How competitive is it to get into clubs at your child's college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the competitive preprof college clubs really matter? My kid is starting at penn and club applications and interviews sound very time consuming... during a time when kids are just settling in. I dont really understand the benefit of and high demand for preprof clubs. Do they provide a real advantage in the future job search or not? Wondering if they can/should avoid those clubs and focus time on studies, meeting people and finding some fun activities/orgs to join. Would appreciate any thoughts/experience on this topic...

They likely need both the social aspect and the pre-professional aspect and it could be the same or different clubs that provide it. Both of my kids met their future roommates and friend group from their clubs. My older one is in one connected with their major that also has a social aspect with formals, community service etc. and my younger is in more of a social /activity based one where you can be a general member without needing to apply and as long as you pay your dues you can go to the social events and main activity. You can also decide to try out for the competitive teams for that activity.

The challenge when looking for internships etc, it’s tough to get that first internship in your field if you don’t have a connection and you don’t have any applied experience or any recent leadership/examples of working effectively with teams. Sometimes kids will have project based work in class that they can highlight and group projects experiences on how they have handled different situations. I’ve also seen kids gain some of that experience by joining a club that wasn’t competitive and is something they enjoy and then working on the team or getting a leadership role in something that relates to their major as part of that club. I would also add sometimes, it stands out when someone has an interest that might be on the opposite end of what they study. If I am screening 50 resumes for am intern, an interesting activity won’t make up for lack of experience or fit but it will help them stand out of everyone is qualified on paper and they all have the same activities.

Why do you need to mix the social and professional aspect? In real life you don’t go to the engineering brewery to have a drink with your friends and also network for a job. It actually sounds stupid when you think of it.

It’s not high school anymore, you don’t need student leadership positions, you need actual leadership. Which is gotten by starting at entry level jobs, proving yourself and working your way up.

If I’m screening 50 resumes for an internship, first I want to see a relevant major and coursework, some skills that you’re good at (eg programming, cad, automation) what projects you worked on and in what capacity, then some work experience. If it’s in the field it’s great if not it’s still ok. You can get a lot of this by working with a professor instead of dicking around with a bunch of equally useless undergrads.

Keep the clubs for doing something fun and interesting for yourself, not to put in a resume. In my day I did sailing, tango club, rock climbing, had a few officer positions, organized events attended by hundreds of people, international musicians, an audio library, made tshirts, set up a ticket sales website. All made possible by writing proposals to the university and paid by student life office. Never crossed my mind to interview volunteers and for everyone that wanted to participate, I tried to find a role and develop their talents and interests.

The crap detailed in this thread is completely bonkers. Why would anyone put up with it unless they are hostages to a herd mentality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst clubs are not allowed to get school funding if they have any sort of selection criteria.

Tour guide at Williams said the same. Clubs are required to be open.

This is how it should be. These are already elite schools.

The students may be in for a rude awakening when they get out of there. I don't see any evidence that life is an open club. It's quite the opposite. It can be a rough ride making it through some of these elite colleges but they make it through and they're tougher because of it. At least mine is.

Oh give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst clubs are not allowed to get school funding if they have any sort of selection criteria.

Tour guide at Williams said the same. Clubs are required to be open.

This is how it should be. These are already elite schools.

The students may be in for a rude awakening when they get out of there. I don't see any evidence that life is an open club. It's quite the opposite. It can be a rough ride making it through some of these elite colleges but they make it through and they're tougher because of it. At least mine is.

And by rough ride I mean a lot of opportunities to learn how to cope with rejection. Obviously going to an elite college is an important opportunity and can provide a very high quality education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst clubs are not allowed to get school funding if they have any sort of selection criteria.

Tour guide at Williams said the same. Clubs are required to be open.

This is how it should be. These are already elite schools.

The students may be in for a rude awakening when they get out of there. I don't see any evidence that life is an open club. It's quite the opposite. It can be a rough ride making it through some of these elite colleges but they make it through and they're tougher because of it. At least mine is.

Oh give me a break.

Exactly. Anyone on here whining about clubs should be open or there shouldn't be any competitive clubs or nothing at college should be competitive should relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst clubs are not allowed to get school funding if they have any sort of selection criteria.

