Much of your learning takes place outside of the classroom in college. Whether it is participating in a student organization, listening to a guest speaker, or learning about a new culture from a friend, everything you do on campus enriches your education. Every college in America boasts hundreds of student clubs, invites prestigious speakers on campus frequently, and holds dozens of events on campus every day. It is not hard to find things to do, it is hard to figure out how to spend your precious time. Every student has different interests, but here are a few suggestions on how to navigate activities on campus.

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Go to the Club Fair

• Go to the Club Fair. Every college has one, usually during the second week of the semester. Grab your new roommate and go walk around. Put your name on every signup sheet for any organization that either is vaguely interesting topically OR has nice people at the table.

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• You do not have to be passionate (I truly dislike that word - you don’t have to have a passion when you are 18) about Marketing to attend some events sponsored by the Marketing Club. You might just be wondering what the heck Marketing is all about. College is about exploring your interests. Learn something new or interesting.

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• College is also about the process of elimination. How will you know that Marketing is the most boring thing to you if you do not attend a Marketing Club event? Isn’t it awesome that in one hour you can eliminate an entire major and profession? OK, that might be rash, because maybe just that marketing speaker was boring. But you get the idea. Go, even if you are unsure.

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• Student organizations are an important way to make friends and build a professional network for the future. This is especially true at certain colleges, particularly those with limited Greek life. Social life often runs through student clubs. That is why I suggest you sign up for any club that has nice people at the table at the Club Fair. You may be of Japanese heritage, but you really like the people you meet at the Italian Club table. Sign up! Hang out with those people. Eat some Italian food. No one questions why you are there.

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Attend some events

• After you sign up for dozens of things at the Club Fair, you can start to get picky. Read your email/check social media, and flag interesting events. Set a goal for yourself of attending a certain number of events per week (or month if you have a particularly challenging schedule because you are an athlete or work).

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• Most schools or academic programs have weekly emails that list important events going on around the school. For example, at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, we have a weekly email called “This Week at CSOM.” It goes out every Sunday night like clockwork. Find out when that email goes out at your school. Commit to spending five minutes skimming it once a week. Then you can create a calendar of events for the week.

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Set Goals

• My rule of thumb is that students should participate in a meaningful way in at least one “professional” or “academic” student organization (the Physics Club, Mock Trial, Marketing Club, etc.) and at least one purely “fun” student organization (club or intramural sports, music groups, food clubs, clubs oriented around ethnicity or geographic region). Small note: you do not have to be of that ethnicity to be in the club. For example, if you join the Greek Club at school, you are just appreciative of that culture (and food, usually). You don’t need to be Greek!

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• I highly recommend service-oriented student organizations. It is great to do good while making friends. You also learn about the surrounding community quickly. You will also make friends that share your values.

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• Participating in a meaningful way does not mean you must commit to four years of weekly meetings in most cases. There are some exceptions for the service clubs, where a time commitment may be required to provide adequate support to the partner organization. But you should find at least two clubs where you can participate consistently. 

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• Attend at least one event per month alone. It is a crucial life skill to walk into a room full of people alone. For many of us, this takes practice. Set a goal and stick to it. The least intimidating place to practice this skill is a large speaker event. You merely need to walk into the auditorium and take a seat. 

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Competition and Leadership

• Some student organizations have an application process. It is an unfortunate characteristic of the current college experience. You worked so hard throughout high school to be admitted to college, only to have to apply again to participate in clubs that are of interest to you. It is frustrating and in my opinion, gross. But it is worth being mentally prepared for this experience.

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• If you are rejected, please know that many, many students get rejected from clubs but go on to have fulfilling experiences and lots of fun at college. 

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• Many of the applications are only for leadership positions. You do not have to be a leader in every club. Especially in your first year, just explore. You will find your spot to be a leader. 

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• Remember that there are hundreds of organizations on every campus that do not require an application and welcome everyone. Take advantage of those organizations and worry about the rest as your interests develop and deepen.

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Guest Speakers

• Universities spend resources to invite authors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, authors, scientists, musicians, filmmakers, and the like, to campus. You worked hard in high school to get into a college with the resources to invite those luminaries to campus. Students who attend those events are likely to make connections that will lead to jobs, internships, research projects, and new areas of study.

 

• Despite all of these advantages, many luminaries speak to half-full rooms.

 

• I know, students get busy. You have a midterm this week! But this is a worthwhile investment of time. Set a goal to attend at least one speaker a semester. That is two hours a year, maybe three. Would you commit to two hours a year if it would lead to an internship? Yes, of course, you would. I personally know at least a dozen students who have received internships and jobs as a result of attending a guest speaker and following up afterward.