Well, it’s Orientation Season with new students on their way to college to get setup for classes, to hear more in depth about their chosen college, and to meet some fellow students, perhaps lifelong friends or your future spouse, along the way! Orientation can be overwhelming, but you can also gather a wealth of resources and information.
Some students seek a fresh start at college and most campuses are ready to provide that opportunity! If you thought you were involved in high school, wait until you get to college! At college, you can be super involved, or not at all. That is your choice of course, but you should know that 99% of colleges offer support offices and services to help you get involved in campus life.
Colleges and Universities want you to get involved on campus. Why? Students involved in an activity or club on a college campus (10-15 hours per week) are far more likely to persist to graduation, are more likely to enjoy their college experience, and are more likely to have higher grade point averages! Your involvement will help you and others stay and persist in college to graduation, so your success will help your peers succeed.
Most campuses have a Student Center or Student Union building which serve as a social and dining hub of activity. The offices where students receive support to get involved may be called student life, student success, student affairs or student services for example, but they all will be ready to provide information and assistance to get involved. Most colleges and universities boast how many clubs and organizations are available for students to join on campus, and may even provide start-up money dedicated for students to begin new clubs if there is not one that already does what they are interested in.
Finally, the most common student organization on college campuses is the student government organization. As a student you are automatically a member, so that is an organization ready made for you to join! Regardless of your level of involvement in high school, you have a clean slate in college. Join as little or a lot as you choose, and if you don’t see something that matches your interests, start it up. Chances are there are more people interested in the same thing who just have not taken the initiative to get things going!