State High offers over 90 clubs to join, but many of us still haven’t joined one. It always feels like there’s no time, and you have enough homework already. But clubs are an essential part of high school. They really enhance anyone’s high school experience and look great on college applications.

As mentioned earlier, there are over 90 clubs at State High. With that large selection of clubs, how do you know what to choose? In my opinion, the best option is to join as many clubs as you can. All clubs are free to join a meeting or two, and you can always leave if you don’t like it. If you just join a bunch of clubs for one meeting, you can decide which ones you want to keep attending.

Sophomore Prithvi Narayanan is quite experienced with clubs. He is involved in Ocean Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Peer Advocates, and is the vice president of the Diversity and Activism Club. Narayanan views clubs as beneficial to a student’s high school experience. 

“Clubs are really beneficial because they expand your knowledge in various different ways. [….] You get to meet people who have similar interests in certain fields. For example, I do Ocean Bowl and I get to meet many individuals that are fascinated by the ocean and geography in general,” Narayanan said. 

Clubs are also helpful for the future, especially for those applying to college. LE Teacher Mrs. Abruzzo, who has experience in advising students on what opportunities to take advantage of at State High, has found that clubs are absolutely helpful for college applications. 

“I can tell you that colleges look for students that take advantage [of opportunities]. They look at our school profile, they see what we have available, and they see how much a student has taken advantage of things that were available. So yes, it is a bonus for college applications,” Abruzzo said. 

But on the flip side, Abruzzo said you shouldn’t join a club just for your college application.

“I think there needs to be a reason to join a club that is not just to check a box, but because it’s something that you are interested in, or want to learn more about,” Abruzzo stated. 

Joining clubs may even help your grades and help you stay in school. According to a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey, students who participated in clubs were more likely to not skip class, have zero unexcused absences, and have a 3.0 or above GPA in comparison to those who did not attend clubs. They were also more likely to attend college. 

Clubs can also help those who are new or looking to make friends. If you join a club you’re interested in, you’re probably going to be around people who share your interests. This makes making friends much easier, something sophomore Jessica Wallace has firsthand experience with. She likes clubs because she “gets to meet other people with the same interests,” She also says clubs “definitely” enhance her high school experience.

Clubs can help anyone in high school in a variety of ways, from helping to get better grades, to helping make friends, to even helping on a college application. Clearly, everyone should join a few clubs, just to see what they like. The possibilities are endless.