The clock begins to tick as soon as high school begins. In this four-year training period, students are expected to learn as much as possible in order to prepare for the next task at hand: a college education. However, getting accepted into college presents a daunting challenge when each college has different ideologies for its “model student.”

“Being involved is a big thing,” Admissions Counselor for Truman State University Lauren Titterington said. “I want students to be involved as much as they think they can handle being involved. I think being yourself is a big part of it, and being involved in the things you want to be involved in is a big part of it as well. Making sure you are staying on top of your classes, that you are able to handle everything you are trying to undertake.”

For senior Matt Schneider, becoming involved in extracurricular activities was a priority right at the start of freshman year. Immediately, he became involved in activities that were meaningful to him and provided the opportunity for significant involvement. He participated in clubs like Spanish Club, Scholar Bowl and Speech and Debate to figure out what he liked best.

“I knew that I needed to stay involved in extracurricular activities at school and take on leadership roles, not just for college, but because I wanted to,” Schneider said. “Every year since then I’ve become more involved in clubs at school and deepened my involvement in each.”

After freshman year, Schneider decided to step up to the challenge of leadership in many of the clubs he was involved in. These various leadership roles for Schneider now include President of National Honor Society, Speech Chairman, and Treasurer of Spanish Club.

“Well-rounded students are going to be a big thing,” Titterington said. “Someone who has taken college preparatory classes, and not every school has AP or IB classes, but if you’re taking classes that are Pre-AP or Honors that are going to prepare you for college, then that’s going to be a big thing. Obviously competitive ACT scores is a big thing. Students involved outside of the classroom and that is obviously very important as well. We want them to be involved not only in the academic side of things, but also extracurricularly.”

Not all colleges require a résumé to demonstrate a student’s involvement in extracurricular activities, but many use this information to determine what role each student will play on campus. It is also used to determine how they will contribute to the community academically and socially. For many universities, the search for well-rounded students proves to be a top priority when viewing applicants due to each school’s desire for a diverse student body.

“All activities where students can highly participate or take on a leadership role help them in the admissions-scholarship search,” Guidance Department Chair and College Career counselor Lisa Woodrum said. “I think it also helps them in life because people are going to be leaders after high school and after college, so I think that’s important.”

FHN’s opportunities for involvement range from foreign language clubs to Student Council. For students, the A+ program enables them to feel a sense of leadership and pride in community service by encouraging them to participate in 50 hours of various volunteer work. It also allows students to earn scholarship money for college.

“Especially for selective college admissions, the biggest thing for you to stand out from other people is to have passions for something or for many things,” Schneider said. “The best way to find what you’re passionate about is to be involved in as many different clubs. Right from the start freshman year try things out and if you don’t like them don’t stick with them, but the only way that you’re going to be able to really know what you like doing–what you want to be doing–is to try things out; and the best time to start is the beginning.”