Monday is the first day of class at most colleges and universities in our area.
A survey from Student Voice found nearly a third of students do not participate in any extracurriculars, including clubs and groups.
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Dr. Sara Klein, the vice president for student affairs at the Stevens Institute of Technology, said it’s important for freshman students to get involved and make new connections on campus.
“They need to meet other students and have some friendships, especially if they’re leaving home and they’ve never been in this environment before,” Klein said. “They really are starting from scratch, so they need to make some new connections with friends. They also really need to make some connections with administrators and faculty so that they have resources to go to to get questions answered, to get mentorship and guidance.”
The survey was sent to 3,000 college students nationwide after the Spring semester ended.
It found students who participate in extracurricular activities are more likely to form new friendships:
- 56% of students who spent up to 5 hours a week participating in activities said it was easy to make friends
- 63% of students who did not participate in extracurriculars said they struggled to meet people
Klein reminds students that it may take time to form bonds.
“I think even for really social students, it does take time because as I said, you’re really starting over. You don’t know anybody in most cases, so it takes a long time to build up a friend network,” Klein said. “I also think new students come in and they usually make an initial set of friends at orientation who serve a purpose of being those connection points during a difficult time during the first few weeks.”
The survey also found joining clubs and groups may impact your overall college experience. More than half of students who did not participate in extracurriculars said they were not satisfied with campus life.