Colleges consider “candidates’ non-academic involvements and achievements at school and in their communities” when determining admissions (Williams College).
US News:
"Some ways to distinguish oneself in the college admissions process include winning awards in competitions, getting elected to leadership positions, producing compelling research or beautiful art and performing meaningful community service, experts suggest."
"Experts say it is tougher to distinguish oneself in a school-affiliated extracurricular activity that is common among high school students such as school orchestras, newspapers or a sports team than it is to stand out while doing an uncommon activity."
About half of colleges view extracurricular activities as at least "moderately important."
So why do only half of colleges consider extracurricular activities?
Large, less competitive public universities give weight to quantitative data "large public universities often receive so many applications that it simply isn’t possible to devote a lot of time and attention to any single applicant. As a result, many such universities rely more heavily on the quantitative aspects of a student’s application, such as standardized test scores and GPA. The reasoning behind this is obvious; a student’s grades and test scores are easy to evaluate with a quick glance, as opposed to the time and energy necessary to pore through essays and recommendations.."
Large, competitive public universities initially select with quantitative data but use extracurricular activities to further differentiate applications "Like most state flagship schools, colleges like UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, or University of Virginia receive tens of thousands of applications during each cycle. ... For example, the University of Florida, which would fall into the previous category of a large, non-competitive public university, receives about 30,000 applications annually, with an acceptance rate that hovers near 50%. However, last year, nearly 200,000 students applied to UC Berkeley, only 17.5% of which were admitted. With so many qualified applicants gunning for a limited number of spots, these competitive public universities are forced to evaluate qualitative criteria like extracurricular activities more carefully. Accordingly, to gain acceptance to an internationally-renowned public university ... you need to have great grades and test scores, as well as significant extracurricular involvement. Typically, students admitted to these schools are involved in a number of extracurricular activities, and hold some sort of leadership role in at least some of them. ... With literally hundreds of thousands of applications to sift through, it’s necessary that admissions committees use some sort of heuristic to assess whether an applicant is worth devoting further attention to — and often, this heuristic takes the form of standardized test scores and grades. So while extracurricular activities certainly do matter, they likely won’t be the first thing an admissions committee notices about your application."
Less, competitive private colleges weigh both grades and extracurricular activities almost equally They "are obligated to examine not only an applicant’s grades and scores, but also their essays, extracurricular activities, and recommendations in great detail. ...at private colleges, because their applicant pools are considerably smaller, admissions officers can expend the resources necessary to conduct an in-depth review of each file. This does not necessarily mean that applicants to smaller, less-competitive private colleges need to have absolutely perfect extracurricular activities on their application to be accepted. Rather, it means that ECs are considered nearly, if not just as important as grades and test scores."
Competitive private colleges use extracurricular activities to differentiate applications "For competitive private colleges the likes of Harvard, Amherst, and Princeton, extracurricular activities matter — a lot. Basically every competitive private university employs holistic admissions, ... With so many applicants — nearly all of which are arguably qualified for a spot — these schools need to find some way to differentiate one student from another. Consequently, these schools place heavy weight on “soft” admissions criteria like extracurricular activities and essays. But unlike the schools mentioned in the previous section, your extracurriculars need to be extremely well-developed if you hope to be accepted to a competitive private school. It’s imperative that through your accomplishments, you demonstrate not only academic or professional skill, but also admirable personality traits like passion, leadership, and dedication. ... Furthermore, your performance in extracurricular activities reveals much to colleges about how you would contribute to their campus community. ... If you were captain of a sports team that in your senior year made it all the way to state championships, this clearly communicates your leadership skills and suggests you will bring that same ability to inspire and motivate others to their campus — that, or you were the best soccer player in the nation that year — but either will catch an admissions committee’s attention.
The Latin program provides many opportunities for student involvement and achievement. There is a Latin Club, a Certamen Club, Memphis- and state-wide competitions, trips abroad and nationally-recognized tests and exams.
The Latin Club This is a time for students to receive information and updates on opportunities and to spend time with their fellow Latin students. Snacks are provided. Student officers are elected every year.
Certamen Club This is a "knowledge bowl" type club for all things Greek and Roman. Students will have the opportunity to compete and represent the school in certamen competitions.
The National Latin Exam This is a nationally-recognized exam. Participation continues to grow annually. In 2017, over 135,000 students took the exam, representing all fifty states as well as students from Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Belize.
The Fall Festivus The Festivus is a Memphis-wide event held every year in November. Students compete in various academic and non-academic events. The University of Memphis Language Fair This Memphis-wide event also involves competitions and is held annually in the spring.
Other Exams Students have the opportunity to take (voluntarily) the National Classical Etymology Exam, the National Latin Vocabulary Exam, the National Mythology Exam and the National Roman Civilization Exam.
Study Trips Abroad Depending on student interest, there are possibilities of study abroad travel to Greece and Italy, where students can see for themselves the Colosseum at Rome, the ancient Roman forum, renaissance-era art and architecture (heavily influenced by the classical world), the Acropolis of Athens, the site of the oracle of Delphi and the ruins of the Minoan palace of Knossos.