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Every high school student in the country knows the word “extra-curricular� � it is a word that strikes fear into the heart of many. While extra-curricular activities may seem like a fun way to kill some time after school, for many students they are much more than that. They are a gold star on a college application � something that has real implications for the state of their future. But just how important are extra-curricular activities for your college application and are some better than others?

What Kind of Extra-Curricular Activities Are There?

When it comes to extra-curricular activities, the options are endless � but what really counts as an extra-curricular? Technically, it is an unpaid activity that doesn’t pertain to ordinary school classes. The activity itself may occur either in or out of school, though elective classes don’t count. For example, theater class is an elective because it takes place during school hours and it is an actual class � theater club is an extra-curricular if it takes place outside school hours and it isn’t technically a class. Volunteer work can also qualify as an extra-curricular activity.

Here are some examples of extra-curricular activities you might consider joining:

• Special interest clubs (clubs for like-minded students, often focused around a particular subject, activity, or interest)
• School service clubs (clubs where students engage in projects to improve the school)
• Scholarship clubs (clubs that exist primarily for prestige, though they may also offer scholarship awards)
• Community volunteering clubs (clubs where students engage in

Crafting a Plan Beyond High School

As high school students prepare for life beyond their public or private schools, it is critical that they have a plan in place for their future. While many students are encouraged to pursue more of an academic route following their graduation, there are other more suitable options available to help them select a more suitable path. Around the country, more programs are offered to provide students choices about their career paths which include but are not limited to apprenticeships, internships, vocational trade schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges.

Having a plan for life after high school is crucial for students prior to reaching their senior year. Helping students hone in on their unique interests and skillsets are all components they need when recognizing and defining future goals. Most importantly, they need to be able to articulate their goals. Many school systems look at several factors as they attempt to direct students towards being ready to pursue either the workforce or further their education.

• What are the student’s grades like?
• Do they have a strong community or family support?
• What are their academic strengths or weaknesses?
• Are they able to communicate their decisions and thoughts to others effectively?
• What are their genuine interests?

Vocational Schools

specialize in offering very specific skillset options for students while also ensuring completion towards certification and a high school diploma. There is no need for students to spend part of

The educational outlook for black boys has long been bleak. In Oakland, nearly one-third of African-American males drop out of high school. In Chicago, black boys lag behind other students in nearly every single measure of academic success. In schools throughout the nation, in large cities and small rural communities, black boys rank near the bottom in most measures of academic achievement and near the top in terms of the number of discipline referrals and suspensions.

Some of these statistics must be taken with a grain of salt, however. The American public school system has historically been to the needs of black students, but particularly so for black males. Boys of color face many obstacles in life that include absent or unresponsive fathers, violence in the home and in their neighborhood, pressure to join gangs, and substance abuse. Yet schools regularly overlook these factors as being outside their realm of responsibility. Racial profiling by school officials, biased discipline policies, and a culture that engenders fear of young black males compound the problems for an educational system that is unprepared to manage the social, emotional, cultural, and academic needs of black boys.

Further compounding the issue is that institutional failures of public school systems serve to label young black students as something they are not. Black males are more likely to be removed from regular education settings and are more often misclassified as mentally retarded. These incorrect actions are taken due to a black

As students begin to face the realization that their days of sleeping in are nearly over, school districts continue to debate the benefits of later start times for older students. With plenty of research to back up the idea that teens sleep on a different cycle than many schools allow, districts must once again consider the theory that later start times could mean higher student performance. Would later start times really impact how well high school students learn?

Research Supports Later Start Times

As back-to-school logistics are put into place, research on the benefits of later start times comes back into play. There is plenty to choose from in that category with most showing teens that head to class later tend to perform better overall. Unfortunately, coordination of school schedules doesn’t always support allowing teens the later start.

According to a recent report at , 40 percent of high schools in the United States start prior to 8:00 a.m. A small minority, 15 percent, start after 8:30 a.m. That minority is often the result of coordination of bus schedules, which tends to favor younger students for the later start times.

Logistics aside, research certainly seems to favor allowing older students to hit the books later. Students in the teen years require just as much sleep as younger children, according to the . That amount can range from 8 ½ to 9 ¼ hours of sleep every night. Decades of studies support

Many high school students document their school years on social networks like Facebook, where they fill pages with funny photos and funnier comments regarding their teen antics. However, some experts are now recommending that high school students take a more serious approach to their social networking, by hooking up with the professional network LinkedIn. Why should fun-loving high schoolers take a second look at a stuffed-shirt site like LinkedIn? It turns out there are many potential benefits from tuning into this established network at a younger age.

Job Searching Early

Even teens need to get a leg up on their job searches, whether they are on the hunt for a career right out of high school or a part-time job to help them pay the college bills. Globe and Mail recently reported that the days of the paper CV are out � now it’s all about selling yourself to prospective employers through digital mediums. Employers are now looking up applicants online, through social media, and even a personal website. Some employers even discount an applicant who restricts their resume or application to the paper variety, according to Jaigris Hodson, an instructor of digital literacy at Ryerson University.

This video offers a tutorial on LinkedIn for students.

“I advise my students to build an online portfolio that demonstrates the abilities they have to help employers solve their problems and portrays them as sources