I feel like my insecurity robbed me of the extracurricular part of high school. I was always too nervous to join clubs because I found them too intimidating. I started getting over this towards the end of my junior year, but now I feel cheated of the team mentality. I want to join a bunch of clubs in college, but I want to keep a competitive GPA and I’m probably going to need to work a few hours a week. Is it possible? Any tips for juggling it all?
There are a lot of variables depending on the school, your major, your ability to manage the work and so on. I can say that while my daughter has a lot of course work to keep on top of every week, she still manages to participate in some clubs and attend events both on-campus and off while working at an on-campus job. Congrats to you on getting over your nervousness, My advice is to ease into things - my daughter was fortunate that she didn’t have to work, so her first semester she didn’t work to allow her to adjust to college life. She focused on her classes and some activities first semester, second semester when she had a handle on things she got a job and joined clubs.
Don’t feel like you have to do it all right away. Take it slowly and don’t take on more than you can handle. College is a great time to push your boundaries beyond your comfort zone and reinvent yourself with new friends and activities.
Absolutely join a bunch of clubs that sound awesome (or just intriguing)! Nobody expects that you will be fully active in all of them for the next four years. When you join clubs as a first year student you are checking them out. Realizing that will help you focus on your classwork. Feel free to say no to clubs that aren’t healthy for your GPA
BEWARE of the super-enthusiastic-psycho-club-leader who tries to suck all your time. This oh so earnest type is very very common among social justice groups, very common in political groups, and somewhat common in community service groups. I’m not saying don’t join these groups, just be alert to the enticement of “our cause is bigger than your puny education” mentality. You’ll serve any of these causes best by getting your degree(s). (Needless to say, I’m posting this from personal lessons learned the hard way.)
After the first term, you’ll probably find that there are just a few groups that you’re sticking with. Maybe just one. Maybe none and you’ll continue checking stuff out. Assuming your work is an on-campus work study, that can be a great source of social contacts and support. You’ll find other students who share your scheduling issues, especially upperclassmen who have been-there-done-that.
Go to your college’s activities fair and get interested in EVERYTHING! Get on the mailing lists for all of the clubs that look cool. Go to a meeting or two of each and see which ones you really like, then pick one or two that you really enjoy and want to keep going back to. Become an active member, but if you are worried about grades and a job, keep track of how much time you spend on activities compared to how much time on homework and work work. If activities time exceeds homework time, then seriously think about what your priorities are. I have been able to keep good grades while still spending a lot of time in music groups and fencing club.
College, by all accounts, has less class time and more independent work than HS. That leaves a lot of free time, and it can be tempting to sign up for ECs the way some folks do in HS: 2 hours a week helping the homeless? Sure. 1 hour a week for an a capella group? Why not. 5 hours of political volunteering, 1/hour a day of exercise (though this is one EC you should try to make time for whenever you can), 2 films a week (2 hours each+discussion) with a film club…it adds up.
You don’t need to be involved with everything. Look around, but choose 2-3 activities that you’re interested in, rather than 8 you plan to dabble in, and when you have finals or a major paper and can’t spare 15 minutes go ahead and say so. There’s no such thing as “doing it all.” If someone’s involved in every club under the sun while in college, there’s a good chance their GPA and/or nightly sleep deficit will start with a 2.