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09-08-2010, 12:13 PM
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147 posts, read 393,648 times
Reputation: 112
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We are in the final negotiations on a house in Springfield (Union county) and I was doing research on the middle school extra curricular activities and there are only 3 clubs for the middle school - 8th grade committee, Yearbook club & Homework club.  They do have sports programs. These are the non-sports activities.
I know I know, I should have done more extensive research before even starting to house hunt but my daughter is only 3.5 years old. In high school, they do have a lot of clubs.
I did not grow up in the US hence did not go through the school system. How important are middle school clubs and the participation in them? |
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09-08-2010, 02:38 PM
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Location: Randolph, NJ
4,073 posts, read 8,595,313 times
Reputation: 3255
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Take a deeeeeeep breath and relax. LOL, my guess is that if you have gotten to the level of detail of the # of clubs in middle school, you have done PLENTY of research.
If you like everyhting else, the # of clubs shouldn't scare you off. 3 does seem low, but I'm sure there are lots of other activities available too -- scouts, sports, etc.
Good luck!
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09-08-2010, 02:47 PM
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1,977 posts, read 7,489,130 times
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IMO, In the grand scheme of things, only HS and College EC activities count for anything.
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09-08-2010, 04:55 PM
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Location: New Jersey
539 posts, read 1,112,244 times
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Only HS clubs matter.. colleges look at these on the app (and some wont if they are private/high acceptance rate/gpa consideration already factored) but Ivy league definately no matter what the gpa
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09-08-2010, 05:02 PM
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2,535 posts, read 6,401,749 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SonorityGenius
Only HS clubs matter.. colleges look at these on the app (and some wont if they are private/high acceptance rate/gpa consideration already factored) but Ivy league definately no matter what the gpa
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If you are counting on clubs and EC activities to get you into an Ivy league school you are reaching!!! SAT,GPA, AP, Class Rank. In that order. Somewhere down around where you rank on Santa's Naughty vs. Nice list you'll find HS clubs. If you're all good with the ones I mentioned no college will ever have to, or want to, look beyond that. |
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09-08-2010, 05:24 PM
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Location: New Jersey
539 posts, read 1,112,244 times
Reputation: 508
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdstyles
If you are counting on clubs and EC activities to get you into an Ivy league school you are reaching!!! SAT,GPA, AP, Class Rank. In that order. Somewhere down around where you rank on Santa's Naughty vs. Nice list you'll find HS clubs. If you're all good with the ones I mentioned no college will ever have to, or want to, look beyond that.
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You obviously did not attend one. |
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09-08-2010, 06:32 PM
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Location: West Orange, NJ
12,546 posts, read 20,697,808 times
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hilarious. # of clubs in middle school? if that's what gets you to the ivy, then they definitely aren't worth the money...
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09-09-2010, 08:01 AM
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Location: The Beautiful Pocono Mountains
5,450 posts, read 8,453,880 times
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I think kids getting into clubs and ec activities in middle school is important. It helps them to see how to juggle school work and the clubs/sports/whatever in high school. Most kids that are in clubs in middle school will continue in high school (no, I have no numbers to back this up, just what I see in my own kids' schools).
Don't forget, if there is a club your child wants to join that isn't offered in your schools, you can go to one in a nearby town and join their's.
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09-09-2010, 08:23 AM
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1,173 posts, read 4,591,979 times
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I wouldn't worry about it if your child is only 3, by the time they get to middle school there could be more or even less at ANY school. No way to know where the economy will be in 8 years or what current student interests will be. Maybe they used to have a lot of clubs and they all had poor attendance so they closed them up by the time your child attends they may have reconsidered these clubs. Or they may have been close during the recession in order to keep the sports programs open if the economy is in an upswing by the time your toddler is in middle school i'm sure there will be more.
Also there is plenty of opportunities for your child to seek out his or her interests outside of school which will also broaden their network of friends.
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09-09-2010, 08:32 AM
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Location: Ocean County, NJ
912 posts, read 2,359,556 times
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I was at a school board meeting where they were toying with the notion of getting rid of middle school clubs to save the $$$ on the hefty "stipends" given to the teachers who sign up as moderators.
Most of the parents who spoke didn't seem as concerned with their children's educational experience as they did about not having a place to dump their kids until a parent returned home from work. Seems as if half these clubs and sports in which parents enroll their kids is glorified babysitting at taxpayer expense.
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