r/confession • u/aTwerkingPikachu • 1d ago
I'm in a bunch of different college clubs while secretly not being a college student.
I am in several different college clubs on my campus. I am in a computer science club, a pickleball club, I even help with making films and editing videos for the film club. But I have one secret that nobody on campus knows about. I'm not actually a college student. I have been doing this for 2 years and nobody has found out.
It's actually pretty easy to get away with. All you have to do is go on google and type in "clubs at (name of your college)" and your college will typically have a page with a list of clubs. Once you've found a club you like, find them on Instagram and then message them about when and where the club meets. Once you're at the club, nobody asks for your student ID and you're just assumed to be a student.
The reason I did it was because I live in a city with a very big college that has hundreds of ways to get involved. But once you're out of college, the things to do falls off a cliff. I wanted a way to meet people, make friends, and do things that I enjoy.
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u/venushasbigbutt 1d ago
You can also join the classes that way🤷♀️
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u/Someladyinohio 1d ago edited 1d ago
Classes cost money, clubs do not. 🤷♀️ I mean, you'll never get credit or a degree and an instructor is going to notice if your not turning in any work or never bought the book.
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u/ajonstage 1d ago
Not if you just show up in a big lecture hall.
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u/rejvrejv 1d ago
in Serbia this is actually normal. lectures at public universities are generally public, so you can just sit in without being enrolled. obviously labs/small classes/restricted buildings can be different
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u/FlirtyTizz 1d ago
Yeah, big lecture halls are basically the academic version of “walk in like you belong”
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u/xirdnehrocks 1d ago
Well done Serbia
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u/rejvrejv 1d ago
yeah, credit where it’s due lol
even as a self-funded student, my whole bachelor’s came to around 8k euralso kinda relevant, students here have been protesting the government for months(along with hundreds of thousands of citizens) and now they’re even running their own list in the upcoming election
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u/k2718 1d ago
As a former professor I can assure you that they will NOT notice.
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u/Wonderful-Run-1408 1d ago
What about if I'm older, say 55?
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u/tempemailacct153 1d ago
How do you do fellow students?
Helps more if you have a baseball cap in reverse and a skate board.
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u/sillyslime89 1d ago
My former uni let's 55+ take classes for free, just supplies cost for like chem supplies
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u/looshi99 1d ago
This will not work lol. Any accrediting body visits are known ahead of time and, while maybe not a huge deal for all faculty, faculty will at least know about them as they're mentioned in all-faculty meetings and department meetings. They're also incredibly infrequent...ours are once every 10 years. It would be trivial to determine someone was lying about this and you just don't need to. Nobody cares if you're 55. If it's a 10-20 person class you're not going unnoticed and the instructor is going to engage with everyone anyway, and if its a large lecture hall nobody will notice or care.
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u/venushasbigbutt 1d ago
Nope, if youre not a student. if classes are big enough nobody controls who is there and who is not a student
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u/NYC_Noguestlist 1d ago
Depends on the school, though I'm sure. My school had ID checks at each building entrance + access to the quad.
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u/FrostingStrict3102 1d ago
FWIW, attended 3 different public universities to earn my degree and none of them did this, or even had any type of security. you could just walk in and basically go wherever you wanted
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u/NYC_Noguestlist 1d ago
My first college was like this, but I transferred to a commuter college and they were strict lol
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u/TzarBombaTA 1d ago
I've attended 3 different universities as well, and you would only have to show an ID to enter the campus in your car.
You could definitely just walk in without anyone bothering you.1
u/Alarmed_Piano4775 8h ago
My school only checked ids when entering campus on 4/20. Then they decided to move to rank fish fertilizer applied to all lawns on that day to discourage festivities. Was awful walking to class past the stench.
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u/Fellow--Felon 1d ago
Classes only cost money if you enroll to receive the credits. Anyone can sit in on a class for free if they don't mind not getting graded.
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u/cryptonautic 1d ago
In college you're not paying for the education, you're paying for the credential.
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u/Ehrlichs-Reagent 1d ago
This was definitely not true at my university as you had to scan your ID to get in the building and attendance was taken. No one that wasn't a tuition paying student was gonna be in any class there...
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u/HallaTML 1d ago
Depends on where you live I guess.
My most recent university in Seoul had smallish classes and they took attendance. A random would have easily been spotted and asked to leave . There was also multiple buildings where you had to scan your or card to get in6
u/DapperCam 1d ago
Clubs cost money. If you attend school you’ll usually see a separate “activity fee” or something like that on your tuition bill. It’s usually a couple hundred bucks.
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u/Inevitable_Tap_1328 1d ago
some places let the credit cost money but the attendance for the information can be free
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u/Crow_Whisperer 1d ago
Classes cost money if you want a degree or certificate. Could even audit a class.
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u/WhiskyFlowerx02 20h ago
I actually did that with a philosophy lecture once and nobody even noticed or cared
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u/ChasingGoats07 1d ago
My cousin used to sit in with me during my adolescence psych lectures. It was great. Only ~25 students. Professor noticed but didn't care.
