Is There a Lack of Student Engagement at AUBG?

355 new students. The largest class in AUBG history. This is an evolving trend over the last few years and created the expectation of even more student engagement. 

Clubs are at the heart of student life at AUBG but returning students quickly realized something: Recruitment parties were empty. The freshmen were nowhere to be seen. Soon, rumors began circulating about where all the new students were. Was the largest class in AUBG history merely just a number?

This sparked the debate of whether this idea of students having no interest in clubs this year was actually true. We put this theory to the test and asked some clubs about how many people filled out application forms this year compared to previous ones. 

Below, you can see a line chart and table showing the applicants for each club over the last three years and the total number of admitted students per year. 

The six clubs that were asked to provide information managed to show us some truth in the rumors. The biggest outlier was StartUP, jumping from 26 applicants in 2022 to 71 in 2024. This is an astounding 173% increase and is far and away the most applied-to club out of those surveyed. (Note: StartUP did not provide the exact numbers, but this is an estimation based on the information they provided.)

In 2023, the incoming class grew by 15.2% compared to the previous year and by 17.2% in 2024. Many clubs expected this to be reflected at recruitment parties as well. However, these parties had low attendance for many clubs, and club members noticed the lack of freshmen attending them. 

This brought up the question of whether students are not interested in clubs this year and why this may be the case. Apart from StartUP, none of the other clubs experienced an increase in applicants in both 2023 and 2024. Why is this happening?

The student body is encountering serious growth and when compared to 2022, this year’s admitted class is 35% larger. Five out of the six clubs surveyed did not reach the same growth rate during this period. 

This can be attributed to other factors as well, such as non-engaging promotion, organization, events, etc. These are variable factors, so it is difficult to pinpoint how accurate they are, but one thing we know is that there is an increasing student body, but not an increase in club applications. 

This is especially strange for a university that prides itself on its community. Kaloyan Gavrilov, a first-year student, shares some light. He had plans to apply for clubs but decided against it because he was unsure whether he could manage the workload with academia and club activities. 

“I’ve tried meeting with people and as far as I saw, most of them are very shy and are not really as extroverted as I thought they would be,” says Kaloyan when speaking about the class of 2028. 

Kaloyan mentions that he talked with older students about clubs and was advised to be cautious when choosing them because some can be very demanding. He  says, “They told me what’s good about them, what’s bad about them, and told me to really think about joining a club.”

He praises clubs’ importance to the university “They are teaching you how to work in teams; what would it be like to have a business; hosting events; searching for partners.” Kaloyan also mentions that clubs can be beneficial for your CV and provide you with helpful skills.

Only a month into his studies, Kaloyan admits that he regrets not applying to any clubs this year but believes he could have managed it and is looking forward to applying next semester. 

Another factor for this lack of engagement is the small number of student leaders living on campus. Since last year, juniors and seniors have been given almost no spaces in the residence halls, forcing most of them to move off campus. This affects the awareness of clubs among new students as most club leaders are third or fourth-year students. 

Maria Hristova, President of XAIA Hiking Club and third-year student, says “When you’re on campus it’s much easier to connect... and now with club leaders living outside, it’s a little harder to organize and takes more time.” 

During the recruitment process, Maria says that there was “definitely much lower engagement than before.” She mentions that other clubs also noted “little to no engagement” at their recruitment parties. 

This makes it challenging for students to understand clubs and their role in campus life. With no long-term club members in the residence halls, it becomes much harder to be exposed to club culture and their activities. 

This creates a barrier for new students to get involved with the community. There are still applicants for clubs, but the absence of new students is becoming ever so prevalent in one of the most significant parts of life at AUBG.

Edited by Niya Manditsch and Eka Iakobadze