List of Extracurricular activities

List of Extracurricular activities: Have you ever considered the importance of Extracurricular while you are in school. Knowing how to spend your free hours is very vital.  You can build your life skills and end up well equipped to handle your career.

If you are undecided on what extracurricular to choose, below we have looked at numerous activities you can engage in. By the end of your college or high school, these activities will build your hobbies and interest.

What are Extracurricular Activities?

These are activities outside the usual study routine but are found within a school or college setup. You will not get credits from these activities but they play a vital role in portraying what other things you can achieve other than getting academic credit and honors. They teach you practical life skills like good communication, social skills, emotional intelligence, analytical skills, etc.

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Extracurricular Activities Examples

Before we look at list of extracurricular activities, let outlines some of the extracurricular activities examples.

1. Playing football                2. Baseball                            3. Net ball

4. Softball                              5. Softball                              6. Chess

7. Cheer Leading                  8. Dancing                            9. Playing musical instruments

10. Body Building                 11. Fencing                          12. Reading for the elderly in their homes

13. Racing,                              14. Swimming,                   15. Participating in academic debates or symposiums,

16. Drama Plays                     17. Poetry                            18. Being A Gymnast,

19. Cycling  etc

List of Extracurricular activities

Below are some of the clubs to join in high school

Academic clubs

You can choose the following clubs depending on your interest. There are many clubs in different schools but some of the commonest include:

1. Engineering Club
2. Electronics Club
3. Economics Club
4. Distributive Education Clubs of America
5. Creative Writing Club
6. Coding Club
7. Chemistry Club
8. Biology Club
9. Astronomy Club
10. Architecture Club
11. Adopt-A-Physicist
12. English Club
13. History Club
14. Life Sciences Club
15. Literary Magazine Club
16. Literature Club
17. Math Club
18. Mu Alpha Theta: Math Honor Society
19. National Honor Society
20. Peer Tutoring
21. Physics Club
22. Poetry Club
23. Psychology Club
24. Quill and Scroll
25. Robotics Club
26. Science National Honors Society
27. Trivia and Quiz Clubs

Sports and Recreation

1. Yoga Club
2. Wrestling
3. Water Polo
4. Volleyball
5. Ultimate Frisbee Club
6. Track & Field
7. Tennis
8. Swimming
9. Soccer
10. Skiing
11. Skate Board Club
12. Quidditch Clubs
13. Ping Pong Club
14. Martial Arts
15. Lacrosse
16. Judo
17. Intramural Sports
18. Hockey
19. Hiking Club
20. Gymnastics
21. Golf
22. Football
23. Fencing
24. Dance Team
25. Cycling
26. Climbing Club
27. Cheerleading
28. Bodybuilding
29. Basketball
30. Softball
31. Baseball
32. Athletics

Extracurricular Activities List

Performing visual arts

In this category, the extracurricular activities may be classified into music and drama

1. Animation
2. Blacksmithing
3. Cartooning
4. Ceramics
5. Choreography,
6. Church Choir
7. Community Theater Program
8. Concert Band
9. Drama Club
10. Fashion design
11. Filmmaking
12. Graphic Design
13. Jewelry Making
14. Musical Band
15. Musical Theater
16. Orchestra
17. Painting and drawing
18. Photography
19. Playwriting
20. Puppetry,
21. School Choir etc
22. Sculpture
23. Sewing
24. Singing Lessons
25. Solo Music
26. Standup Comedy,
27. Theater,
28. Video Game Development Club
29. Weaving
30. Woodworking and many others

Academic Competitive Team

1. National French Contest
2. National Academic Quiz Tournament
3. Math League
4. Kids Philosophy Slam
5. Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
6. High School Innovation Challenge
7. FIRST Robotics Competition
8. Educators Rising
9. EconChallenge
10. Creative Communication Poetry Contest
11. Clean Tech Competition
12. Chemistry Olympiad
13. Caribou Mathematics Competition
14. American Regions Math League
15. American Mathematics Competitions
16. Science Olympiad
17. Science Bowl
18. Quiz Bowl
19. Questions Unlimited
20. Poetry Out Loud
21. Other Trivia and Quiz Competition Teams
22. Odyssey of the Mind
23. National Spelling Bee
24. National History Bee
25. Academic Triathlon
26. Academic Decathlon

List of Extracurricular Activities for Students

Media

1. Yearbook Committee
2. Local magazine/journal/newspaper
3. School radio station/ television channel
4. School website
5. Work on a movie

Cultural and Language

1. International Food Club
2. German Club
3. French Club
4. Chinese Club
5. American Sign Language Club
6. Latin Club
7. Pacific Islanders Club
8. Russian Club
9. South Asian Student Society
10. Spanish Club

Social Activism, Community-based, and Volunteer

1. UNICEF High School Clubs
2. Tutoring
3. Sisters on the Runway
4. SADD—Students Against Destructive Decisions
5. Red Cross Club
6. NOW—National Organization for Women
7. Mountaineers Club
8. Mentoring
9. Leo Club
10. Kids Helping Kids
11. International volunteer program
12. Hospital volunteer
13. Habitat for Humanity
14. Girls Lean International
15. Gay-Straight Alliance
16. Fair Trade Club
17. Environmental Club
18. Church outreach
19. Cancer Foundation
20. Breast Cancer Awareness
21. Best Buddies International
22. Animal Rights Club
23. Animal rescue
24. Amnesty International
25. Adopt-a-Highway

Best online Extracurricular activities

There are many online extracurricular activities that you can be involved in. Below we have listed some.

