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I don't do any extracurricular activities?

I have my Sixth Form interview soon and I'm almost certain that they're going to ask what kind of things I do outside of school or what extracurricular activities I do. But the problem is: I don't do anything outside of school, as the work I receive from school is overwhelming. I do things after school but they are because of preparation for exams IN school. Also I do a maths revision club type thing, but it takes place in my school (& my school organizes it),so I don't think it counts as an extracurricular activity. Also, I don't have many hobbies, as I barely have time and pretty much like watching TV. So my question is: What do I say when they ask me what kind of things I do outside of school/extracurricular activities? Please help me, as I have no idea. Thank you :smile:

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Reply 1
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Pretend an episode of a show actually happened. That'll make you seem interesting
Reply 2
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Original post by zayn008
Pretend an episode of a show actually happened. That'll make you seem interesting


:biggrin: Not bad..but the thing is, they know me as a person/student, so I cannot lie :/
Firstly they will be understanding that GCSEs are overwhelming and leave very little spare time. You could talk about your maths club, I think that shows good commitment to your studies which is obviously an attractive quality. You could say you like reading ? Maybe read a few books around your alevel subjects and talk about those? That would show again a really good commitment and passion for your subjects, which they might even value more than extracurriculars which most other candidates have done
Reply 4
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Original post by 123_123
:biggrin: Not bad..but the thing is, they know me as a person/student, so I cannot lie :/


Just say you do casual sports, you read books, you read the news, if you love TV you can say you love filming/photography. Maybe you have a good sense of art? You don't have to be part of some club or sports team, it's too much commitment well at least that's my excuse. But I still enjoy playing sports. if you're not a sporty guy just say you play golf (I highly recommend you actually play it, it's great!)
Reply 5
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Original post by maroumarou
Firstly they will be understanding that GCSEs are overwhelming and leave very little spare time. You could talk about your maths club, I think that shows good commitment to your studies which is obviously an attractive quality. You could say you like reading ? Maybe read a few books around your alevel subjects and talk about those? That would show again a really good commitment and passion for your subjects, which they might even value more than extracurriculars which most other candidates have done


Thanks for the reply :smile: I understand what you mean. What kinds of books would you suggest I read? I'm thinking about taking English Literature for A Level, but I'm not that into reading (which I know doesn't sound amazing) but I wouldn't have enough time to read books such as Jane Eyre or Frankenstein. So what books would you suggest?
Reply 6
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Original post by zayn008
Just say you do casual sports, you read books, you read the news, if you love TV you can say you love filming/photography. Maybe you have a good sense of art? You don't have to be part of some club or sports team, it's too much commitment well at least that's my excuse. But I still enjoy playing sports. if you're not a sporty guy just say you play golf (I highly recommend you actually play it, it's great!)


Good points :smile: Thanks for the reply
You really should start doing some extracurricular activities. Employers look for more than academics these days, you need to have good extracurricular activities in order to succeed.
Original post by 123_123
Thanks for the reply :smile: I understand what you mean. What kinds of books would you suggest I read? I'm thinking about taking English Literature for A Level, but I'm not that into reading (which I know doesn't sound amazing) but I wouldn't have enough time to read books such as Jane Eyre or Frankenstein. So what books would you suggest?



Honestly whatever you find appealing. Some good books I've read which are short are chesil beach, the yellow wallpaper and heart of darkness. Not sure if you'd enjoy these too though! You could also look at some podcasts to do with literature- it sounds very boring but radio 4 has some good ones and a) they're not too bad and b) this is how I prepared for my uni interview and it worked out well so in my experience at least they're quite good
Reply 9
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Original post by maroumarou
Honestly whatever you find appealing. Some good books I've read which are short are chesil beach, the yellow wallpaper and heart of darkness. Not sure if you'd enjoy these too though! You could also look at some podcasts to do with literature- it sounds very boring but radio 4 has some good ones and a) they're not too bad and b) this is how I prepared for my uni interview and it worked out well so in my experience at least they're quite good


Thanks again for replying, I will definitely consider these ideas :smile:
Reply 10
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Original post by 123_123
I have my Sixth Form interview soon and I'm almost certain that they're going to ask what kind of things I do outside of school or what extracurricular activities I do. But the problem is: I don't do anything outside of school, as the work I receive from school is overwhelming. I do things after school but they are because of preparation for exams IN school. Also I do a maths revision club type thing, but it takes place in my school (& my school organizes it),so I don't think it counts as an extracurricular activity. Also, I don't have many hobbies, as I barely have time and pretty much like watching TV. So my question is: What do I say when they ask me what kind of things I do outside of school/extracurricular activities? Please help me, as I have no idea. Thank you :smile:


Have you thought about applying for the National Citizenship Service for a place in the summer holidays.

www.ncsyes.co.uk

You could talk about what you expect to do (assuming you've sorted out a place) when you have free time as during term you like to concentrate on your studies. It is also a good thing to have on your UCAS form when you come to apply to university.
Reply 11
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Original post by biglad2k16
You really should start doing some extracurricular activities. Employers look for more than academics these days, you need to have good extracurricular activities in order to succeed.


Yes, you're right. I'm just not sure where to begin. Where can I find a club outside of school? Also, what kinds of things are considered extracurricular activities and what do employers/sixth forms look for?
Original post by 123_123
Yes, you're right. I'm just not sure where to begin. Where can I find a club outside of school? Also, what kinds of things are considered extracurricular activities and what do employers/sixth forms look for?


