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A Guide to 9th Grade Activities: How to Spend Your Time Wisely

Freshman year is full of possibility – new classes to take, new friends to meet, new clubs to join – but all this newness can also be overwhelming! You might find yourself asking: What 9th grade activities should I participate in outside of class?

Extracurricular activities are very important, both for college applications and your personal growth. Participating in 9th grade activities can help you explore your interests, create a supportive community, and develop special talents and skills. However, you don’t have to have everything figured out from the very beginning of high school! In fact, 9th grade is an important year for trying different things out and discovering what you find meaningful. Here's a guide for getting started.

Join A Club (or Two…or Three)

While extracurriculars are not limited to clubs at school, joining groups is a great place to start when searching for 9th grade activities.

Clubs can complement your learning and extend it in new directions. Start by thinking about your academic interests and career goals. See if there are any organizations at your high school that align with them. Are you fascinated by the environment and want to join an ecology club? Do you love science and feel eager to learn more about Scientific Olympiad? Do you enjoy writing and want to join the school newspaper?

You can also join clubs that express your values or seem like they would be fun. If you want to get involved in social issues, you might be drawn to an advocacy group such as Amnesty International or Breast Cancer Awareness. If you like playing guitar, you might want to join a concert band. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to knit, Knitting Club might just be for you.

Freshman year is the perfect time to designate as “exploration time.” Give yourself permission to try new and unfamiliar extracurriculars without feeling the pressure that you need to be following your passion from the outset. Take the time to look beyond school for possible 9th grade activities, such as taking an online class or doing a reading project in a subject of interest.

If you don’t find a club that you are looking for, you can always start one. Starting a club, gathering funds, and expanding the membership takes some time, so 9th grade is a great time to begin working on your own club. There are many clubs that you can start, or many meaningful self-directed activities you can pursue on your own after school! The table below can help you find inspiration based on topics you are interested in:

It is a good idea to join multiple 9th grade activities. While you don’t want to over-extend yourself, you also don’t want to put all of your extracurricular eggs in one basket. By joining a few different clubs, you can figure out which activities you do (and don’t) want to spend your time doing. If you don’t enjoy one of the clubs you joined or feel like it’s not the right fit, it’s okay to drop it. Along the way, you will hopefully discover activities that you want to keep being involved in throughout high school, and even continue in college.

Volunteering

Start by paying attention to local issues and opportunities to engage with your community. Try volunteering at a few different nonprofit organizations and see what you find meaningful. Here are a few possible volunteering and community service ideas for different areas of interest:

It is important that an activity truly matters to you, and you are gaining a meaningful experience out of it. Each time you try something new, ask yourself the following questions about your interests to help figure out the impact the activity has on you and your aspirations:

• How do I feel about this experience?
• Do I want to continue?
• Do I want to tweak this activity or take it in a new direction?
• Is this activity unique? Is it something everybody participates in?
• Will this activity shape my personality?
• Will I face any challenges in pursuing this activity? Would the challenge be related to my racial or religious background?
• What specifically about the activity could spark my interest?
• Will this be a memorable experience?
• Is there something I could do with this activity that others have not been able to?

Asking these questions may help you realize what matters most to you or spark a new idea. Pursuing your interests often has a snowball effect that leads to more valuable opportunities, connections, and experiences, which in turn makes you a strong candidate when you apply to college.

It’s all about the journey…

Colleges like to see students who have sustained and committed interests outside of school. However, demonstrating commitment is more than just being involved in an activity for an extended period of time. The Common Application has a separate Activities section for you to elaborate more on your extracurricular experiences to colleges. Admissions officers like to see strong leaders with tangible achievements that stand out when they are reading this section. They’ll look at the amount of time you have spent pursuing the activity, and whether your activities follow a certain theme instead of being all over the place. So, 9th grade is the perfect place to start!

Commitment means being engaged and finding ways to make an impact. Exploring your interests through 9th grade activities will set the stage for you to demonstrate your commitment later in high school. For example, taking art lessons or joining Art Club during freshman year might evolve into founding an art therapy initiative by senior year.  

Ultimately, there isn’t a single path to participating in extracurricular activities. The best way to spend your time during freshman year is to actively explore a range of interests and 9th grade activities. Your passions aren’t always bright neon signs on the highway, but rather often evolve and emerge along the way. 9th grade activities are a fun and fulfilling journey, so get ready!

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