Clubs for interest

[klever]

Hello SDN,

I was wondering a quick thing. Clubs that align with my interests are often hard to find, and when I do find one, a lot of the time they are very awkwardly scheduled. I know I'm supposed to show my interests on my resume, but at the same time I don't really know how to do it other than through clubs. I find that you can show some of your interests through research or something, and that's way more convenient for me. Do I have so suck it up and participate in 2-3 clubs? Or can I just join like 1 club with some leadership and then do research I'm interested in instead as the priority? Thank you!

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[Moko]

I was wondering a quick thing. Clubs that align with my interests are often hard to find, and when I do find one, a lot of the time they are very awkwardly scheduled. I know I'm supposed to show my interests on my resume, but at the same time I don't really know how to do it other than through clubs. I find that you can show some of your interests through research or something, and that's way more convenient for me. Do I have so suck it up and participate in 2-3 clubs? Or can I just join like 1 club with some leadership and then do research I'm interested in instead as the priority? Thank you!

Participating in college clubs is far from necessary. Like you said, students can show their interests and passions through many other activities. So don't join a club just for the sake of being in one! Just my thoughts.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Look outside your campus. I'm probably a bit older than you, but some of my most fulfilling, fun, and fruitful group activities are things I've just stumbled upon from being a member of the community and talking to people.

For example, I found a male singing group after googling "choral groups in town." One of the leaders of the group just happens to be a Dept Head at my local med school, and another was a Prof Emeritus former head of the associated virology institute. I started becoming friendly with them before I realized that they were "important people" and they ended up inviting me to sing in a much smaller group that is filled with members of the med school, pharmacists, and residents/fellows.

A less insane example, while volunteering at the hospital I realized that one of the NPs was the wife of an acquaintance; she helped me get a shadowing session with the OB surgical team, because I asked.

Obviously you might not stumble into something like that, but a wise man once said, you miss all the shots you don't take. 🤷‍♂️

 

[klever]

Thank you for your responses! So if I show my interests through volunteering and research, would you think that's adequete? I would likely have a lack of leadership this way and far less actitities (I know, quality > quantity but still probably like 8-9 activities on AMCAS if I didn't join club). Would that be a huge problem?

 

[LizzyM]

8 or 9 activities in the Activities section is fine.