Why are extracurriculars so hard to join in college now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds insane to me. Do employers actually care about clubs? Can't the students locked out of a student club just start their own club?

Club approvals and funding is an effort. You need to be really motivated to go through this process. It's easier to find something else to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA Pickleball club is very competitive, there are tryouts, and why should they accept beginners? https://www.instagram.com/p/DNd_oMHyUcb/

if you want to join a club that you're interested in, bring something that people actually want to be associated with you. Otherwise, please STFU. That's my 2c.

Is there a way to learn pickleball at UVA? Because it seems like the idea has become “Students arrive at university with a particular set of skills and perfect them. But it is no longer possible for college students to try new things.” Which seems to me like a terribly depressing vision for a university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA Pickleball club is very competitive, there are tryouts, and why should they accept beginners? https://www.instagram.com/p/DNd_oMHyUcb/

if you want to join a club that you're interested in, bring something that people actually want to be associated with you. Otherwise, please STFU. That's my 2c.

Is there a way to learn pickleball at UVA? Because it seems like the idea has become “Students arrive at university with a particular set of skills and perfect them. But it is no longer possible for college students to try new things.” Which seems to me like a terribly depressing vision for a university.

Nobody stops you from learning pickleball; However, you try new things on your own time, and NOT on other people time. It is no different than applying to UVA. There are over 64,000 applicants for 4,000 spots at UVA. UVA can't accept all 64,000 applicants, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

The real world is not as narrow as that. Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

The real world is not as narrow as that. Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club.

This is pretty hilarious. Even beginners in Pickleball want to play with people who are more skilled than they are. It’s especially common among those in leadership roles. For instance, the CEO at my company is a Pickleball newbie, yet his admin assistant is posting on the internal website, trying to find highly experienced/advanced players among the employees to play with him after work and on weekends. Your statement of "Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club" is absolutely delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

The real world is not as narrow as that. Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club.

This is pretty hilarious. Even beginners in Pickleball want to play with people who are more skilled than they are. It’s especially common among those in leadership roles. For instance, the CEO at my company is a Pickleball newbie, yet his admin assistant is posting on the internal website, trying to find highly experienced/advanced players among the employees to play with him after work and on weekends. Your statement of "Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club" is absolutely delusional.

So what I’m hearing is that the CEO at your company wants to pick up a new skill, in a social setting. Have you told him that he’s not allowed to waste the time of pickleball champs until he develops pickleball expertise on his own time? Because that’s what you said about college students who want to learn pickleball in a social setting.

What’s delusional is thinking that expertise in pickleball (!) will be more important over a lifetime (!) than the skill of trying new things and developing informal social networks not based on pre-existing expertise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA Pickleball club is very competitive, there are tryouts, and why should they accept beginners? https://www.instagram.com/p/DNd_oMHyUcb/

if you want to join a club that you're interested in, bring something that people actually want to be associated with you. Otherwise, please STFU. That's my 2c.

Is there a way to learn pickleball at UVA? Because it seems like the idea has become “Students arrive at university with a particular set of skills and perfect them. But it is no longer possible for college students to try new things.” Which seems to me like a terribly depressing vision for a university.

Two second Google search
https://rec.virginia.edu/active/develop-skills/racquet-sports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA Pickleball club is very competitive, there are tryouts, and why should they accept beginners? https://www.instagram.com/p/DNd_oMHyUcb/

if you want to join a club that you're interested in, bring something that people actually want to be associated with you. Otherwise, please STFU. That's my 2c.

Is there a way to learn pickleball at UVA? Because it seems like the idea has become “Students arrive at university with a particular set of skills and perfect them. But it is no longer possible for college students to try new things.” Which seems to me like a terribly depressing vision for a university.

Two second Google search
https://rec.virginia.edu/active/develop-skills/racquet-sports

+1
Either people here didn’t go to college, completely forgot college, or are being deliberately obtuse.

Everyone with college education should remember the difference tween club sports and intramural sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

The real world is not as narrow as that. Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club.

This is pretty hilarious. Even beginners in Pickleball want to play with people who are more skilled than they are. It’s especially common among those in leadership roles. For instance, the CEO at my company is a Pickleball newbie, yet his admin assistant is posting on the internal website, trying to find highly experienced/advanced players among the employees to play with him after work and on weekends. Your statement of "Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club" is absolutely delusional.

