1. There is not a student organization that deals with your topic or issue. At big universities there are a lot of student organizations. The MIT website showed over 400 student organizations. Chances are if a university has that many student organizations, one of them deals with your topic.
2. You have the time. If you are struggling to keep your grades up with the time you have, then it is probably not a good idea to become a leader of a student organization.
3. Your not alone. Starting a student organization from scratch can be a very difficult thing to due, and doing it on your own will be even harder. If you having people backing, go for it.
4. The university will benefit from the organization. While a cookie baking club may be fun to some people, there really isn’t any reason to have it associated with the university. An organization like that should be left as an unofficial organization.
5. Long term development. Sometimes it’s not necessary to make a student organization to work on things. Just because you have an idea for a project, doesn’t mean you must start a student organization. Going through the paperwork for starting a student org can be a waste of time for a project that will only last 3 months.
6. You need the university’s resources. Sometimes you need to organize a massive amount of people, and you really need a large conference room to do it. Many universities won’t let you request rooms unless you are an accepted student organization.

Join with Another Student Organization

As #1 says, check to see if there is a student organization to work with. If you have an idea for a project, go to them and say, “Hey I have this idea, can I work with your student organization.” Why would they say no? You are offering to be in charge of a project (meaning they don’t have to do anything), and the student org gets the credit. Seems like a win win situation to me.

Not part of a student organization yet?

If you have not joined a student organization yet, you need to start looking for one to join. Note that I said one, not 6 or even 2. I said one.  Look around campus, and find a organization you would like to join. Join it and get involved. If after a semester or two you realize your not interested in the organization anymore, it’s ok to leave it and find a new one.

Being part of a student organization helps you feel like you belong, provides resources for you to develop, and it can just be a lot of fun.