Ultimate is very common. As common as a capella on college campuses.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is into ultimate frisbee, they should look at Carleton College.

+1 Carleton sounds like a great fit from what you've described, assuming he's serious about his academics.

What do you mean by encouraged OP?

I would trust your kid. Every college lists its clubs on their website, and many clubs or other groups have their own websites. You can see how active the Ultimate club is, for example.

Whether other students participate in clubs or not, so long as the opportunities are there, is really on your kid. Even if only 10% join one, there's no reason why he can't be part of that group.

Seriously consider Whitman in Walla Walla. I know it’s far but they love Ultimate there (we even saw an intermural group playing on the rainy Saturday we visited). From your post, it sounds like it could be a fit. Great school.

Anonymous wrote:I know that most colleges have plenty of clubs, intermurals, etc to keep students occupied and engaged. However, my own memory of them was that you had to really seek out the opportunities and other than students involved in the greek system or official college athletics, I really didn’t know anyone who participated in school sponsored clubs.

My son (a junior) enjoys participating in no cut sports like ultimate frisbee and various clubs at his mcps high school. He is very nice but introverted and really only socializes through these clubs (he doesn’t go out on weekends). We are in the process of assembling a list of colleges to visit in the summer (probably all in the northeast, possibly some midwest). He has his ideas of what he is seeking in a college (mostly small to medium LACs) but I would love to add to the list of criteria colleges where many students participate in clubs, rec sports, etc because I think he would enjoy many (he has lots of interests - music, politics, film, sports) and meet students through these means, but his personality is not the the to seek it out.

I would love some recommendations for colleges where this occurs, hopefully based on recent experiences. Thank you!

Stop helicoptering. He knows what he wants.

Anonymous wrote:I think the more the school is isolated, the more kids are actually forced to really attend on campus events.

Read survey results on Unigo. They touch upon this.

Finally, on tours, don't just ask how many clubs there are, ask if they are well-attended/active.

Good advice. I know that my midwestern SLAC had a similar number of clubs/activities as some of the larger schools sending college brochures to my kid, but with a fraction of the student body. So students were naturally in multiple activities and were very active. E.g. The intramural frisbee league had teams from dorm floors, or majors, or friend groups, and "everyone" played. Students were hugely involved in the theater scene (directing, acting, doing the sets), and then they got good audience turnout at shows because that was a fun, free thing for students to do on Friday night. Non-music majors participated in the large music ensembles and also started their own smaller groups.

By all means, read reviews and talk to actual students of specific schools to find out how engaged the students actually are. But for me as introvert, a SLAC was an excellent place for being involved in multiple activities and finding good friends.

It's different now OP. Kids are more involved and more used to spending their time and socializing through activities.

If your kid is into ultimate frisbee, they should look at Carleton College.

Any school that does not have a Greek system will have clubs and intramural sports to cover the same social ground.

VT

I think the more the school is isolated, the more kids are actually forced to really attend on campus events.

Read survey results on Unigo. They touch upon this.

Finally, on tours, don't just ask how many clubs there are, ask if they are well-attended/active.

This sounds counter intuitive, but the larger the school, the more opportunities he’ll have to do something other than party. More students = more groups of non-drinkers = more alternative events

What do you mean? Did you have no bulletin boards full of “free food” and “free t-shirt” fliers? I left college with so many t-shirts...a roommate made a t-shirt quilt our of some of hers and still had piles.

William & Mary - they have a bajillion clubs, club sports, IM sports, etc. They also have a whole bunch of whole college traditions.

Highly recommend that he follow SM at any college he is remotely interested. Most schools have multiple accounts over multiple channels. If can give a
good idea of what activity levels at different schools are like.

I know that most colleges have plenty of clubs, intermurals, etc to keep students occupied and engaged. However, my own memory of them was that you had to really seek out the opportunities and other than students involved in the greek system or official college athletics, I really didn’t know anyone who participated in school sponsored clubs.

My son (a junior) enjoys participating in no cut sports like ultimate frisbee and various clubs at his mcps high school. He is very nice but introverted and really only socializes through these clubs (he doesn’t go out on weekends). We are in the process of assembling a list of colleges to visit in the summer (probably all in the northeast, possibly some midwest). He has his ideas of what he is seeking in a college (mostly small to medium LACs) but I would love to add to the list of criteria colleges where many students participate in clubs, rec sports, etc because I think he would enjoy many (he has lots of interests - music, politics, film, sports) and meet students through these means, but his personality is not the the to seek it out.

I would love some recommendations for colleges where this occurs, hopefully based on recent experiences. Thank you!