<p>How much time do you have for student activities in college? I'm currently going over the list of student activities and wondering how many clubs I'll have time to join. I know it differs with each activity, but on average, how many clubs do people join? And how much time do they take up? (by clubs I mean clubs like Economics Club, Model United Nations, school newspaper, Orchestra, perhaps an athletics club,...)</p>
<p>here’s my rule of thumb: 2 clubs directly related to your major and 2 for fun. This way you’re making plenty of connections and getting plenty of experience while also relaxing a lot.</p>
<p>The clubs you mention will probably vary a lot in their time commitments - I would think a daily or weekly newspaper and Orchestra with practices and performances would take up more time than an economics club. </p>
<p>Here’s the really cool thing about college that surprises every freshmen…there’s a lot of time in the day! In HS, your day was planned for you from sun up until sun set. Well, welcome to the big leagues. No one is going to manage your time, except you of course. You’ll have an average 10 hours of class per week. Now you’ll also have a lot of homework to do preparing for those 10 hours, but if you’re spending every hour out of class studying then you are doing something wrong. As a freshmen, many people sign up for a billion clubs, over the months and years that is whittled down. I suggest choosing ~3-4 organizations/clubs/activities to dedicate your time to. Personally, I have two on-campus jobs, an editorial position on the editorial magazine, and I participate in 3 other clubs (but rather informally…I show up when I can/feel like it). </p>
<p>Most college clubs meet weekly for about an hour. Most students who are running these clubs have other things to do too! Half the time when I show up to meetings, the first sentence out of everyone’s mouth is “I know we all have a lot to do, so we’ll make this quick” </p>
<p>Regardless, the key is to strike a good balance between student activities and schoolwork. This differs from person to person and you might mistakenly find yourself overloaded freshmen year. That’s what’s supposed to happen! Before you know it you’ll be an upperclassmen, leading the clubs (which takes a TON more time, but by that point you’ve got the time management thing handled =] ) </p>
<p>Hope this helps. </p>
<p>Joining “minor” clubs (which there are plenty of) is something you can do, but I highly recommend also finding “an active club,” which for me is Circle K International. The club does service projects a couple times each week and plan socials (eating out, bowling, movie/board game nights, study sessions, workout, etc) during the week, after Thursday night’s meetings, and during the weekend. So there’s plenty of room to get involved and plenty of opportunities for those that have differing schedules. A club like this easily turns for many a commuter school experience into a wonderful college life if you can make time available.</p>
<p>Sign up for whatever clubs you are interested in. There will be some type of club fair at orientation. Go to the first meetings and s
ee if they are interesting/active/doing what you thought. Then over time see what you have time for </p>