So what I’m hearing is that the CEO at your company wants to pick up a new skill, in a social setting. Have you told him that he’s not allowed to waste the time of pickleball champs until he develops pickleball expertise on his own time? Because that’s what you said about college students who want to learn pickleball in a social setting.

What’s delusional is thinking that expertise in pickleball (!) will be more important over a lifetime (!) than the skill of trying new things and developing informal social networks not based on pre-existing expertise.

He is the CEO of a company and your kid is NOT. As a CEO of a company, he can get/demand things that 99.999% of people can not. College students who want to learn pickleball in a social setting should stick with other beginners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this hyper competitiveness for clubs is such crap. College should be when kids try out whatever they are intersted in

Every college has plenty of non-competitive clubs that anyone can join. Its generally the pre-professional clubs that are more competitive, but they can't accept everyone. They are run by students who can't manage a 2000 person club. This is good learning experience for students to learn how to hustle for jobs.

I agree with this. There are so many opportunities to be involved other than pre-professional clubs: student government, service organizations, workout clubs, sororities and fraternities, religious organizations, performing arts, being a resident advisor, part-time jobs on campus, etc., etc. And all of them provide leadership opportunities. Kids are not relegated to a life of isolation and iced out of jobs after graduation due to not getting a bid to a pre-professional club.

It is not supposed to be like that, but unfortunately it is how it operates in the real world. Ever heard of "It's not what you know, but who you know" or "It's not who you know, but who knows you"? That's why.

The real world is not as narrow as that. Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club.

This is pretty hilarious. Even beginners in Pickleball want to play with people who are more skilled than they are. It’s especially common among those in leadership roles. For instance, the CEO at my company is a Pickleball newbie, yet his admin assistant is posting on the internal website, trying to find highly experienced/advanced players among the employees to play with him after work and on weekends. Your statement of "Sometimes the “who” you need to know is the kid you met in the “pickleball for beginners” club" is absolutely delusional.

So what I’m hearing is that the CEO at your company wants to pick up a new skill, in a social setting. Have you told him that he’s not allowed to waste the time of pickleball champs until he develops pickleball expertise on his own time? Because that’s what you said about college students who want to learn pickleball in a social setting.

What’s delusional is thinking that expertise in pickleball (!) will be more important over a lifetime (!) than the skill of trying new things and developing informal social networks not based on pre-existing expertise.

He is the CEO of a company and your kid is NOT. As a CEO of a company, he can get/demand things that 99.999% of people can not. College students who want to learn pickleball in a social setting should stick with other beginners.

+1

The level of parental entitlement on this thread is truly hilarious!

[Anonymous]

There are only four years of college. There isn’t time to just build up some skill to be competitive at that level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA Pickleball club is very competitive, there are tryouts, and why should they accept beginners? https://www.instagram.com/p/DNd_oMHyUcb/

if you want to join a club that you're interested in, bring something that people actually want to be associated with you. Otherwise, please STFU. That's my 2c.

Is there a way to learn pickleball at UVA? Because it seems like the idea has become “Students arrive at university with a particular set of skills and perfect them. But it is no longer possible for college students to try new things.” Which seems to me like a terribly depressing vision for a university.

Two second Google search
https://rec.virginia.edu/active/develop-skills/racquet-sports

+1. Another quick google search would show you that over 60O students belong to UVA Pickleball (total 17k undrgrad) so hardly restrictive. And, by the way, if the 700 clubs that UVA offers doesn’t satisfy, UVA will readily find your complaining student into creating a new Pickleball club or any other club for that matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most clubs are open to anyone. It's just that people make a ton of noise when they encounter the ones that have a tryout/application/etc.

Not true for Greek life and club sports

Again, MOST clubs are open to anyone. SOME have a tryout or application.

Clearly, for a club sport, you have to show some talent or aptitude. Same for anything that requires performances or competitions.

Greek life doesn't even count because we all know practices differ from place to place. At some schools, you're guaranteed a spot IF you fully participate and fill out all the ranking spots.

But what if it's your first time trying the sport?

Then you play INTRAMURAL sports, not club sports. Club sports are nationally organized and travel to other schools to compete. If you're a top lacrosse player in high school who didn't get/want to get recruited, you can try out for club lacrosse. If you're just a kid who wants to try soccer or disc golf or.... then you play intramural sports.