What are the Best Extra Curricular Courses to Take?

skr002

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
52
Ever since I went to an Army base, back in 5th grade, I saw the sense of leadership, respect, and team work that the Army posses. I knew I wanted to be apart of that someday. I did my research and found out how to jump start my Military Career with USMA. Ever since, I've been mapping out my high schools curriculum and dedicating myself to things that should help to be appointed. As I head into my Freshman year of high school, I need to start putting myself into environments that'll keep myself going and with this goal in mind, I wanted to get some opinions.

What are good academic and non academic courses that I should participate with to make myself a more competitive candidate?

Thank you! :)
 
Truthfully, do what you enjoy. Push yourself to the max constantly and do your best through all that you do. As a rising senior, I look back and wish I would've done certain things differently.

Be involved, be active, and be fit.
 
As a appointee for the Class of 2024, I completely agree with dadencale's comment. I had VERY little time to be involved in school-specific extracurriculars, as all of my time was training and competing for my sport of equestrian vaulting. If you can show to the Army that you are fully committed to whatever you want to pursue, that I believe is worth more than trying to be a part of as extracurriculars as possible or taking every single difficult class in order to appear better.

Of course you still want to be well-rounded and have community service, participation in sports, and solid grades in all your classes (whether easy or difficult), but the most important aspect is demonstrating determination and dedication to what you believe will set you on the right path. I know this comment may not help in the way in which you may be expecting, but I hope it offers a different perspective.

Good luck as a rising freshman! I hope you enjoy your time and achieve great things.
 
As a appointee for the Class of 2024, I completely agree with dadencale's comment. I had VERY little time to be involved in school-specific extracurriculars, as all of my time was training and competing for my sport of equestrian vaulting. If you can show to the Army that you are fully committed to whatever you want to pursue, that I believe is worth more than trying to be a part of as extracurriculars as possible or taking every single difficult class in order to appear better.

Of course you still want to be well-rounded and have community service, participation in sports, and solid grades in all your classes (whether easy or difficult), but the most important aspect is demonstrating determination and dedication to what you believe will set you on the right path. I know this comment may not help in the way in which you may be expecting, but I hope it offers a different perspective.

Good luck as a rising freshman! I hope you enjoy your time and achieve great things.

Thank you for the help, that makes a lot of sense, focus on what you want to achieve... can I ask what sort of AP classes you took? As well, congratulations on your acceptance.
 
I definitely agree with what has already been said. I was also appointed to the Class of 2024. Just to add another perspective and to build on what has already been said, West Point loves to see commitment and leadership experience. I agree with sydthesquid35 and I think it's more important to attain a leadership position in maybe only one or a few extracurriculars that are important to you, rather than doing a bunch of resumé builders where you didn't do a lot. However, it's imperative that you also achieve strong grades in all of your classes, are physically fit, and show a true desire to attend West Point. Most importantly, in my opinion, just find your path in high school and take the classes (AP's and/or IB's are highly recommended, but they don't have to fill your entire schedule) and participate in the extracurriculars in which you are interested. I hope this makes sense.
 
Thank you for the help, that makes a lot of sense, focus on what you want to achieve... can I ask what sort of AP classes you took? As well, congratulations on your acceptance.

Thank you so much!

I took AP Biology my sophomore year, AP Calc AB and AP Chemistry my junior year, and AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Physics C: Mechanics my senior year. Some of my other honors classes were not technically considered AP courses (such as Government, Macro/Micro Economics, English Language/Composition, United States History, Modern European History, Moral Philosophy), though they were as difficult (my government class even used the AP textbook but did not let us take the exam?).
The only class that I wish I had taken during my high school career was AP Statistics, but I just could not fit it into my schedule.

Hope this helps.
 
Back
Top