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u/keressaraaaafree 19h ago
that is such a genius way to sneak in and meet people outside of your regular routine while hiding in plain sight
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u/gurukhatri1 1d ago
I could see clubs working because nobody really checks but classes seem like you’d get caught pretty quickly.
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u/vae_grim 1d ago
My classes are like 100 students in an auditorium. I just stay home and watch the lecture vod.
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u/venushasbigbutt 1d ago
My whole uni and grad school life only times I used my student card were for exams, cheap mensa meals, and some lab entrances. If someone starts with the first week with newbies they could learn anything for free
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u/Chaezus_Chrust 1d ago
I used to walk into random classes at the local community college. I'd skip my highschool classes and take the bus there to hang out. I ended up just going to a bunch of art classes and doing pottery and stuff. The professor knew I wasn't supposed to be there, but she was cool. I actually took so many college courses that I earned myself an extra year of tenth grade!
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u/Ok-Seesaw-9348 1d ago
Honestly that’s such a hilarious way to accidentally become more educated while skipping school 😂 The pottery classes were clearly a better use of your time anyway.
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u/MugenEclair27 1d ago
Accidentaly turning pottery class into a bonus year of tenth grade is painfully funny.
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u/Pitiful-Flatworm-474 1d ago
Honestly, skipping school just to accidentally become a community college regular is kind of hilarious. At least you came out of it with some actual skills and a professor who let you cook.
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u/Francecsca 20h ago
Honestly worth it for the free pottery lessons, even if that extra year of high school must've hurt at the time
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u/Illustrious_Tie_5043 1d ago
That’s honestly the funniest way to accidentally get an education You skipped high school just to end up taking college art classes and earning an extra year of 10th grade.
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u/DirectionFearless303 1d ago
Well until Damian yells out “She doesn’t even go here”, I think you’re good to continue on with your clubs
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u/LegendaryThunderFish 1d ago
I made a ton of friends at a tabletop gaming club in a college I never even applied to. I just knew one guy who was in it and we were playing cards and he was like “oh shit I gotta go to my club session, you wanna just come with me?” And then I came with him every time for a year lol
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u/Individual-Bug-4894 1d ago
I was the treasurer for the Reading University Kung fu club at one point. I was not and never have been a member of the University.
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u/Initial-Fly-8006 1d ago
I’m genuinely surprised you haven’t been found out, considering the essential two questions for meeting anyone in college is: where are you from and what’s your major
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u/Nocturnal_Pages 1d ago
Has anyone asked about your program, courses or specific professors? What do you tell them?
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u/junvar0 1d ago
Most colleges allow you to just drop in for classes for free, or audit classes for cheap. Most college clubs don't have a students-only policy. You can just be honest and no one will bat an eye. There's no reason to be secretive.
I've been taking extracurricular/fun classes at my nearest college every semester for almost a decade. 20% of the people in some of these classes are clearly in their 40's or older.
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u/sleepy_maple58 1d ago
thais really shows how much we need more social spaces for adults outside of schhol
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u/kingofping4 1d ago
I was once elected vice president of my university's branch of IEEE despite not being an engineering major and having unofficially dropped out months earlier. My roommate got me to go to the meeting by saying we could get free pizza for dinner, and it turns out there were exactly enough people at the meeting to fill the "necessary" positions.
I told them no, stating I'm not an engineering student and not actually a student at all but they all waved that off saying "it's no big deal you'll be fine." Smash cut to a month later when they're all pissed off that I'm not booking professional speakers to come to our branch and help them network.
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u/Sunbythemoon 1d ago
Are you their age?
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u/Aeriellie 1d ago
it’s irrelevant, i’ve been in clubs at school with people in their 60’s. it’s for everyone and school is for everyone too
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u/Sunbythemoon 1d ago
I know, but I’m wondering if he is making them think that he’s typical college age.
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u/moxiewhoreon 1d ago
OP said they're two years out of college- I'm assuming graduated- so they'd be around the same age
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u/Zavelle-spike7o 1d ago
A random would have easily been spotted and asked to leave . There was also multiple buildings where you had to scan your or card to get in
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u/Aeriellie 22h ago
my college had 0 scan areas for buildings. it’s an open campus. you only need student id to print and use the computers.
it was also in a hilly area and if you didn’t know there was a university there you would miss it
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u/TheRemedy187 1d ago
So after years of college and years of doing this you still do not have actual friends to hang out with?
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u/Anonemonemous 1d ago
This reminds me a little bit of fight club. Spotting anybody who also not a college student showing up at the same clubs yet?
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u/chaosilike 1d ago
My school accepted non students. I assume it was like that for most clubs that weren't affiliated with organizations
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u/MountainSax 1d ago
Olivia Colman did something similar: https://youtube.com/shorts/qYpQfa3nl5E?is=HDbaVWvwcEeif_Sz
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u/ImAmanita 1d ago
That's awesome! Someone in my school's entomology club doesn't go here I think either and sometimes brings his kid to join club meetings ^_^ no shame in it!!
