In the thread on surprise negatives and positives about your kiddo’s college, a number of parents posted that they were surprised that clubs and student organizations (not just club sports) were competitive to join. That was a surprise to me as well, and it is not information that is easy to discover by looking at college websites or their shiny brochures about all the wonderful opportunities available. So, is membership in clubs/student orgs at your kid’s college by competitive process? And if so, which types of clubs? (Identify the school)
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My daughter goes to Purdue. Some of the learning communities require an application/competitive process. Most clubs related to sports, theater, and music have auditions/try outs. Most greek houses have a competitive bidding process. That said, there are hundred and hundreds of clubs that are open to anyone who wants to participate. What surprised my daughter was that most clubs charged a small fee.
My D goes to UGA. The most sought-after business clubs are by competitive process — lengthy applications with multiple essays, one or more rounds of interviews, and as low as single digit acceptance rates. The same is true for the student government-related orgs, some of the volunteer orgs, etc.
@itsgettingreal17 Wow. Are these business clubs business fraternities? What kinds of volunteer orgs are competitive?
@citymama9 Not just the business frats. The business societies, consulting club, investment club, etc are by competitive application. Some of the service clubs are by application. There are plenty that anyone can join, but there are some that are selective.
This seems to be quite normal at all but the small liberal arts schools and small schools like Cal Tech, etc.
I had not heard about competitive clubs before either - that is now going to be a question we ask when S21 is looking at schools!
I know that clubs and organizations, including service organizations, are EXTREMELY competitive at some colleges. It’s something of a status symbol to be in a club that turns down most applicants. Something that most people associate with Greek life in college but not with organizations dedicated to service work or professional development. I was surprised when it was first brought to my attention, too.
This was an interesting article that describes the situation at NU and efforts to address it with an “open admissions” policy for campus organizations.
D’s school is much more inclusive when it comes to organization membership, although becoming part of the exec committee or leadership structure can be more competitive.
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Some schools also have very competitive programs for engineering teams. That was a big turn off for my daughter at Cornell, especially after visiting Michigan’s team which was a much more inclusive atmosphere and encouraged freshman participation.
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S attends Wake Forest. The business frat is competitive bid. Last spring they had about 100 rushing for 25 spots. S was given a bid. The others were encouraged to try again next semester. He helped several of his friends get a bid second time around (by advising them on better resume, interview style, networking approach, etc.)
The actual clubs are open (including accounting, finance, consulting, etc.)
If you wanted to be on an accapella team, those would be competitive.
My son just graduated from UVA. Many Clubs were competitive and had application rounds and Interview Rounds. These were considered “business related” clubs…and were not Business Fraternities. Some were to do community related services. Once club that he got into his first year had about a 25% acceptance rate. (this one did a business related community service). That was not unusual at UVA. He was rejected from several Clubs…one was the group that supported the Basketball team…and you couldn’t find a bigger basketball fan! He actually joined one Club his first year and quickly was in a leadership position. They had trouble recruiting new members…so they decided to make it a club that you had to apply to and the number of new members actually was around 4 times higher! That was just part of the culture at UVA. He got as many rejections as acceptances. We have a daughter at Indiana University and she had to apply to some clubs there (in the Business School)…the process included written applications and interviews.
The competition starts before freshman year. One of my kids’ schools allowed RA’s to recruit for RA’s assistants among incoming freshmen who are to live on their respective floors. This was a volunteer role for which you get zero money. DS applied because she wanted to move in early. Anyway, there was an application that required an essay, as well as a full accounting of leadership roles and community service and interview. We did not know at the time, but such volunteer roles are the “inside track” to later become RAs, which of course are compensated roles and you get free room/board. Once on campus, there was a “club fair” wherein students were encouraged to explore like 3000 clubs or whatever. Problem is, once you “sign up” you must wait to be called in for a group interview (a group of current members interview a group of would-be members) weeks later. After that, you’re notified if you made the cut, usually with only day or so to re-arrange your schedule to accommodate your participation in the inaugural event. In my kids’ case, it was to volunteer at an inner-city elementary school. DS was disillusioned by the whole thing. But that process seemed mild compared to the rigmarole to join a student-run dance club, which should be open to all who like to dance, right? Wrong. Membership is granted by audition after you spend like 200 hours practicing a hiphop routine specifically choreographed to weed out the weak and uncommitted. I think most parents assume it’s a social club with a niche interest that would be thrilled to have enthusiastic new members. Like, how many hiphop dancers can there be? I had no idea these clubs are cutthroat, and the members are like self-taught prodigies who choreograph Korean boy band music videos on the side. They go to “workshops” the entire summer leading into the fall audition season. If you don’t know this, you are behind before you even start. Advice for naive mommas: send your kid off to Freshman year with a finished resume and polished interview skills —oh, and some thick, thick skin. College life is not for the faint.
