College. That word makes many high school students cringe. We often find ourselves so focused on what makes us the best applicant that we lose sight of what is truly important – making decisions that make us happy.

When walking down the hallway, I often hear other students talking about the dreaded subject matter. I have heard things like, “I have to join that club to be well-rounded for college,” or “I don’t really want to be a member of that club, but my parents say it will look good on my college application.”

Students should not feel compelled to join clubs or participate in certain activities that they have no interest in. They should not force themselves to spend their time focusing on what they believe will make them a better applicant for college.

The aforementioned mindset can lead students to partake in activities that have no appeal to them. When many students already have little free time, they should not spend the leisure time they do have taking part in activities that they do not enjoy.

The main concern leading to this is the idea that colleges want a “well-rounded student.” While colleges do want to see students take advantage of extra-curriculars, they are more impressed if a student is wholeheartedly dedicated to a few activities that they hold a passion for, rather than the student spending short amounts of time in many different areas.

For example, according to a recent report published by Harvard Graduate School of Education, “Applications should state plainly that students should feel no pressure to report more than two or three substantive extra-curricular activities and should discourage students from reporting activities that have not been meaningful to them.”

With this message being given to students from colleges, students are being encouraged to solely spend their time on the activities they enjoy. The pressure to overload one’s schedule with an extensive amount of “filler” clubs is no longer coming from schools.

The solution to this issue is simple. Students should pick clubs and activities that they are interested in. They should focus on what they want and what they can get out of the experiences. This will not only allow them to enjoy the activities they partake in, but colleges will be impressed with the level of dedication given.

Students, pick a few clubs and activities that interest you, and dedicate yourself to making them something you enjoy.

Taylor Bynion is a Copy Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.