It depends on your area. Where I live in London, there are loads of clubs and teams you can join but I don't know about in other places. Extracurriculars are sports, music, volunteering, enterprise, performance arts, martial arts, chess, anything like that. Employers and sixth formers look for people who have done many or at least some extracurricular activities outside of school.
Original post by biglad2k16
You really should start doing some extracurricular activities. Employers look for more than academics these days, you need to have good extracurricular activities in order to succeed.



This is not strictly true. Unless you are outstanding at something, county level sport or similar, employers are highly unlikely to take an interest in the fact that you play tennis or piano or whatever. Things such as work placements and summer jobs are far more likely to appeal to employers. So don't worry push yourself into something you don't have much interest in, possibly to the detriment of your studies.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by maroumarou
This is not strictly true. Unless you are outstanding at something, county level sport or similar, employers are highly unlikely to take an interest in the fact that you play tennis or piano or whatever. Things such as work placements and summer jobs are far more likely to appeal to employers. So don't worry push yourself into something you don't have mush interest in, possibly to the detriment of your studies.


Employers look for interests outside of work and studies. You need to show that you do other stuff, through awards like DofE and sports awards or music grades.
Original post by biglad2k16
Employers look for interests outside of work and studies. You need to show that you do other stuff, through awards like DofE and sports awards or music grades.


The majority do not care. They are intrested in your ability to do the job and interpersonal skills, which is why they interview people. Doing DofE has no impact on how employable you are - why would they care?
Original post by maroumarou
The majority do not care. They are intrested in your ability to do the job and interpersonal skills, which is why they interview people. Doing DofE has no impact on how employable you are - why would they care?


http://www.dofe.org/over-100-top-uk-employers-endorse-a-dofe-award-as-mark-of-a-young-persons-soft-skills-competence

The top employers do care about extracurricular activities. Investment banking for example.
Original post by biglad2k16
http://www.dofe.org/over-100-top-uk-employers-endorse-a-dofe-award-as-mark-of-a-young-persons-soft-skills-competence

The top employers do care about extracurricular activities. Investment banking for example.


Obviously when DofE asks them to endorse the award they are not going to refuse to do so. It doesn't count agaisnt you but in reality the effect is extremely minimal, there are so many other distinguishing factors they place more importance upon
Original post by maroumarou
Obviously when DofE asks them to endorse the award they are not going to refuse to do so. It doesn't count agaisnt you but in reality the effect is extremely minimal, there are so many other distinguishing factors they place more importance upon

Alright let's agree to disagree
Original post by 123_123
I have my Sixth Form interview soon and I'm almost certain that they're going to ask what kind of things I do outside of school or what extracurricular activities I do. But the problem is: I don't do anything outside of school, as the work I receive from school is overwhelming. I do things after school but they are because of preparation for exams IN school. Also I do a maths revision club type thing, but it takes place in my school (& my school organizes it),so I don't think it counts as an extracurricular activity. Also, I don't have many hobbies, as I barely have time and pretty much like watching TV. So my question is: What do I say when they ask me what kind of things I do outside of school/extracurricular activities? Please help me, as I have no idea. Thank you :smile:


Sixth forms like students to do extracurriculars because:
- It shows they have spare time outside of their GCSE studies, i.e. they should be able to cope with the higher workload at sixth form
- Universities often look for extracurriculars (or at least, extracurriculars relevant to your subject), so already doing these show that you have both spare time outside of your studies to keep them up and have an interest in making yourself an interesting person to universities (bear in mind that sixth forms are often compared based on how many students they get into top universities)
- If they do a sport/ hobby also offered as a club at the sixth form, then the student could be a good addition to the school team (again, helping to raise the profile of the school)

So for sixth forms and universities, extracurriculars are something they take into consideration. In reality, grades tend to be more important though so don't let your grades slip because you were busy playing football instead of studying...

It's probably a bit late in the game to pick up new extracurriculars at school and talk about them convincingly in the interview, but you could always spin your maths revision club into a "maths extension club" type thing (assuming its not an after school group specifically to support struggling students) - this is a great way to demonstrate commitment to your studies.

In terms of what counts as extracurriculars, essentially ANYTHING that isn't compulsory classes at school - however which ones you actually want to mention in your application/ interview are not quite the same (e.g. I would avoid mentioning enjoying TV/ films as it suggests you're lazy). Some suggestions are:
- subject extension clubs (e.g. Maths club, Science club, etc.)
- sports (you don't have to be on the team, just going along each week to play a bit of basketball counts! It doesn't even have to be an organised group, if you often play a sport with your mates you could mention that too if you're desperate...)
- reading (preferably 'decent' books - e.g. classic books, since you're applying to study English Lit)
- volunteering
- part time jobs (ok, not technically an extracurricular, but could be a kind of excuse as to why you don't do any, because your job takes up the spare time)

You mentioned you are struggling to find time to fit in extracurriculars around your GCSEs - maybe you should have a look online at blog posts about improving your productivity and focus on studies? Theres a YouTube channel called CollegeInfoGeek which is really good for this :smile: If you're still struggling, don't worry - theres time to do extracurriculars in the holidays (you're probably doing them anyway just for fun - what else do you do for six weeks all summer?)

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