Colleges and universities can seem to be huge and unfriendly places, especially if you went to a small high school or grew up in a small town. To feel comfortable in this new environment, it is important for you to find your comfort zone or niche. It’s not hard to find the place where you belong, but it will take some initiative on your part. Consider your interests and the high school activities you enjoyed most, and choose some activities to explore. You might be interested in joining an intramural team, performing community service, running for a student government office, or getting involved in your residence hall. Or you might prefer joining a more structured campuswide club or organization.

Almost every college has numerous organizations you can join; usually, you can check them out through activity fairs, printed guides, open houses, Web pages, and so on. Even better, consider attending one of the organization’s meetings before you make the decision to join. Find out what the organization is like, what the expectations of time and money are, and whether you feel comfortable with the members. New students who become involved with at least one organization are more likely to survive their first year and remain in college than those who do not become involved.

Be careful not to overextend yourself when it comes to campus activities. Although it is important to get involved, joining too many clubs or organizations will make it difficult to focus on any given activity and will interfere with your studies. Future employers will see a balance in academics and campus involvement as a desirable quality in prospective employees. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that more is better. In campus involvement as in many things, quality is much more important than quantity.