College clubs unfairly exclusive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

[Anonymous]

What the hell? I mean -- an audition is an audition. The whole point is that the folks running the audition are figuring out who they want, and that means not everyone will get a part. I was a theater major and pretty well respected in my theater department and went on to become a professional actor and I didn't land a role in a main-stage production at my college until spring of my junior year. Lots of my peers never did. Some never even got callbacks. There were some other opportunities, blackbox stage, student director projects, etc.

This is just the nature of activities that one has to audition for. It's also come-to-Jesus time for folks who think they are the most talented in the room and they aren't. The football team isn't going to give everyone a spot either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Eh, wrong. Many clubs require applications, who you know, etc. not just things where talent is required (like singing)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

Are you in college now? One of my other kids, who isn't a stellar athlete, was not good enough to play on a club team. Intramurals? You had to sign up as a team. So how are kids supposed to make connections through sports if they don't have a friend group to create a team?

[Anonymous]

I attended an Ivy and I’ll be honest, the club gatekeeping was surprising and disappointing. It’s a relatively small school so I was startled that the most appealing activities that had been advertised to me so heavily were actually so limited in numbers. The clubs and activities themselves recruit so aggressively before kids arrive on campus, but they’re all going after the same 25% of the student body. Even intramural sports had limited spots and it was a scramble to be chosen by captains to join a team. I think I got to play one semester of IM ultimate frisbee and fill in occasionally for a graduate department’s softball team.

I ended up doing a few things here and there, but got rejected from a ton of stuff that I had done in HS and loved. When I tried new stuff, I was deemed too inexperienced and didn’t make the cut. Because of this I spent a lot of time working out and partying and it filled my time but felt empty. My advice to my kids is to go to a school with a student body small enough that it needs them.

[Anonymous]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/yale-college-undergrad-clubs-competitive/675219/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

Are you in college now? One of my other kids, who isn't a stellar athlete, was not good enough to play on a club team. Intramurals? You had to sign up as a team. So how are kids supposed to make connections through sports if they don't have a friend group to create a team?

Oh mommy. Guess what. Maybe Sonny’s basketball days are over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

What? Club sports have been a thing for decades. My dad was on a club soccer team in college in the 60s.

It goes intramural (not competitive) - club (kinda competitive) - varsity (competitive)

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

Are you in college now? One of my other kids, who isn't a stellar athlete, was not good enough to play on a club team. Intramurals? You had to sign up as a team. So how are kids supposed to make connections through sports if they don't have a friend group to create a team?

I have a freshman, she signed up for a variety of clubs (maybe 10?) no application necessary including a work out club. The traveling sports clubs require tryouts, why is this a surprise? I think others of the more popular clubs do as well, like the business fraternity. So there is a mix of both options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

Are you in college now? One of my other kids, who isn't a stellar athlete, was not good enough to play on a club team. Intramurals? You had to sign up as a team. So how are kids supposed to make connections through sports if they don't have a friend group to create a team?

A good rule of thumb is that the better the college varsity team is at a sport, the better it's club team (i.e., more selective) usually is. So, the Vanderbilt club baseball team is probably really hard to make. On the other hand, if the school does not even offer the varsity sport, then the club team is fairly open.

There are also some schools that have multiple levels of club team, to allow for more opportunity to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I can speak to this based on my kids' personal experience (and my kid made the team). It's not like club teams post their evaluation criteria publically, so the best a prospective student can do is email the students in charge and ask. However, even that might not get them true answers, because most club teams are student run, and students can change their minds about what they want the teams to be. My kid is on a team that apparently was low-key and accepting to a wider pool of talent when we first looked at the school two years ago. Last year, the club started to go in a more competitive direction, and it is even more competitive this fall. He made the team, but gets to play infrequently, which is not how the club sport was described when we toured last year.

For those blaming the students, we should all agree that it has become more difficult for this generation to connect with each other. Making activities more and more exclusive does little to help those struggling to find their people.

Club sports did not even exist when I was in college, I’d say there are plenty of activities available. There’s just too many helicoptering parents who never want to see their kid not get something.

Are you in college now? One of my other kids, who isn't a stellar athlete, was not good enough to play on a club team. Intramurals? You had to sign up as a team. So how are kids supposed to make connections through sports if they don't have a friend group to create a team?

Same way the other clubs make connections: print flyers, go to club fair and recruit. Schools usually hand out money to help students start clubs.

[Anonymous]

So the marching bands, concert bands, and other bands are also exclusive? even with auditions demonstrating talent? Jeez!

[Anonymous]

Wow. Where is this?

Kids who do these kind of activities know that they don't take everyone-- they are not traditional clubs in that sense. My kid didn't get into any acapella or improv groups her first year. Bummer, but it is what it is. Doing great with theatre productions, luckily, but would understand if not -- most turn away the majority of kids who audition, just not enough roles/spots. Only 1 group says they give everyone a role, and that just means a big chorus!

Is this an Ivy? I think some of these kids forget that tons of admits are superstars who could have gone to conservatory programs. Some of it is also personal connections which will come with time. It's a learning curve.

[Anonymous]

Of course it’s common everywhere. That said, there are tons of clubs that are not exclusive.