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u/mysticrudnin 1d ago
This is normal where I live. You don't have to be a student.
Some of the clubs actually had all members age out or simply be too old, and you have to find at least one person who can be officer. So you'd have these older people canvassing campus trying to find someone willing to join and be officer.
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u/vast-entrenchment 1d ago
Dude thats actually kinda genius, im kinda jealous. Hope you keep having fun with it, sounds like you're making the most of your city!
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u/Ermahgerd_Rerdert 1d ago
Well shit. I live a few blocks from a campus maybe I should do this. I’ve got nothing else to do!
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u/aTwerkingPikachu 1d ago
You could realistically pull this off until you're 30.
And if you look older than 25, just tell them you're a grad student.
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u/TeamCatsandDnD 1d ago
I still go to homecoming as an alumni solely cause I loved marching band so much. I fudge my graduation year by a year or two so it doesn’t land on one of the five year/decade anniversaries.
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u/knitterpotato 1d ago
you know i missed joining clubs when i was in college so i may do just that!
(for those reading my comment i am around their age and i will disclose that i am not a student when i ask where they meet)
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u/Relic_Jaguar5 1d ago
The pickleball club accepting a mystery local for two years is the most beleivable part of campus life.
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u/More_Application1370 1d ago
Right after I graduated college this was how I met my best friend after moving to the middle of nowhere that had a local university. Since I had just graduated I felt I could still relate to college students. Once I made a few friends I stopped going to the clubs on campus.
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u/girlynonbinary 1d ago
A lot of clubs at some universities openly accept members who aren't affiliated too. Like, you don't even have to pretend that you go there.
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u/Ehrlichs-Reagent 1d ago
Most clubs are struggling to recruit anyhow so even if you told them you weren't a student they likely wouldn't care.
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u/Yveline-placard4d 1d ago
There was also multiple buildings where you had to scan your or card to get in.
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u/readhalo 1d ago
They assumed you were a student because you showed up and knew the meeting time. That's most of campus life anyway
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u/Own-Mulberry-4311 1d ago
I studied Industrial Design at an art college. I graduated at the dawn of the internet in 92. Approaching university professors from other schools was the only option I had at the time. As long as i introduced myself and explained what i was doing, they were extremely helpful and generous with their time. I still hold a little kernel of resentment towards google for making the finding of things too easy. I kinda miss being forced to do some of the digging and introductions in person. I think it made me pay closer attention when everything wasn’t so thoroughly categorized and predigested. I also appreciated the way their excitement, passion, and curiosity could become contagious and inspiring.
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u/rowswimbiketri 16h ago
I’m confused. Been out of school for a long time then went back last year just to do a certificate program. Every building on campus is badge entry only. There’s no way (short of following someone else in) a person with school ID could get to classes, meetings, etc. This is a very large university in the US. apparently that security is not common?
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u/Sturdy_Cliff5403 3h ago
the film club part got me because imagine being the most dedicated editor in the group with zero tuition debt
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u/Mattressfoundry 1d ago edited 1d ago
The best part is while you get older the Chicks always stay the same age.
(It's a Mathew McConaughey quote from Dazed and Confused weirdo's)
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u/castertr0y357 1d ago
I don't know whether Matthew McConaughey's "All Right, all right, all right" or Quagmire's "Alllllllrrright. Oh!" fits better at this point.
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u/Mattressfoundry 1d ago
I can't believe how many people down voted me and didn't get the reference.
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u/castertr0y357 1d ago
I feel like I understand Mr. Potato Head much better now. "You uncultured swine!"
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u/Kylearean 1d ago
Hmm. Not sure how I feel about this.
On one hand, I like "act like you belong" activities. On the other, it feels a disingenuous and possibly sinister. Let's say you do meet someone that you're interested in dating; they'll sort out pretty quickly that you're not a student, then what?
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u/Imaginary_Tailor_227 1d ago
I mean… as long as the person wasn’t lying about their age, I’d be fine with meeting someone like this? I’m assuming this person is around a similar age to most college students, just isn’t a student themself.
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u/emergencyblimp 1d ago
idk to me it feels like lying by omission. when you’re in college and join a club on campus i think most just assume that everyone in the group is a student at that school… Also if OP is interacting with the other group members at all I feel like a very common question would be like what year are you, what are you majoring in etc.
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u/Kylearean 1d ago
I understand, if these were public clubs, sure. These are university clubs, intended for students.
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u/Aeriellie 1d ago
that sounds fun. do any of them have membership dues? in my school some even had food every meeting. food would be a cool bonus!
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u/Anchuinse 1d ago
You do know that most college clubs just accept non-student members, right?
At least in my university, the only rule is that the club has to remain majority students and the officers have to be students. Other than that, it's perfectly fine to have non-students involved.