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Sarah
Student
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
1
Question
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How can I be more involved in campus events while living off-campus?
My only method of transportation is riding the Port Authority bus line to and from campus, and I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to make friends or learn something new. #offcampus #college #college-advice
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3 answers
Richard A.
physician
2150
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Richard’s Answer
You may be stuck on campus after your classes are done, while you are waiting for extra curricular meetings to start. But you can take advantage of that time to go to library and study.
Maggie Edmunds
Associate at Strategy& PwC
4
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Chicago, Illinois
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Maggie’s Answer
Hi Sarah!
I love that you are so invested in getting involved at your university - I lived off-campus during college too and definitely understand your concern about how to stay involved while living off-campus! In order to stay involved, I did research into the extracurricular activities that my university offers. I joined a community service club, applied to be a tour guide for the Admissions office, and joined my university's club lacrosse and tennis teams. Whatever you are interested in, your school will absolutely have opportunities for you to pursue it outside of your academics. This can be a great way to meet people and stay involved on-campus while living off-campus!
I also recommend bringing your lunch to campus some days so that you can have lunch with your friends, instead of commuting home for meals. If your university has a gym, that's a great opportunity too - I would stay on campus to work out, rather than work out at my apartment, in order to spend more time on campus and get to meet new people.
No matter what your interests are, there are a lot of ways that you can get involved and meet new people around campus that have similar interests to you.
I love that you are so invested in getting involved at your university - I lived off-campus during college too and definitely understand your concern about how to stay involved while living off-campus! In order to stay involved, I did research into the extracurricular activities that my university offers. I joined a community service club, applied to be a tour guide for the Admissions office, and joined my university's club lacrosse and tennis teams. Whatever you are interested in, your school will absolutely have opportunities for you to pursue it outside of your academics. This can be a great way to meet people and stay involved on-campus while living off-campus!
I also recommend bringing your lunch to campus some days so that you can have lunch with your friends, instead of commuting home for meals. If your university has a gym, that's a great opportunity too - I would stay on campus to work out, rather than work out at my apartment, in order to spend more time on campus and get to meet new people.
No matter what your interests are, there are a lot of ways that you can get involved and meet new people around campus that have similar interests to you.
Andrew Crain
Technology Consultant at PwC
2
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
I actually lived off campus for all but one of my five years of undergrad and grad school. In my experience, you don't really need to live on campus in order to be involved in campus life. Your university likely has a Student Involvement & Leadership office (it might be called something different, but likely serves the same purpose)- so get in touch with them. You could meet with their staff and/ or get connected on their website to find out all of the groups and events on campus throughout the year for you to get involved in. If you're not sure what might be good for you, that's where the office staff comes in. They know the inner workings of the university and what all is available, and can get to know you a little bit and provide you with some personalized options to try.
Student groups and campus events are great ways to meet new people and grow your network- which makes it much easier to get and stay involved (even if you don't live on campus). Then once you make some connections, it becomes easier to better plan and use the time you already have to spend on campus. When you're already on campus for class, you can also kill time with new friends and/ or working with the student organizations you get involved with. There will also likely be random events happening happening on campus every week (major fairs, week of welcome, swag sessions, social gatherings, etc.) that are easy to pop in and out of as you are able.
All this to say- there are SO many opportunities and ways to get involved and so many resources available to you; you just have to know where to look! And if you ever need help, don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask questions. You have to start somewhere, and others will help get you to where you need to go.
Student groups and campus events are great ways to meet new people and grow your network- which makes it much easier to get and stay involved (even if you don't live on campus). Then once you make some connections, it becomes easier to better plan and use the time you already have to spend on campus. When you're already on campus for class, you can also kill time with new friends and/ or working with the student organizations you get involved with. There will also likely be random events happening happening on campus every week (major fairs, week of welcome, swag sessions, social gatherings, etc.) that are easy to pop in and out of as you are able.
All this to say- there are SO many opportunities and ways to get involved and so many resources available to you; you just have to know where to look! And if you ever need help, don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask questions. You have to start somewhere, and others will help get you to where you need to go.