Tour guide at Williams said the same. Clubs are required to be open.

This is how it should be. These are already elite schools.

The students may be in for a rude awakening when they get out of there. I don't see any evidence that life is an open club. It's quite the opposite. It can be a rough ride making it through some of these elite colleges but they make it through and they're tougher because of it. At least mine is.

Oh give me a break.

Exactly. Anyone on here whining about clubs should be open or there shouldn't be any competitive clubs or nothing at college should be competitive should relax.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are you competing for at these clubs? The opportunity to attend a gathering and have a discussion with your classmates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst clubs are not allowed to get school funding if they have any sort of selection criteria.

Tour guide at Williams said the same. Clubs are required to be open.

This is how it should be. These are already elite schools.

The students may be in for a rude awakening when they get out of there. I don't see any evidence that life is an open club. It's quite the opposite. It can be a rough ride making it through some of these elite colleges but they make it through and they're tougher because of it. At least mine is.

Oh give me a break.

Exactly. Anyone on here whining about clubs should be open or there shouldn't be any competitive clubs or nothing at college should be competitive should relax.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are you competing for at these clubs? The opportunity to attend a gathering and have a discussion with your classmates?

They're competing for opportunities. I don't think sitting around and having a discussion with your classmates is what's going on in a competitive clubs that I'm aware of. Some of the performance groups travel around the country and the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

50% of CMC majors in economics. They probably use economics courses as a weed out benchmark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

Ok I’ll pass. It’s more productive to volunteer with a business or economics professor than be filtered out by a sophomore that literally has zero professional experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

Ok I’ll pass. It’s more productive to volunteer with a business or economics professor than be filtered out by a sophomore that literally has zero professional experience.

Who says they do? Many consulting firms start looking freshman year these days. Seriously, it’s a lot more competitive than when we were in college. Just the natural flow of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

Ok I’ll pass. It’s more productive to volunteer with a business or economics professor than be filtered out by a sophomore that literally has zero professional experience.

You're filtered out if you don't have any connections to get into the club. These are networking opportunities that can carry forward into internships and job offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

Ok I’ll pass. It’s more productive to volunteer with a business or economics professor than be filtered out by a sophomore that literally has zero professional experience.

Who says they do? Many consulting firms start looking freshman year these days. Seriously, it’s a lot more competitive than when we were in college. Just the natural flow of things.

What do you mean by consulting firms start looking freshman year? Do you mean they want to see what applicants did since freshman year? Ok, but I’m doubtful consulting club is that helpful compared to working with a professor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not aware of any competitive clubs at my DC’s slac. Definitely not the vibe there.

Doesn’t apply to all slacs though. I know CMC has a very competitive investment club.

yes to CMC--most clubs and opportunities are competitive and if you're not in by junior year you're shut out of really anything.

I just checked the consulting club and this may have changed, but it seems that a lot of sophomores are on the consulting club and there’s plenty freshman. They probably just prefer having students who have done intro macro and micro economics.

Boy this is stupid, my version of consulting club was getting a book and discussing a case with a friend to get better at analysis, in preparation for an interview with McKinsey or BCG. Taking economics helps, but they also liked science and engineering backgrounds. Why do you need a club for this?

They do career treks and case competitions with consulting firms. You don’t want to be represented by students who know nothing about economics.

Ok I’ll pass. It’s more productive to volunteer with a business or economics professor than be filtered out by a sophomore that literally has zero professional experience.

You're filtered out if you don't have any connections to get into the club. These are networking opportunities that can carry forward into internships and job offers.

How about this idea: you work for a professor on a research project over the summer and develop some skills besides coursework and do your best to do a great job. Next summer you ask for his help in finding an internship through his industry connections. The following summer you build your resume a little and go to job fairs talk to the few connections you’ve built so far, apply to as many jobs as you can and find an internship on your own. Again you do your best and transition into getting a job offer upon graduation.

It just sounds far more realistic than clubs. I literally know dozens of students that did this and I personally wrote letters of recommendations to some of them. I don’t know of anyone that found a job through a club.