Is this more of an issue at big universities? I don’t remember this from my own college days
Reading about the competitive clubs at some colleges surprised me as well. This was never an issue for my S at Fordham or my D at Lafayette. Both colleges had huge club fairs at the start of the fall semester and actively encouraged students to sign-up for different things.
The only exceptions I heard of at Lafayette was for talent based clubs and Greek Life.
–My D played in the orchestra and was asked to audition, but she was told that the audition was more for seating than anything else (I guess if someone showed up and couldn’t play at all it would be an issue).
–There were also tryouts for roles in plays/musicals but if people didn’t get a role they were always encouraged to participate in the production in other ways (ex. helping backstage etc.)
–Greek Life had rush sophomore year.
Membership on the Cyber Team at USMA is via a week-long programming/problem-solving/hacking competition that runs 24x7. The competition is open to all cadets. The final team comprises five members from each class, and all current team members, except seniors, have to compete to retain (or lose) their seats each year. The competition is intense with an electronic scoreboard open for all to see as competitors submit solutions round the clock that are validated and points added for each correct solution. It’s a sleepless week. Once the competition closes, the high scorers from each class undergo an interview, and the new team is formed.
Our son came in second last year and first this year even though, as a senior, he didn’t have to compete. He just wanted to set the bar and keep those Plebes on their toes. 
Yes, I also was surprised to hear about competitive clubs. Almost all Williams clubs are open to all interested students, with the exception of some audition-based groups like some a cappella groups and a consulting club.
Some clubs welcome everyone, but certain positions within them are competitive— for example, in some groups, everyone can participate in practices/ activities, but only the best competitors or most long-term members get to travel with a club sport or an academic team that competes with other colleges.
The most popular clubs exist in quantities that allow more people to join; for example, there are several levels of frisbee, from a competitive traveling team to an anyone-who-wants-to-join intramural frisbee group.
It is also possible to start your own club and get funding for it.
There are no fraternities at Williams.
Another great thing about Williams is how clubs and activities are not costly for kids. For example, a huge number of students went on backpacking trips during orientation, but the college provided free backpacking equipment on loan for anyone who needed it.
Different types of clubs with varying levels of commitment. As an example, say a student is interested in dance. There may be an open Salsa or Swing or whatever club for anyone to join. Just about having fun. There may also be a performance oriented dance club that is competitive, performs at some school functions, etc. Completely different vibe. Just like there are intramural sports, where anyone can play, and Club Sports which are more competitive, play against other colleges, and require tryouts.
I think it really depends on the club and the school. My D is in a sorority and that was very competitive at her school and even within the sorority there are some things that are competitive. She is on the bike team so it is competitive to earn one of the 4 spots for the spring race.
Other than that she is on a committee for Dance Marathon and while the doing dance marathon isn’t competitive, to serve on a committee is. She had to interview for that position. I think if she wanted to continue with Orchestra there would have been a tryout but she didn’t do that as she was too busy with other things.
I remember having to try out for the literary/art magazine. They just didn’t need that many helpers. The newspaper and radio station were similar. But many activities were open to all. Pretty much anything that involves a performance or a product was competitive, but I co 'g think volunteering in the community was, or clubs for just having fun - like the one where kids play board games and watch sci fi movies.
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@citymama9 – I think it’s a sign of the times not size of school. I went to the same big school as my kid 30 years aog, and I was stunned by the changes. I remember the campus newspaper was competitive as was the radio station. Greek rush has always been a thing. But being put through the paces for volunteer work is totally new, even for big campuses. I do not remember non-official, student-run clubs of any interest or culture, even those that performed, requiring interviews and auditions. Of course, official campus orchestra, official campus productions & performances like Spring Sing were by audition.