How to Start Your Own Student Club

Can’t Find it? Found it! Extracurricular activities are a portion of your applicant profile that admissions officers are always curious to learn about. Getting involved in clubs and projects, both inside and outside of school, allows students to explore and develop interests that they may want to pursue in college and beyond. So what do you do when you have an interest in a specific activity or club that’s not offered at your school? Rather than accept its absence, create it! Many high school clubs and organizations across the country were started by students who recognized a need and wanted to fill it. Starting your own club or extracurricular project takes initiative and can be a lot of work, but it’s actually a lot easier than you may think. Here are some tips to help you establish your own student club or organization. Identify your interests and research. Whether it’s activism, engineering, writing, or some other field, think of what inspired you and see if there are any current organizations that fill that need. If not, then here’s your chance to start it! Look into the different types of club that you could create around this interest, and what it takes to set one up. Research your school’s requirements along with specific organization requirements if you’re looking to set up a new chapter of a larger group at your high school. Define the club’s goals and objectives. Once you have an idea of similar clubs that are already out there and what it takes to start one, sit down and outline the club’s missions and objectives and how you plan to achieve them. If it’s a volunteer club, state the requirements for membership, possible volunteer opportunities, how duties among officers will be distributed, and any other ideas for fundraising or attracting new members. Get others involved. Find friends and other classmates who share the same interest and would want to be involved in your club. Some schools or official organizations may require a minimum number of students to establish a new club, so get others excited, too! Approach a teacher or administrator who might be willing to sponsor or supervise the club. Once you have a clear vision for your club and a solid number of other interested students, approach an appropriate teacher or administrator and see if he or she is willing to be the supervisor or faculty sponsor for the organization. If it’s a science club, see if your chemistry teacher is interested. If it’s a book club, approach your favorite literature teacher. Stay involved! Once you have your faculty sponsor, members, plan of action, and your club is approved by the school, give yourself a pat on the back! It was a lot of work to get this far, but remember to nurture this new endeavor by staying involved and growing the organization. Colleges like to see sustained interest in clubs and organizations, especially ones you established yourself, so keep up the hard work and have fun!