Exploring College Clubs for a Full Student Life

College Clubs

            While academics are clearly a very important part of college, the fun part of college is also ABSOLUTELY essential! That’s where college clubs come in. College clubs are extracurricular groups that focus on certain activities, subjects, or identities to add to student life and create a common experience. Basically, they are groups of people who do or discuss topics or activities that they are all interested in.

            For example, intramurals are considered college clubs. You join, get put on a team for a sport, and play with other students. College clubs give you an environment to do something you enjoy with other students who enjoy it, make friends with similar interests, and have fun amidst studies and other stressors that come with student life.

            So, let’s dive right in and talk about what these college clubs are, and why you should explore your options with them…

What Kinds of College Clubs are there?

            While there is pretty much no restriction on what you can have a club for, there are a few common “types” of clubs that summarize the options pretty well.

Academic or Professional

            These college clubs typically focus on a subject or career/profession and are meant to prepare, educate, or lend experience to students. Depending on the club and the university, there may be a requirement to be in a certain major for some academic-related clubs (ie. must be in a science major to join the physics club), but not always.

            Professional college clubs are great ways to build networks or bounce ideas off of students who are pursuing similar interests and get practice with the skills that are required for that career. For example, a journalism club or even joining the school paper (which may be a class, depending on the university) allows you to practice and hone your writing, interviewing, and reporting skills for a profession in journalism and media.

Sports and Recreation

            Sports and recreation college clubs are some of the most common, spanning intramural sports to cooking clubs, to pretty much any random interest you may have. These clubs are almost always for everyone, meant for fun and enjoyment, but also learning. A cooking club can teach you new recipes and perfect your technique on old ones. An intramural team is a great way to play a new sport, or practice an old one.

            These clubs aren’t necessarily limited to campus activities either. For example, a cycling club may meet at a nearby park, a hiking club could meet at a trail, or a boardgame club could meet in a rec center. There are so many great options for these kind of clubs and many of them have open or rolling admission, accepting new people all the time. Sports and recreation college clubs are great ways to make friends, blow off steam, and engage in fun hobbies!

Government

            Student government could be considered a club or an extracurricular, but either way it is much harder to get into than other college clubs. In most cases, you need to be elected into student government, which means having a pretty good network of students and staff behind you, being willing to campaign on campus, and (more likely than not) being an upperclassmen.

            Different colleges will operate their student government differently, but often the student government will represent student interest in the university and big decisions made by administration. They may also put on events, manage finances, and play a role in some campus changes.

Service

            Service clubs are centered around benefiting the community, society, or the environment. These can be clubs that provide opportunities for community service or even find ways to serve the campus. Different service clubs may focus on different forms of service, such as feeding the homeless, volunteering at the soup kitchen, cleaning up a beach, and maybe even fundraising. If you’re passionate about service and volunteering, these clubs are great ways to give back.

Religious

            Religious college clubs, especially at a Christian college, are quite common. Secular universities will have religious clubs for many religions, as they are represented on campus. Christian colleges will likely have religious clubs that focus on Christianity. They could be prayer groups, devotion groups, worship groups, or even ministry groups. They aren’t super hard to find on campus, and if you’re looking to grow spiritually and build a support system, these are great options.

            For whatever interests or goals you have for yourself outside of classes, there is bound to be a college club related to that. However, if there is something you are set on doing but there isn’t a club available for it, you do have the option to start your own college club. There is process to get a club started and approved with the university, and you’ll want to reach out to your university about starting a club before the start of the semester that you want it to begin.

            That’s the official way, and for more thorough information on how to do that and tips for successfully getting your club off the ground, check out this video.

            You also always have the option to start an unofficial club with your friends, invite whoever you want, and let it grow by word of mouth. At some point, if you get a lot of people, you’ll probably want to get it registered officially with the university in order to have somewhere to meet, but it doesn’t necessarily need to start that way.

Why you should explore clubs in college

            So, we know that there are lots of options for college clubs, but why do we absolutely recommend that you shop for a college club? Whether chasing your interests or trying something new, college clubs have great benefits for you as a student, but also for your future, both socially and career-wise…

Develop Soft Skills

            Soft skills are the skills you have that are not necessarily technical or related to your degree. Things like communication skills, teamwork, problem solving, flexibility, and other characteristics that make you a good employee and someone who is easy to work with. Think “people-skills.” Soft skills are desired by all employers, regardless of profession, so working on them whenever you get the chance is a big plus.

