Why You Should Join Your College's Alumni Association

When you graduate from college, you’re likely not thinking about what comes after, except for maybe trying to find a job. Your brain is more likely than not filled with graduation announcements, final exams, and papers, what you’re going to wear to your graduation, and what parties you’re planning to attend after the graduation ceremony is all over. 

Something you should consider though is joining your college’s alumni association. Alumni associations irrevocably tie you to your college, but they’re an incredible resource for you out in the working world and your career field. They provide you with a surprising amount of benefits that you may not have even considered. The colleges with the best alumni networks are also the colleges that help you make the most connections and get you the farthest in your career. 

Are you on the fence about joining your college’s alumni association? You might be surprised at how many benefits it brings to the table. Keep these tips in mind when you go to speak with your college admissions coach because they might be able to help you make the right decision. 

Reasons Why You Should Join Your Alumni Association

There are some reasons that you may not have considered when thinking about joining your college’s alumni association or not. Here are some reasons why you might consider joining:

Networking Opportunities

When you’re trying to get your foot in the door or advance in your career, it’s more about who you know than what you know. Having connections with the right people helps you get your foot in the door in many different fields of work and different professions. 

Networking through your alumni association can take on a variety of different forms, like job fairs, mixers, or even short seminars with information about how to ace a job interview. Remember: many of your professors were once working in their teaching fields and may have connections that they can introduce you to. You never know who knows who!

Networking in college is important, but it’s even more important not to stop networking once you leave. Your college’s alumni association can help you do just that. 

College Funded Resources

Your college’s alumni association will be able to provide you with some of the same resources and information that you had as a student. For example, when you join, many alumni associations allow you to keep your college email for use in the future. 

Using your college’s email can have a big impact on your career choices going forward. Having a .edu email address opens a lot of doors to future careers because it shows that you’re invested in your education and take pride in the college that you attended. Colleges with the best alumni networks may even be able to point you in the right direction to get special accommodations or privileges with your .edu email address. 

A college email address isn’t the only resource that you may still have access to, however. Many colleges also provide continued access to their college library materials, their collections of academic journals and periodicals, and even continued access to on-campus educational tools like science labs, laminators, and more. This can be an amazing resource if you’re in a science field or an educational field and need access to a wide array of resources that you may not have access to in your day-to-day career. 

If you live local to your college, you may even be able to still make use of the on-campus fitness center. You may have to pay a nominal fee, but it’s sure to be less than a gym membership at an off-campus location!

Discounts

Did you know that alumni associations also offer quite a few discounts? The discounts vary between the different universities, but you should be able to get a surprising amount of discounts that you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Just like students do, many colleges offer alumni discounts to the school bookstore, the library, and more. 

If you attended a larger university, then your alumni association may even offer discounts within the community. For example, universities like Arizona State University offer those involved in their alumni association discounts on car insurance, cell phone providers, technology, and more. 

The University of Michigan is another college that offers its alumni amazing discounts on non-collegiate products. Those involved with their alumni association at the University of Michigan get discounts at restaurants, financial services, and even Detroit Pistons tickets.

While you may not be able to get as many discounts as an alumnus as you would as a college student, these discounts are still nothing to dismiss.

Alumni Events

One of the best parts of being involved with your college’s alumni association is being able to attend social events. You’re able to participate in fun gatherings like mixers, tailgates, homecoming events, award ceremonies, and more. Networking in college may be complex sometimes because it’s hard to get out there, but networking at alumni events is easy and much more fun! 

You’ll be able to interact with other members of your cohort, former friends and classmates, and former professors who may be able to give you some insight into how to improve your career path. 

Giving Back to the Future

One of the most important parts of joining an alumni association is the ability to give back to the future students of your school. Many alumni associations will give money to the school to create scholarships, improve resources, volunteer for different events, and more. Alumni associations are a vital part of helping the university grow in a way that benefits the future generations of the school. 

If the college you’re interested in has an alumni scholarship opportunity available, then your college admissions coach can point you in the right direction to get the most out of it!

Clark College Consulting

Here at Clark College Consulting, we understand the impact that education has on everyone, both now and for future generations. Many of the opportunities that you, your parents, and your family and friends had at college are because of the time, money, and effort donated by alumni associations, and you need to know how to make the most out of those benefits, too. 

If you’re interested in joining your school’s alumni association, let our college admissions coach help. Contact us today to let us help you get started!