You’re back in college but struggling to feel at home or make friends? With these ways to get involved in college life, you will change that in no time!
1. Join a fraternity/sorority
This is a great way to get more involved within the college community, and a great way to make new friends. Frats/sororities usually have many members, so you’ll be sure to meet people with common interests. Don’t worry, if you don’t think this is for you, there are many more ways to get involved and meet people.
2. Do a sport/intramural sport
Looking for a way to meet friends, get some exercise and play a sport you love? No matter how serious you take it there is always a sport for you.
Obviously not everyone can play a division 1 sport but look out for clubs playing for fun and take a shot at the first team if you’re confident!
Also, intramural sports are great fun, casual and great for socializing. Look out for a team with a spot or enter your own team into the intramural league.
3. Join a club related to your major
Joining a club with an academic background can be a great balance of learning while socializing. I joined the entrepreneurship club, and I love it!
This also gives you a great chance to get to know professors better and get some connections. This can be very useful for the future, and the more you learn the better.
4. Join a club for fun
Join a club you’re passionate about, you won’t regret it.
You get to meet people with common interests, and you can make great friends. This is also really healthy to balance alongside academic clubs, as you also want to forget school work sometimes, and do things that are fun to you and you’re passionate about.
Providing you have time, the more involved you are the better!
5. Volunteer in the local community
If you want to be active outside of school while helping the community, consider volunteering!
You don’t need to volunteer often, and it doesn’t need to be a long-term commitment.
For example, you could volunteer while looking for a job. Also, volunteering looks great on your resume, and shows a different side of you to employers.
6. Get a job
Getting a job is also a great way to get more involved, meet people, and make money!
This could be on or off campus, whatever you prefer/is easier for you.
Is it on campus? Great, its close to your classes, and you will get a chance to meet other students you would not usually hang out with.
Is it off campus? Good! This gives you an opportunity to get away from school, while meeting people in a different situation than yourself.
If you are generally looking to make money while in college, check out this post!
7. Tutor in a class youre comfortable in
Yes, this is a type of job, but it’s an opportunity in itself!
Yes, you can earn money, but this gives you a great opportunity to work with other students, 1 on 1 or in groups.
You can get to know them better and learn how they learn. You will also learn from this; you will pick up new skills and you may gain friends through meeting other tutors, as well as potential study partners.
8. Invite your dorm neighbors over
Its good to get to know your neighbors, so why not have a party night and invite them over.
These are people who you bump into in the hallways, so it’s always good to get to know them better. If you are looking for good party ideas for the Halloween season, check out this post!
9. Go to a frat party
Another great way to get involved in college is to go to typical college events such as frat parties.
I know, they are not really happening right now because of the pandemic, but once they open up you should go!
Dress up, have a couple of drinks (21 and over obviously *wink*) and head to a party!
This is a great way to have fun, forget about studies for a few hours and really spend time with your friends. Bump into people in your classes, get to know them better, and really expand your network.
Most of all, just have fun with this one, however, if you’re looking for frat party tips, this can help!
10. Go to an event/guest speaker
If your college is hosting events with guest speakers, take advantage of this. It costs you nothing!
While not every event will interest you, identify a couple over the semester that do, put it in your planner, and go.
You can learn more about other people’s experiences and most importantly, gain contacts. Having contacts can be so important when you graduate, you never know where your future dream job can come from.
So again, be proactive, introduce yourself, ask questions and really get involved.
11. Go to a sports game
This is pretty fun, right? You might not be interested in any sports, but you can still go just once and see how you like it. I used to not understand much about football games, but I still went to all of them because they were great places to socialize at.
Hang out with friends before and after the game, meet new friends, and cheer on your college team.
After all, this post is about how to get involved in college as a student, and the sports teams, like the football team, is really at the heart of a university’s community. So go and experience it!
12. Get a team together for a trivia night
There are usually plenty of trivia nights, whether in the bars around college or on campus.
Get a team together, study some general knowledge and give it a go. This a great way to socialize, learn from your team, while allowing yourself to be competitive.
Also, mingle with other teams, get to know each other, but remember, you want to beat them for the prize ;)
13. Have a group study session
This sounds obvious, I know. But grab a coffee, find a good study spot, and work together.
Help other people with some of their classes, test their knowledge and help them where you can. They will do the same back.
Studying with friends can be a lot more fun than reading textbooks in your room and can also be much more beneficial.
Studying in a group, and testing each other can actually be very helpful, while learning more about everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.
14. Host a board game night
If partying isn’t really your thing, why not host or join a board game night? Or really any game night. I do like partying but sometimes I just feel like a chill game night.
This is always a good way to bond with people. If you ever meet anyone who seems lonely or upset, invite them along. Get people involved, and this can really help them.
15. Start a college blog / Youtube channel
Or really any other ways to share your college experience with others, whether that is your friends back home, family, or the world.
First of all, this isn’t for everyone, however, by sharing your experiences, you really can get more involved in the college community.
If you didn’t know, I do have a YouTube channel! You can check it out here if you want.
You will meet so many friends online from other colleges, and even countries. You will grow as a person by doing this, become more confident and knowledgeable. Also, this can give you an opportunity to influence the college community and help other students, especially freshmen for example.
If you think this is for you, but don’t know how to go about it, check out my post about how to start a blog as a student!
I hope you enjoyed this post about how to get involved in college!
Have other tips in mind? Comment below to share with others!
Until soon,
Even though they say it 5000 times during orientation, it really is so important to be involved. I had started a cultural club on my campus and that is honestly where I made some of my life long friends. Besides that it taught me how to manage my time better and added leadership experience to my resume. These are some great tips for freshman or any year who are unsure of how to get involved.
Totally agree! I’m actually the president of our cultural club on campus and it’s were I found my friends too!:) Have a great college experience!