Club culture at USC is often associated with lengthy tryout periods, connection-based membership and heightened exclusivity. Such organizations often center on the idea that, to be a part of the group, a student needs to prove they are a cut above the rest — not just in skill or aptitude, but in their more personal qualities as well.

These values garnered the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality that has since become synonymous with USC’s campus culture. It is a catchphrase that speaks to campus clubs as being a person’s community, their gateway to entry-level employment, and earns them the workload of an added class.

For Michael Amato, a senior majoring in public policy, these stereotypes raise a concern about whether club culture benefits the student population or acts as a hindrance to learning and work-life balance.

“I think it’s made [my mental health] better,” Amato said. “Even when I was stressed about these clubs, at the end of the day, I felt like I was learning and I was growing, and I think that that was the important part. … Sometimes you get so busy with clubs that you neglect your friendships outside of clubs, and so it’s just kind of being conscious of how much space it’s taking up in your life, and being proactive.”

Hannah Park, a freshman majoring in chemistry as well as data science, said trying out for the Trojan Consulting Group included a written application, interviews, mixers and coffee chats. After her second round of interviews in September, Park is still awaiting next steps and a decision.

“As a chemistry major, I’m fairly new to finance and business in general, so getting so far into a competitive club and its application process has definitely been nerve-wracking,” Park said. “I’ve been getting a little bit of imposter syndrome up until this point.”

According to its website, TCG typically accepts around two to five new members each semester and requires four to eight hours of work a week, similar to that of a typical four-unit class. Despite the long application process and time commitment, students still take their chances every semester in an attempt to advance their professional vocation.

“Joining a consulting club both gives you the experience that you need in order to apply for these firms, and also the network and support that you need from prior members who are just really enthusiastic to help you out,” Park said.

While new member recruitment is most associated with the high-stakes nature of USC club culture, members on the executive boards commit even more of their time running these clubs and recruitment processes.

Amato served as president of Public Policy Undergraduates for two years and was the senior consulting advisor of the Association of Innovative Marketing Consulting. At his busiest, Amato was spending upwards of 15 hours a week on AIM initiatives.

With consulting clubs like TCG and AIM, students work with established companies to create deliverable projects. During his time in AIM, Amato worked with Im’peccable Chicken, a USC alum-founded company that appeared on Shark Tank in October 2025.

“You’re actually delivering recommendations to the company itself,” Amato said. “It’s not a fake product, so there’s definitely pressure to succeed and drive and deliver actual recommendations and uphold the name of the club.”

The Marshall School of Business and the related marketing and consulting clubs make up a large portion of the stereotype surrounding rigorous club culture, but among this competitiveness, there is also a sense of connection. In striking a balance between academics, pre-professional development and extracurriculars, many clubs help students find a shared community.

“You make a lot of friends very easily,” Amato said. “Some of the people from my clubs are the closest people I have, and it feels really good because you give so much. [Being in a club] really gives back and develops you as a whole person.”

Ivy Tan, a senior majoring in public policy and pursuing a master’s degree in urban planning, has prioritized giving back to the community almost every week throughout her time at USC. 

Tan serves as president of the Asian American Tutorial Project, an organization that tutors children in Chinatown. AATP doesn’t reject any prospective members, and their application only consists of a short questionnaire indicating which program areas students are interested in.

“The reason why we don’t reject anybody is that we recognize there’s a spirit of volunteerism in every person, and so by rejecting people, that’s [the] very antithesis to our whole club mission,” Tan said.

Member can choose their time commitment for AATP, and this smaller commitment and less intense application process allow for more volunteers and cross-discipline connections.

“We have students who are actively and full-time recruiting [for jobs] while they’re volunteering, and I think that’s such a huge testament to their character about how they’re able to manage their time,” Tan said. 

USC’s ‘work hard, play hard’ culture can have the average student running from a club meeting to a two-hour lecture and back to a club mixer all within the same day. Yet even within this competitive, busy culture, students like Tan have found balance in their multifaceted lives.

“It really takes a community, a village, to run this club and also actively keep people engaged,” Tan said. “The main thing that’s been holding it all down is being able to rely on other people … having that support system and knowing that if you fall behind, it’s okay. We’re not here to drag each other down. We’re here to uplift each other’s communities.”