Want to meet new people and learn new skills when heading to uni? Here are the top reasons you should get involved with a society at University…

Starting university can be a daunting thing – how do you make new friends? How do you know who has similar interests to you? That’s where University Societies come in. These are extracurricular activities usually set up by students themselves and offer a great way to get to know your peers. Joining a group can have a positive impact on your social life, student life, employment prospects and personal development – it’s just a matter of finding which ones are best for you. These are the top reasons you should get involved with a society at university…

You get to try things you’ve never even considered trying

Trying something new like a student society is a great way to step out your comfort zone and try things you never had thought of before. Whether you’d always dreamt of joining a netball team, taking on photography or being part of choir, there’s sure to be a society that you can join to fit this skill. This will help to increase your confidence and also improve your career development further down the line.

It can be a great way to get fit and active

If you want to get fit but the idea of going to the gym makes you shudder, University societies can get you fit and active in a number of ways. Why not take up a sport that you’ve always wanted to? One of the most popular societies is taking up horse riding – this involves everything from grooming and feeding the horses, so will teach you to care for the horses as well as learn to ride them. You will need to ensure your horse looks its best, but also has a nutritious diet -a horse feed balancer can really help with this and ensure your horse is as healthy as can be! You can even look into entering competitions with the horses which is a great way to encourage your competitive spirit! Other societies which are good for new types of exercise include trampolining, taekwondo and athletics. You’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love!

You get to meet new people with similar interests

As you get older it can be harder to meet and talk to people, particularly finding those who have similar interests to yourself. Chances are if you meet people in your society, they have selected to be there as they too enjoy what it is about. It’s a great way to meet people with similar interests as yourself and you have a great chance to make plenty of new friends!

It’s a great lesson in work/life balance

At University it can be easy to either get too wrapped up in work to go out, or be too busy socialising to do enough uni work. Being a member of a few societies may be a bit overwhelming at first, but can help you get into a routine and will soon have people envious of how well you can juggle your work and social schedule!

You can learn new skills

While your university lectures and seminars are orientated towards more academic subjects, societies can give you the chance to learn new skills that are important in everyday life. You can learn new skills such as cooking, photography, journalism and investment, putting you in great stead for your future.