As high school winds down, you may be thinking about how much you’ll miss the friends you’ve made and the clubs you’ve gotten to call home. Don’t fret! College is just as amazing and you will most definitely find your friends and the clubs you fit into. Clubs that you may have been a part of in high school also show up in college. Here are six types of clubs you don’t have to say goodbye to!
1. Yearbook
You might think that your college is far too large to have a yearbook that includes every student. Often times, the yearbook will feature only seniors or no students at all and just have pictures of clubs, activities and events that happened throughout that school year. “I would definitely recommend getting involved with your college yearbook after doing your high school one,” says Siena College graduate Kristen Perrone. “It would be a great way to know college classmates!”
2. Student government
You may have participated in student government in high school, but in college it’s bigger than ever! “[I think] the student government at our school is pretty impressive,” says Julia*, a student at the University of California Berkeley. “We actually get to make real changes happen on the university level.” Student government in high school may have felt small and confined to just the small spaces of your high school hometown, but in universities, student government is enormously influential and can actually change lives.
3. Sports teams
Was lacrosse, basketball, track or another sport your thing in high school? Then there’s no need to worry because sports are universal! Almost every college is bound to have the familiar sports you played in high school. If you’re not ready to commit to a college-level varsity sport, you can always do club sports or recreational sports.
Related: 7 Unexpected Places to Meet Your College Friends
4. Model UN
Model UN is very well-known across the U.S. in both high schools and colleges. Model UN allows you to role play as a delegate to the United Nations. You typically get to represent a country and serve on its committees and act out unique scenarios based around that country’s international politics. It’s a good extracurricular for people interested in global diplomacy and politics. It’s also a great way to express your love for international relations and revel in your high school glory days.
5. Science Olympiad
This fun science competition is present in high schools all over the nation. Although you may not be competing for the gold, you can still help high school students in making their Science Olympiad competitions some of the best memories they’ll have.
“I was able to continue with Science Olympiad in high school and college,” says Rachna Shah, a freshman at Dartmouth College. “I wasn’t aware that I would be able to do so, but it turned out that my college sponsors an invitational tournament with high school students in the local area and they requested student volunteers to help out, so while I won’t be continuing with Science Olympiad as a competitor, I am able to stick with the activity in high school and college.”
6. Volunteer clubs
Maybe in high school, you threw yourself into helping others and volunteering as much as possible. That’s something you’ll definitely be able to continue in college. College is so much larger, and there’s so many more opportunities to volunteer. You also get to pick and choose what kinds of causes you want to volunteer for: homelessness, world hunger, healthcare, academic tutoring, etc. The possibilities to volunteer are endless! There are also fraternities and sororities that make philanthropy a huge part of their organizations. The stereotypes of sororities being all about partying is wrong; it’s a great way to create a family and give back to the community.
If none of these fit you, don’t worry! Colleges have hundreds of clubs and activities you can join. You could end up in a club nothing at all like what you did in high school or in a club that you’ve been doing since middle school. That’s the beauty of college! You get to try new things and experiment with your different interests. This list of six clubs is just a fraction of what’s out there waiting for you!
*Name has been changed