Hey,

I learned in high school that getting involved is very important. That sounds like advice parents give, but they are right. I after years of dance classes, I joined my high school dance team and they became some of my best friends. Having the connection to people who have the same interests and goals bonds you indefinitely.

Surrey is a great place to get involved. There are countless societies and clubs. They range from dance teams to stage crew to games society to soccer to even Harry Potter society. The cool thing about societies and sports here are you do not need any experience to join. You will be placed at a level that is suitable for you. Unlike in the USA, sports teams here are not used to choose the next national sports super stars. Apparently many star players in the UK do not even go to university because they should have made it to stardom by the time they get to this age. Tom Daley for instance, was fully competing by the time he was taking A-Levels and did not go to university after that. Sports and societies are here for fun and meeting new people.

Grade requirements that are involved, or lack thereof here are also a bit different. As you may have noticed from applying to Surrey or by looking at UCAS applications, UK schools are much less holistic than American schools. The UK cares the most about your grades to get in, but after you are in the school there are no grade checks to be in sports, clubs, and societies. The USA cares about everything about you including what sports, community service, trips, and all experiences you have been involved in. This holistic view could grant you a position in the school instead of someone who has better grades. However, once in the school they will perform grade checks to stay in sports and clubs.

Surrey wants you to get involved. The group of sports teams are called Varsity and Team Surrey. They need a sports park membership and represent the school in various competitions across the UK.

Check out the society page here: http://www.ussu.co.uk/ClubsSocieties/societies/Pages/Home2.aspx

Check out the sports page here: http://www.ussu.co.uk/clubssocieties/sport/Pages/TeamSurreyInfoHome.aspx

In a different aspect there are things that you can do to get involved outside sports and societies. Becoming a course representative is a great way to become more invested and involved in the quality of your degree. I am currently the course representative for Computer Information Technology. At the beginning of first year you are voted in by your course to be the rep for the rest of the year. What the job entails is listening to your peers and communicating to the department at Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings what could be improved or what is working. If you are a person who has opinions, want to be listened to, and hear all the behind the scenes happenings within the department then this is a great “job” for you. It is unpaid, but looks great on a resume! There are other meetings and trainings to go to, but they really aren’t much. It also allows you to be more present in the minds of the department. As a result of this involvement, I have been asked to help with computing open days and speak to the British Computer Society about the accreditation of the course. Setting yourself apart could be very important in the future.

Those are just some options to get involved, there are loads more.

Goodbye for now,

Holly

P.S. the school looks beautiful today! Here are some pictures I took on my way here.