Beyond Greek Life: What to do on campus if you don’t want to pledge

Originally published at: Live Campus Tours

Many students want to get involved on campus outside of class to make friends, explore interests and strengthen their resumes. A common misconception is that you will have to join Greek Life – or sororities and fraternities – in order to have a community while an undergraduate. Though they might not be as prominent as Greek Life (especially if you attend a big state school), if you do a little bit of digging, you’ll be surprised to find countless social alternatives for students who aren’t interested in pledging.

There are no shortages of clubs on college campuses. From cooking clubs to a cappella groups to hiking troupes, odds are that if you want to pursue an interest or activity, other students on campus are already doing it – and you can join them! If you have a niche hobby and can’t find a respective club, you can almost always start your own (and get funded from your college to do it!) Chances are there are other students on campus who would want to join as well.

If you are athletically inclined, joining a sports team is a great way to make friends, cultivate community and stay active. Most colleges recruit students for division teams, but there may also be options for try outs (try reaching out to your school’s athletic director, or a specific coach). If you don’t want to commit a huge portion of your time to organized athletics, you may want to consider intermural sports teams. Intermurals are more laid back and function more as clubs than a standard sports team. That being said, if you join an intermural team you will still likely play games against teams from nearby colleges, which is a great way to meet students outside of your school.

If you are religious, there are usually options for joining religious organizations on campus. Depending on how religious your school is (i.e. if you go to a Catholic or Jesuit institution), the religious organizations will be more prominent with more funding. If you are serious about your faith, you may want to consider attending a religious institution.

There is rich a history of student organizing for social and political causes on campus. If you want to become more political and learn what you can do to become an agent of change in the world, you should consider joining a political group. These groups do everything from inviting guest lecturers to speak on campus to running divest campaigns. Joining an activist organization – such as Amnesty International – or a political club – like Socialist Alternative – could be a great opportunity for you to bond with others who share your beliefs, as well as gain the opportunity to grow as leader.

If you are an international student, a student of color or a member of the LGBT+ community, you may want to consider joining an organization like ISA (International Student Association), BSU (Black Student Union) or one of the many distinct clubs for the queer community. These organizations tend to hold a lot of events on campus, and often connect with the same clubs at other colleges and universities. Joining diversity clubs are also a great way to connect if you think you might feel isolated at your college or university.

You can also find community within your area of academic interest by joining clubs for particular majors (i.e. chemistry club or media club), as well as Honor Societies. Not only will joining an academic organization expand your educational experience beyond the classroom but also stating on your resume that you were a member of one of these organizations will give you a leg up later on when applying to jobs. You might have to wait until you are an upper classman to be invited in to an Honor society, such as Lambda Pi Eta (a Communications Honors Society) or Mu Alpha Theta (a Math Honors Society), as your academic record throughout your first couple years of college will most likely play a part in your membership.

With so much to choose from, it all might seem a bit overwhelming to an incoming freshman or transfer student. Thankfully, most colleges host a club fair in the fall for new students. There, you can meet current members of clubs that you are interested in joining and get more information about the organization.

Unlike fraternities and sororities, most clubs do not have dues and there are often minimal mandatory commitments. It’s likely that you might join a club and discover that it’s not a perfect fit for you. Alternatively, there might be a semester in which you will have too much schoolwork to engage in extracurricular activities. With most college clubs and organizations, you can always leave whenever you want – with the option rejoin later!

Ultimately, engaging with your peers outside of class is a surefire way to make friends and feel connected to your campus community. You will undoubtedly have a more fulfilling college experience if you are engaging in topics or activities that interest you with like-minded people –and you don’t have to pledge to do it.