This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend and speak at the HC Her Conference at Northeastern University. The conference was an amazing opportunity for high school students to learn about the many-faceted social and academic opportunities available in college, and how they can learn to balance it all.
I spoke on the “Rounding It Out: How To Pick Your Extracurriculars in College” panel. For someone who is used to saying “yes” to everything, this has been a constant challenge throughout my college experience. If you weren’t able to make the conference, I’d like to share some of my tips with the rest of the HC community!
1. School comes first. Any extracurricular you take on will understand when you have a massive exam to study for or an extra lecture you need to attend. You’ll be expected to plan ahead so interference with your extracurricular is minimal, but you should never have to sacrifice your best academic work.
2. Balance your “work” extracurriculars with your “fun” ones. Some groups and activities are awesome resume boosters and will provide you with a community of co-workers that become fast friends. But it’s still important to maintain your hobbies and passions in college, whether they be music, poetry or break-dancing. Don’t just pick an extracurricular because it will look good on a resume – you should love what you do for work and for fun!
3. Go to your school’s club fair. The first mistake you can make in college is thinking you’re too cool to try something new. Bring a friend or your new roommate and see what’s out there! Most colleges have clubs that you never even thought could exist so go search with an open mind and a willingness to try anything once.
4. Attend more than two meetings. If you can’t make the meetings then you will not get the full experience of the extracurricular you signed up for. Make room for it in your schedule and commit to going. If by the third meeting you’re really not feeling it then feel free to look into something else. But you won’t really know what the club is about until you attend at least the first few sessions.
5. Reach out to new people. Extracurriculars are a great opportunity to make friends – especially during those first couple of frightening weeks of college. Strike up a conversation, ask people where they’re from or ask someone out to lunch! Most clubs will have a “get to know you” part but you should make the effort to extend these relationships outside the meeting time.
6. Don’t force it. At the same time, if you’re not vibing with anyone in the room then maybe that’s a sign that this extracurricular is not for you. Or sometimes it just doesn’t’ fit in your schedule! If you did debate or choir all throughout high school and find that it’s not the same community in college, there are always similar experiences you can have with people you enjoy being around! If you decide to leave for whatever reason, you can always keep the positive relationships you formed. Just make sure you’ve fulfilled any commitment you already made that will affect other people before you decide to take a different route.
7. It’s all about balance. Have the mentality to try everything at least once, but when it comes down to it you will have to think about priorities and make decisions. Sometimes you may have to take a semester off from your favorite extracurricular to focus on school or other commitments and that’s totally fine. Just make sure you continue to check in with yourself so you’re not stretching yourself too thin and making time for your own personal growth.
Fellow HCers, what are your best tips for keeping up with extracurriculars in college?