Business student organizations at USC are known to be some of the most competitive on-campus clubs to join, filled with tedious application processes and multi-round interviews.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania recently banned multi-round application processes for business groups on campus, but several Marshall School of Business clubs still require them.
As the new school year gets underway, business student groups on campus have started recruiting their latest batch of new members.
UPenn announced the new recruitment guidelines for recognized organizations in a summer email to student leaders, according to an article from The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university’s independent student newspaper. The outlet previously reported students expressing concerns that the club application process falls under the definition of hazing due to the intense application process.
Mike Elias, a senior director of strategy & operations for the Wharton Undergraduate Division, cited efforts to stop “activities that create barriers to access or impose undue stress.” The decision came after criticism of student organizations for being overly competitive.
Some business students at USC question multi-round interviews on their own campus.
Winnie Gandawidjaja, a sophomore studying business administration at USC, agrees that banning practices deemed as “hazing” would be beneficial for students seeking business clubs.
“My initial reaction is that I think banning the hazing is, to a certain extent, good,” said Gandawidjaja. “I feel like hazing for clubs…shouldn’t be encouraged if a student just wants to join a club.”
However, Gandawidjaja said that as long as students weren’t being put in dangerous situations, multi-round interviews could be used to show a student’s dedication and commitment to the organization.
In an effort to make clubs more accessible, USC recently made changes to the Recognized Student Organization (RSO) application requirements, including that they must allow eligible students, staff, faculty and alumni to be non-voting members.
Even with the open membership requirement, some Marshall students still believed that multi-round interviews were essential to prepare students for post-graduate work opportunities.
“Going through the interview process is the best thing you could do to prepare for the actual interviews,” said Chris Anagnos, the project manager for Trojan Consulting Group and a junior studying accounting and finance. “So think of it as something beneficial for your preparation in the future, rather than something stressful to get within the organization.”
Anagnos said the interviews provided real-world exposure to how job interviews operate and are great practice for the future.
Matthew Suh, a sophomore journalism student and director of external affairs of the Sports Business Association, said the news was surprising since he didn’t feel that multi-round interviews could be considered hazing.
Suh said that he and his friends went through both technical and in-person interviews for clubs. He said he was shocked that another prestigious school, such as Wharton, would discontinue the process.
“I think that these students, especially business students, and Marshall, need to go through this process now, in college, because a lot of the similar jobs nowadays require multiple rounds of interviews,” said Suh.
And while multi-round interviews remain part of the club and organization application process at USC, the university has taken steps to open doors for all students to get involved.
In addition to the open membership requirement, last year’s policy update required all officers and advisors to complete trainings focused on accessibility, leadership responsibilities, hazing prevention and anti-discrimination.