1. Coding
2. Blogging and Content Writing Course
3. Art and Music
4. General Knowledge and Quiz Contests
5. Yoga and Meditation
6. Learning a new language
7. Dance
8. Animation
9. Playing Chess

Benefits of Extracurricular activities

1. Improved overall Academic Performance

Most extracurricular activities are physically engaging. One of the benefits of physical activities is that they improve your brain functionality hence better concentration. In addition, you will end up with a better physique to handle external pressure and anxieties. A healthy mind promotes better academic results

2. Enable you to build better relationships.

Honestly speaking it’s hard knowing someone’s interest when you have never interacted with them. Friendship is developed when you meet at a certain area or activity. You will make friends easily when you get involved in extracurricular activities. You will likely meet someone who can easily connect with. Notably, most of the friends we meet in college end up becoming our lifelong friends, so go out there and find an activity you can do.

3. Help you build self-confidence

Confidence is built when you allow others to challenge you. In competition, you either be beaten or beat your opponent.  As a result of these challenges, extracurricular activities will build your self-esteem. You can be able to stand out and pinpoint when things are wrongly done.

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4. Discover new talents

If you are not fully utilizing your potential, you do not know what lies inside of you. Every moment you challenge yourself you get the chance to see what other thing you can do.

Importance of Extracurricular activities

5. Social Opportunities

If you take time and get involved in your interest and hobbies, there are places you will visit that an academic degree would not have allowed you to go to. For instance, if get in the school band, you could end up performing in a different country and also being able to visit influential people.

6. Help you develop essential life skills

Another Benefit of Extracurricular activities is that they enable you to get practical life lessons. Skills required to become a better communicator, team player as well as team leader, problem solver, analytical thinker, etc. Academic credit will rarely improve your social skills, but playing football with your schoolmate will teach you that. So don’t overlook the importance of Extracurricular activities

7. Build your Resumes

In a job interview, someone with well-developed hobbies and interests will likely stand out more than someone with the same academic qualification. For example, if you are being interviewed for a position of a journalist and you have indicated you were an active member of the debate club, there is a higher probability you will be selected compared to someone with no such kind of skills.

Types of Extracurricular activities

1. Academic clubs

Students who are interested in exploring more information in a certain subject should consider joining academic clubs. There are many competitions one can get involved in including one at the Science Olympiad. 

2. Sports and Recreation

This is the most common type of Extracurricular activity. It majorly comprises indoor and outdoor games. These activities are normally physically engaging. If you love ball games, athletics, swimming this is the kind of activity you should choose.

3. Student government

If you like being in leadership and becoming an influencer in people’s lives this is the activity to choose. In this area, you will get into student leadership and represent their need and ideas to various departments within the college or school. Although the positions are limited you could still get into them if your leadership skills are good.

4. Performing and Visual arts

Extracurricular activities placed under the category of visual arts are good for students talented with visual arts and content. They can be able to connect with the environment around them and bring out people’s emotions, experiences, and challenges into a visual reality. In addition, if you aspire to become a musician, professional actor, dancer, singer, comedian, or any other kind of performer, this is the type of activity you choose.

Extracurricular Activities in School

5. Media

If you are outspoken and you love writing and communication, get involved in any extracurricular activity in the media.

6. Social Activism, Community-based, and Volunteer

For someone who likes making a difference in society, an extracurricular activity in social activities will be fulfilling. This is good for someone who intends to be a community development officer, activist, environmentalist, volunteer, etc. 

7. Academic Competitive Teams

Under this category, the students will be majorly involved in brainstorming challenges that will aim to build better skills and knowledge.

8. Cultural and Language

This is the category that allows students to showcase their diversity based on culture, traditions, language, etc. 

9. Other Extracurricular activities

These are activities that cannot be classified in any of the above classes

How to choose the best Extracurricular activities in college?

If you are not certain which Extracurricular activities to get involved in, below we have outlined ways you can identify the Best Extracurricular activities for college applicants or high school students.

1. Look at your interest and talents

To excel in any field in life you must love what you do. Loving what you do will ensure you remain committed and consistent. For instance, if you dislike dealing with a big crowd, don’t get into any activity in school government as this will often make you deal with many students. Such students should choose extracurricular activities in visual arts, that is if they are talented in that area. Another important thing you should consider before choosing your college extracurricular activity is the area you are naturally talented. If you want to develop that talent, then get into an area likely to do so. If you want to learn something new, choose a field that you prefer.

2. Do further research on any desired Extracurricular Options

Don’t choose what seems to be familiar, do your research and know if the school or college you want to join has the resources to help you build your talent. Look at opportunities available to anyone skilled in that area. Once you get to understand the important points, make a decision considering the above interest and talents

Choosing the Best Extracurricular Activities in College

3. Start building your knowledge on the chosen Extracurricular activities

If you are getting into a new activity build your knowledge to be able to interact with other students who could be a little bit advanced in that area. Try to understand the basic knowledge of such activities.

4. Take the necessary step to register or meet the other parties with similar interest

Some Extracurricular activities require some kind of registration or audition. Ensure you are not left out just because you didn’t follow simple instructions.

Conclusion: List of Extracurricular activities

The above List of Extracurricular activities will guide you when the times come to choose an extracurricular activity in college or high school. The list may not necessarily be exhaustive, but, it has captured most of the extracurricular activities in most schools across the country.