How to Find the Right Organizations to Join in College

There are a lot of organizations in college you can join that can strengthen your sense of community and add to your resume. This is especially important if you want to go on to graduate school and hopefully a great career. In order to find one of these organizations, you want to do your research and broaden your interest base. Usually, you want to find an organization that matches or compliments your major in one way or another. These organizations are also a great way to boost your sense of community in college. Here is how to find the right organizations to join in college.

Search for Groups that Correlate to Your Major

Once you choose your major, you can start to look for various organizations that will connect to your field of study. For instance, if you are interested in literature, you may want to make your major English or poetry. In that case, you can look for a literature group or a creative writing organization. If you are interested in the sciences, you may want to look for a biology or chemistry group.

Ask Your College Advisor

If you aren’t sure what kind of groups are even on your campus, you may want to speak with a college advisor to get a full list. With that information, you can do your research and ask members about the groups you are most interested in joining. A college advisor will also help you find a group that could strengthen your transcripts and your record. Having this guidance is incredibly important if you have very specific career goals. If you don’t have an academic advisor, you may want to visit your school’s main office and see if there is anyone available that can help guide you.

Meet with Leaders of Various Organizations

Once you start getting a good idea of the different organizations that may work for your collegiate career, you want to start the interview process. Ideally, you want to meet the leaders of the organizations to get a sense of the vision and purpose of each group. A lot of the most popular groups may be full, but they may be able to make room for certain students. If you are passionate about participating, you want to let the leader of the organization know that you really want to join.

Don’t Sign Up for Every Organization

Of course, once you are ready to sign up and join, you want to remember to not join every organization that accepts you. If you are getting Wake Forest’s masters of counseling, you don’t want to join more one or two organizations because you will be very busy with your regular schoolwork. A lot of these groups have weekly meetings that you are required to attend so you don’t want to be too distracted from your homework.

Enter a Trial Period

If you aren’t sure if you want to officially join a certain group, you can enter a trial phase. This can help you learn about different organizations. It is also a great way to find the perfect match for you and your interests. In the end, you may not like a certain organization after a few days, so being in a trial phase will help you leave when you want.