What is a student association? And should you join one?

Everything you need to know about associations and organizations.

The school year has just started, and soon you’ll be seeing expedition stands aiming to attract students of all ages to join some kind of groups. But, what are they? What do they exactly do? And should you join one? Hopefully, this article will help you answer all of those questions.

In fact, student association, student society, university society or student organization is a society or an organization that is operated by students at a university or a college institution, with a membership that typically consists of students and alumni only.

At the beginning of the school year, many student associations present themselves in fairs and expeditions in order to attract new members. They typically offer an open membership to the student as non-profit organizations, but sometimes a small fee might exist and it is often nominal and purely exists to cover insurance or to fund society events.

Now, as we already learned about what a student association is, it’s time to get to the important questions.
Are student associations important?
Should you get involved in such kind of activities?
Is it going to affect your grades?
Will it make your employability stronger?
Or would it be a waste of time?

People often have controversial answers when it comes to theses questions. So, keep reading! I will be providing you with enough information so that you can figure out your own answers and decide by yourself.

In the past years, the associative and volunteer works in Tunisia have become more important than ever. Each year, new societies are being launched in a way that, on the 8th of June 2018, we reached a number of 21 451 associations and organizations in Tunisia. So, I believe that it’s fair to say that you have a variety of options to choose from.

The number of student associations is getting bigger every year, and each one has its own areas of interest and offers a unique learning experience. As examples, we can talk about The Junior Enterprise movement in Tunisia (JET) that gives the chance to apply what you’re learning in school in a professional world while learning more about the career you might be pursuing as well as AIESEC, in which you will be working on global volunteering and Enactus where you’ll take part in a competition with a team project.

But, is it really important? Let’s talk about some benefits you’ll be getting out of such experience.

First, it will help you to learn more about yourself, to identify your goals and your strengths and to test your current knowledge. It will also give you the chance to find out what you’re good at, and that self-awareness will certainly be beneficial for your future. You’ll also develop soft skills which are the skills that allow us to interact with others effectively, such as communication, attitude and work ethic.

Participating in a student organization won’t only teach you these skills, but they will also help you broaden and improve those you already have. You’ll get better at team work, you’ll get a lot of networking opportunities while meeting new students, making connections, and building relationships. It will all help you down the line when looking for a job.

Being part of the same organization, you know that, somehow, you all share some interests which makes your connections so valuable. You’ll finally be able to use the skills you’ve learned in class, you’ll gain leadership skills, you’ll get short breaks away from studies and most importantly you’ll expand your resume!

Types of College Student Organization:
Student associations are divided into categories, and it’s up to you to choose the one to join depending on what makes you feel most comfortable, what you think is most benificial and what you think is best for your future career. You can actually find a student organization for almost anything you want: academic and educational organizations, community service organizations, media and publication organizations, political or multicultural organizations, recreation and sports organizations and student government organizations.

I hope that you got the information you needed to make up your mind. Still, it’s all about personal preferences, and after all you can only tell after joining one.

Good luck with this school year everyone!

Sources:
https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/7-types-us-college-student-organization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_society
http://www.ifeda.org.tn/stats/francais.pdf
https://aiesec.org/
http://www.jetunisia.net/
http://www.enactustunisie.com/