The Value of Extracurricular Activities Infographic

The Value of Extracurricular Activities Infographic

The Value of Extracurricular Activities Infographic explores the impact of extracurricular activities from academic success to landing your dream job.

What are extracurricular activities?

ECAs are anything you do outside of your school work that is not directly class-related.

Most prominent extracurricular activities

• Inter-collegiate sport team: 6.7%
• Volunteer work: 22.9%
• Work:32.5%
• Other: 35.6%

Extracurricular activities and academic Success

1. High school

It all starts at a young age. Studies show that high school students who engage in extracurricular activities have higher indicators of school success and SAT test scores.

Indicators of School Success: Research conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that participation in extracurricular activities have a positive correlation to the students’ attendance, GPA, test scores, and expected educational goals.

Path Model Effects: In a separate study by the College Board, researchers found high school participation is correlated with higher SAT scores. The study found that participation in extracurricular activities increased SAT math by 45 points and SAT verbal scores by 53 points.

2. College

The results of a California State University. Sacramento study from 2002-2007 strongly suggests the academic benefits of extracurricular activities. Over the course of four terms, students involved in extracurricular activities consistently outperformed students not involved in extracurricular activities.

3. MBA Program

In a Graduate Management Admission Council Survey (2007) of more than 150 business schools and 5,641 respondents, researchers discovered that participation in extracurricular activities allowed students to learn lite skills that benefit both their professional and academic careers.
Skill improvement: Participation in extracurricular activities is linked to the improvement of communication and leadership skills in a management role. Leadership programs consistently improved all skills in the regression analysis while student government improved none.

How extracurricular activities help landing a job

Your academic transcript may be what gets your foot in the door, but employers look for candidates with relevant experience when making hiring decisions. The biggest challenge is showing relevant experience, which employers say is one of the most important factors they look for in applications form recent college graduates. This isn't limited to professional work experience school activities and volunteering also qualify as relevant experience and can be included in your resume as well. In other words, extra-curricular activities help you gain the key skills and experiences to help you land that job.

Benefits for New Grads with Intern Experience

When it comes to landing a job, an internship is far and away the most valuable extra-curricular to have on your resume. According to 2010 Boston University survey and 2008 NACE survey:

• 31% higher salary
• 53% job offer by graduation
• 75% preferred in hiring