The role of student societies within university life

One of the main fears many students have when it comes to beginning university centres around making friends. Despite the many, many like-minded students you will come into contact with, the prospect of socialising with strangers can be daunting, despite the likelihood of you making friends for life at university.

You are likely to quickly befriend those you are sharing accommodation with due to the instant sense of camaraderie, whilst also getting to know your course-mates, with whom you will share immediate common ground. However, these are not the only ways to make friends with whom you share interests. You may have a hobby back home, or be a member of a club in which you made close friends or teammates. With the vast range of societies and clubs on offer at university, membership can provide an invaluable opportunity to make friends in a non-academic capacity, and potentially, future house-mates.

Before starting university there is a good chance that you will be told about the scope of opportunities and facilities open to you, and be advised to make the most of them. This is certainly not a myth, as students are presented with an enviable range of extra-curricular prospects. Researching into what is available can help you to decide which avenues you wish to explore, or alternatively, Freshers’ Week typically features a society convention, in which tables of various societies on offer throughout the university will be present, enabling you ask members questions, browse what’s on offer, and sign up to those which tickle your fancy.

Range of student societies

Societies can include sports (ranging from conventional teams such as football, rugby, and cricket, to more uncommon activities such as surfing, canoeing, and lacrosse), arts, media, music and reading, to name but a few. Aside from these relatively standard opportunities, more niche societies also exist, ranging from admirers of drink, such Real Ale societies, to Picnic societies, to those dedicated to fancy dress. These provide fun, immersing opportunities to befriend people similar to yourself. With everyone finding themselves in the same boat, societies will arrange socials early in the academic year, giving students nights out in which they can get to know each other.

Religious or ethnic societies can also present the opportunity to make friends from similar backgrounds, or who have similar experiences, which may not be the case within your halls or on your course.

Depending on the societies you sign up to, the friends you make could also become professional acquaintances. Societies such as film, journalism, and radio could introduce you to people with whom you share creative intuitions, potentially leading to joint ventures.

There may be moments in the year when you wish to be in the company of people you don’t live or study with, in the interest of a change in surrounding, or due to a desire to temporarily escape your domestic or academic life. By making friends in a society, you are opening yourself up to another social circle.