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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kid has social anxiety and refuses to join any clubs or sports teams at school. He occasionally attends clubs with his friends, but isn't an active member of any. He has also expressed interest in starting his own club, but says he won't follow through because he's scared.

He's a fantastic student. His extracurriculars and grades are strong, and I think he has a really good shot at some of his top choices (he's a sophomore, btw). But[b] I'm afraid this is going to keep him out of top schools if he has zero involvement in school activities[/b].

Let me know if this is going to be a big problem-- if so, how can I convince him to fix it? He says that colleges don't care about clubs anymore, but something is telling me that's not the case. [/quote]

[b][i]This[/b][/i] is why you're concerned?!
My kids were the same way. The least of my concerns was getting into college, let alone a top college. I was concerned about their social well-being and their future ability to live a happy non-isolated life.

Our rule was: one school-related activity. If you don't pick one, we pick one for you. You can choose one and change after the first quarter/semester if you don't like it; but you will choose another one - or we will - for the remainder of the year.

If your child indicated an interest in starting a club, I would make him follow-through on that. Initiating a new club would be more impressive on his college application anyway, so win-win for him and you. Help and support him through the process of starting a new club. He's lacking confidence - or just making an excuse because he doesn't really want to start anything. Find out the process, write down the steps, work out a timeline with him, etc. If he really doesn't want to do that, then he needs to choose one club or activity and attend regularly for at least a quarter.
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