"I wish someone told me" -reflections from soon to be & recently graduated college seniors and their parents

[ucbalumnus]

Here are some older threads about competitive admission clubs:

"Competitive clubs" in colleges

I’ve seen this phrase a few times on CC. In fact, there’s a new thread on competitive and social clubs at Georgetown. Rather than hijacking that thread (this one’s for you, new mods! ), I thought I would start another to get more info. What exactly is a “competitive” college club? Does this mean stuff like student government or publications, where students are usually elected or appointed, or dining clubs or Greeks? But is there a broader meaning? I am intrigued by the term “competitive club”, and not in a good way. “Back in the day”, I don’t think we had these kinds of organizations in college except for the ones mentioned above. I was hoping college had become more collegial in the intervening years/decades. But the term competitive clubs concerns me a bit. Also, are there particular institutions where there are more of these clubs? Any light to be shed is appreciated.

Competitive admission college clubs other than those prepping for investment banking or management consulting

"Competitive clubs" in colleges seems to have become mostly a thread about investment banking and management consulting recruiting. How commonly are college clubs other than those prepping for investment banking or management consulting competitive admission? Obviously, some are typically competitive (e.g. fraternities, sororities, and similar organizations), and some are capacity limited (e.g. a club intercollegiate sports team can only be so large, and a performing arts show needs only so many people). But what about the range of potential clubs that typically fall outside of these categories? Are there colleges where clubs like a hiking club, a charitable volunteering club, a cultural club, a club relating to a major, etc. have competitive admission (to the club, as opposed to a major or college)?