaires Clubc
- Future Writers Club
- Podcast Club
- Stock Market Club
- Foreign Exchange Currency Club
- VIP Speakers Club
Food
- Baking Club
- The Foodies Club
- Food & Language Club
- Coffee Enthusiast Club
- Vegan or Vegetarian Club
Entertainment
- Comic Book Club
- DC vs. Marvel Fans Club
- Star Wars Club
- TV Club
- Anime Club
- Cinema Club
- Binge Watchers Club
STEM
- Robotics Club
- Mathletes Club
- Physics Club
- Chemistry Club
- Coding Club
- Engineering Club
History & Politics
- Politics Club
- History Club
- Women's History Club
- Black History Club
- Debate Team
- Local History Team
