Getting involved can be one of the highlights of your college years. Skutt Shutdown and other recruitment events have kickstarted the email lists and GroupMe chats, welcoming another wave of students into the ranks. Obviously, being involved on campus is a great way to meet people and advance your career, but can too much of a good thing be a bad thing? 

College schedules are hectic, that’s not news to anyone. Between classes and extra credit seminars and the required reading that might take you all night, there’s barely time to eat and sleep. Maintaining a social life and doing your best to call home every once in a while might be stressful enough that you haven’t even had time to think about joining clubs, but if you have, let me applaud you.  

Choosing the right clubs to join can be stressful and choosing just how many to commit yourself to is a different problem. There are enough student organizations on campus to fill up your free time completely, and all of them have their own strengths and benefits. However, overcommitting and stressing yourself out too early can ruin it all.  

When you’re joining clubs, don’t sign up for every email list and try to attend every single first meeting. Be selective with your time and make sure you have the space to fully commit to something before jumping headfirst into the fray.  

Getting involved is good for you but signing up for 12 clubs and never going to any of them because you’re too overwhelmed –– that’s not as good.  

It’s natural to want to be involved and to think that if your friends can do it then so can you, but everyone’s schedule looks different. Evaluate what you’re missing in your college career, then start making decisions. Maybe you miss playing sports, so you feel like intramurals are the place for you, or maybe you want that extra resume help so a pre-professional club is the way you’ll go.  

Stressing yourself out with a calendar full of meeting notifications and application deadlines is a sure-fire way to burn out and end up more uninvolved than before. Once you’ve made your choice, be sure to show up to the clubs you chose and participate in their events. Being very active in a handful of clubs on campus will make you feel better than being on the email list for too many and barely showing up.  

Remember, your time is valuable, so you need to be careful with it. College is about trying new things, meeting new people and getting involved. Join the club, or don’t, it’s all part of the experience.