            College clubs bring you into groups of people, require communication and teamwork, and show you how to cooperate with others for a specific task/activity. Along with being fun, in these clubs you have a great opportunity to practice your soft skills and improve where needed.

Expand your Skill Set

            Along with developing your people-skills, college clubs also offer you the chance to work on hard skills that you may not have developed yet. For example, if you’d like to get better with technology, you could join a computer club or a coding club at your college. Then, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can include “basic coding skills” on your resume. But more importantly, you’ll have learned something new.

            Maybe you want to learn to cook, or knit, or speak a new language. For whatever you’d like to learn to do better, there’s likely a club for that. Clubs are a fantastic way to add some variety or expand on the skills already in your arsenal. Plus, in most cases, the fee to join a club is likely low or nonexistent while you’re still in college. Take advantage of the chance to learn new things while it’s still cheap… after all, you’re already paying for college.

Social Life and Networking

            College clubs are a great place to make friends and meet people that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Students from all majors and year-levels join clubs, opening up the people you can meet who will potentially be a big part of your life. Plus, you know you’ll have some shared interests since you’re meeting people in these clubs. Creating friendships in your college clubs is a great way to build a good and supportive network of friends with a lot of variety.

            Speaking of networking, the contacts that you make in your college clubs could be the difference-maker in landing that job after graduation. If you’re participating in career or major-specific clubs especially, keep in contact with the people around you. You never know, one of them could be the reason you know about an open job before anyone else; one of them could be the reason you get an interview and hired at your dream job.

Happy, Healthy, and Fun

            College clubs can be a big health boost for you. If you’re taking part in intramurals or a fitness club, the health implications are obvious. You get to have fun, stay fit, and go outside (unless it’s a gym sport). But clubs can also give you a mental boost. The more exercise you get, the healthier and happier your brain is. Cognitive function improves with exercise and who can forget the dopamine bump?

            But, even if the club is not necessarily fitness related, you can still be doing wonders for your mental health just by being around other people and focusing on something you enjoy. Taking a break from studying and stress to be around people you like and do something creative or relaxing or entertaining is a great way to boost your mood, give you something to look forward to, and blow off steam.

            College clubs are meant to add to your experience and make your college years the best they can be! They’re meant to be fun and enjoyable. So, take part in them, allow yourself to have something to do outside of classes and surround yourself with friends! Don’t be afraid to try new things too! You can’t know how much you might like something if you never give it a chance!

How to “Explore” your college club options

            So how do we go about exploring all these college clubs? There’s bound to be a lot of them, and trying every single one isn’t really realistic—I mean, who has that kind of time? So, what’s the best way to explore the options?

            First, make a list. Start with things you really like doing, and then things you would like to do better or learn to do. From there, you have an idea of what sort of clubs you may enjoy. Now, it’s time to figure out what college clubs are actually offered at your campus. There are a couple of options to find that out.

            The first is to attend a club fair. Many colleges have these at the beginning of the school year, and sometimes event the beginning of each semester. These are great for getting information not just on what clubs are offered, but also what you can expect from each of them. You can talk to a current member, ask questions about their experience and what sort of activities they have going on. It’s a great way to gain valuable insight into the college clubs you’re interested in.

            Another option is to check the college website for a club directory. This is basically a list of all the clubs that the college has registered with it. The directory is a fantastic resource because it usually gives a little information on each club, like descriptions, meeting time and place, and sometimes contact information. This can make finding a club that works with your schedule much easier.

            You can also talk to other students or upperclassmen, asking for their experience and recommendations for clubs. They’ve had more time to try things out, and their advice can be very valuable and give you an idea of what each club has to offer and what may be problematic with a club. Who knows, the clubs they recommend could be completely unexpected and absolutely worth it.

Student Life and College Clubs

            Of course, the priority at college is college; do your studies, get your degree, and get that career started… But there’s no reason to avoid the things that make the experience truly memorable and life changing. Take full advantage of what is offered to you! Do intramurals, even if athletics aren’t your thing; learn to work on a team. Join a devotional club; build your spiritual support system.

            Or, do something completely unexpected and new to you. Broaden your horizons, make new friends, and have fun! After all, life doesn’t start after college—so enjoy it where you’re at.

For information on Christian colleges or universities, or to be entered into one of our scholarship drawings visit us at The Christian Connector.