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When you first begin attending college, you may be overwhelmed by the need to participate in as many activities as possible. Doing so is a good idea because it allows you to make new connections throughout the campus and you will more than likely become more comfortable at your school. It is possible, however, to be too enthusiastic when it comes to participating in activities on campus. And that’s not good.
Most schools have an orientation for freshmen where they get tours of the campus while learning about the different organizations they can become members of. Freshmen are encouraged to become active on campus by joining different groups to meet new people. There will be several people, like your orientation leaders, telling you to become very active but there will be others, typically students with older siblings already in college, who will advise you not to be overzealous.
I have heard stories from my fellow classmates of how they joined every organization in which they met the qualifications for when they were freshmen and how that idea quickly backfired. They were so consumed with going to meetings, volunteering and going to events that they ended up pushing their schoolwork to the side. Each person saw an unfavorable drop in their GPA, which took twice as many semesters to bring back up as it did to bring it down.
My advice? Everyone should become active on campus instead of wasting four years alone inside their dorm rooms but I’d say not to become too involved until you are sure that you can handle it. A long list of extracurricular activities is impressive but a low GPA could hurt your chances at getting into graduate school or impressing any future employers.
Jessica Seals is currently a senior at the University of Memphis majoring in political science and minoring in English. At the University of Memphis, she is the secretary of the Pre-Law Society, the philanthropy chair of the Phi Kappa Phi Student Council and a member of Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence (PAUSE), Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society, and Black Scholars Unlimited. She also volunteers to tutor her fellow classmates and hopes to attend law school in the near future.