Ten Ways to Get the Most out of Clubs Fair

By Dan

The Week of Welcome is bump’n out in QUAD, but it isn’t alone! Clubs’ Fair is also out there… and these are just 10 things you’ll want to do if you’re thinking about getting involved:

1. Go Twice

Clubs fair can be an overwhelming experience, especially if it is your first time. There is so much to take in that it is easy to overlook a club on your first walk through. That is why going twice is a great idea. It gives you time to think about which clubs caught your eye and how much spare time you really have this semester. Also lots of clubs are not at clubs fair every single day, so going twice means you will have more options.

2. Go Alone At Least Once

While it may be fun to stroll through clubs fair with a couple friends, you should make an effort to go by yourself at least once. When you are with other people you are much less likely to approach a club, unless your friends are also interested. University is all about branching out from your old social circles and meeting new and interesting people, trying out a club by yourself is a great way to do that.

3. Actually Talk to the Club Members

By far the most valuable aspect of clubs fair is the ability to engage with members of clubs you are considering joining. They can answer a ton of important questions you should be asking, such as: how much time commitment is involved; what types of activities the club does; and the social atmosphere in the club. The answers to these questions will vary wildly and now is the best time to ask them. Beyond that, if you decide to go to that club’s first meeting, you will now have a friendly face or two there to greet you.

4. Take the Free Swag… Do It!

Seriously, even if you do not end up finding a club to your liking, clubs fair is completely worth it just for the free swag. It never hurts to start off the year with a few extra pens and pencils, which will be there in abundance, along with candy, restaurant coupons and other goodies. However while your grabbing that chocolate bar, at least talk to the volunteers at the booth for a minute, they will appreciate it.

5. Get Your Agenda

Of all the free swag at clubs fair this one is the most important. While some people will have got their agendas through orientation, everyone else should seek out the booth at clubs fair. A key to starting off the year right is planning and your agenda will help with that (plus it has coupons for more free food!)

6. Sign Up For EVERYTHING

At clubs fair most clubs are just trying to add names to their mailing lists or hand out pamphlets on their first meeting. If you are even remotely interested you should sign up for more information. It gives you more time to consider whether you want to join the club with no real commitment. Worst-case scenario you take two seconds to remove your name from the mailing list two weeks later.

7. Don’t Set Your Heart On A Specific Club

Although you may be convinced a certain club is the one for you, don’t let that blind you to other options. If something else sounds better, try it instead. Sometimes clubs are not what you expect, that is no fault of the club, it just means you have to keep looking.

8. Let Yourself Be Convinced

If you are hesitant about joining a certain club but the volunteers make it sound awesome, then let yourself be convinced. Rather than being skeptical about whether they over glorified their club, just attend the first meeting. Chances are the people you talked to were so passionate about it because it truly is a great club. Check out “It Was All Greek to Me” to see how this impacted one of my fellow Blogger, Chris.

9. Go Even If You Don’t Want To… Seriously… Just Go With It

Even if the rest of this list fails to convince you clubs fair is worth it, you should go anyways. It only takes fifteen minutes to walk through and who knows, it may surprise you. And if it doesn’t you can always just go straight to beer gardens after anyway.

10. Realize That Clubs’ Fair Changes Lives… Really

This may sound corny, but it is actually true. Clubs fair is one of those rare days you can point to years later and say “that is where everything changed.” Clubs let you meet lots of people that may lead to lifelong friendships, relationships and job opportunities. They also have the ability to influence and nurture your passions just as much as classes do. Although not every club will change your life, some will and it is worth spending a half hour at clubs fair to find one of them.