Are there cliques in university

It is easy to believe cliques do not extend past high school, however, cliques can exist throughout our lives. But unlike the cliques in Mean Girls , it is not necessarily always a bad thing. While this can sometimes come across as offensive — like when people argue that their major is superior or more difficult than another — it can also be a light-hearted way of recognizing our differences. Now at college, I have definitely made some close friends.

It is totally different! It creates an awesome dynamic where you can have close friends and even meet some acquaintances! At some larger schools, cliques form because people want to be part of a group. And as noted, the cliques could be institutionalized by Greek life. Sometimes at smaller schools, the community is more fluid because people tend to know each other and have chosen the school because of its community. And at a smaller school, students have multiple roles.

A football player may play in the orchestra, swimmers may do theater, and as a result, people know each other and move in different circles. Look for signs that people follow their interests, not their friends. I feel like college is significantly less clique-y than high school.

There has been a marked shift toward inclusion on high school campuses, a number of local counselors said. Nicole Capalbo, a softball coach and guidance counselor at Palatine High School, said the prevalence of social media connects most members of a high school class together. And as students feel pressure to join more clubs, activities and sports than previous generations, more students interact with a greater diversity of classmates.

Both said they find the campus very inclusive. Education about topics such as bullying and mental health makes teens less likely to exclude others. She laughed as she described their reaction. For the study, which is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Gordon and fellow researchers held focus groups made up of 61 recently graduated, ethnically diverse students.

All those involved were born between and and were ages 19 to 26 and enrolled in U. By asking those young adults to describe the peer crowds that were most common in their high schools, the researchers were able to analyze and identify themes from the responses.

Students from different schools would use various terms to describe a group of ambitious, well-rounded, over-achieving students, for example. By contrast, the cliques with the least social currency are those who most exhibit qualities unique to this generation.