College clubs unfairly exclusive?

[Anonymous]

DC’s college parent Facebook page is blowing up with parents complaining their DC auditioned for theatre performance/music/improv type clubs, did not get callbacks and are accusing college of being deceptive (saying clubs are not inclusive like college promised in the tours) and kids want to transfer and
parents want to talk to the administration. Is this happening at lots of colleges as club decisions are made? To me, it seems unfair to the kids that do get accepted to the clubs, presumably based on their talent and hard work, not an expectation to walk on.

[Anonymous]

Jesus you're in college not kindergarten you don't automatically get to participate in everything, grow up and move on.

[Anonymous]

Yes. This is very common. The gatekeeping never stops.

[Anonymous]

Omg. I auditioned for an acapella group twice in college. Didn’t make it. Because I wasn’t quite good enough.

Never would my parents think I was OWED a spot. Does everyone make the cheer squad? Varsity soccer? FFS. This is not 2nd grade/the community center.

[Anonymous]

Auditioning for arts groups is totally normal. Although ideally I'd hope there is a less-competitive option. For example, at my college everyone had to do a very low key audition for choral groups. Some were definitely for the better singers, harder to get into. But there was also a more "open enrollment" group for anyone who wanted to sing.

It does seem, however, that some schools make things competitive where there is no reason for it to be so.

[Anonymous]

Let me guess - Penn? Most schools have some groups that are audition and some clubs that are open to all. From what I have heard, Penn makes students compete for every club membership. I think that’s crazy but fits with the Penn ethos.

[Anonymous]

Activities that require talent have try-outs. How is someone finding this out for the first time in college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Activities that require talent have try-outs. How is someone finding this out for the first time in college?

+1. DD tried out for club soccer team at a big college (15k students). Team took 2 of the 45 girls trying out.

[Anonymous]

I would think any performance club requires an audition. Kind of a strange example of college clubs being unfairly exclusive.

There was a recent Atlantic article about how Yale makes people apply to academic clubs that on the surface should be open to all. It has gotten a bit ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC’s college parent Facebook page is blowing up with parents complaining their DC auditioned for theatre performance/music/improv type clubs, did not get callbacks and are accusing college of being deceptive (saying clubs are not inclusive like college promised in the tours) and kids want to transfer and
parents want to talk to the administration. Is this happening at lots of colleges as club decisions are made? To me, it seems unfair to the kids that do get accepted to the clubs, presumably based on their talent and hard work, not an expectation to walk on.

Anyone who went to college knows that most clubs ARE for anyone who shows up. Come on, though, we all know you don't get to be in a university-level theater production without showing you have singing/dancing/acting skill.

[Anonymous]

It's not like there's a role for everyone who auditions when you're doing a play. There are only so many characters. Get off the Facebook page, OP. You should not be involved in this issue.

[Anonymous]

Not performing arts specific, but getting turned down for college clubs seems to be common. Lots of kids in Cornell Engineering don't get into engineering design teams (for example, to build a race car) based on my daughter's experience there. There seem to be quite a few clubs that are engineering / finance / consulting in nature which require interviews and reject applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess - Penn? Most schools have some groups that are audition and some clubs that are open to all. From what I have heard, Penn makes students compete for every club membership. I think that’s crazy but fits with the Penn ethos.

Actually fairly common throughout the Ivies (application process/competition).

[Anonymous]

Common at grinder schools, like the Ivies. They want to ensure that you’ll elevate the group, not just attend/join. If you don’t get into a club, the best option is to circumvent it. That is, find a group of like-minded people and start your own exclusive club. Another option is to participate in a similar club in the community. For example, if you want to sing, join the church choir or local musical group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess - Penn? Most schools have some groups that are audition and some clubs that are open to all. From what I have heard, Penn makes students compete for every club membership. I think that’s crazy but fits with the Penn ethos.

Not sure why this poster singled out Penn. I have a kid there, and there definitely are clubs that are not competitive to get into. But competitive clubs (that require an application, interviews, etc.) are common at every Ivy and many other top schools--e.g., Northwestern, Georgetown, etc.