Making friends in college can seem a daunting task, especially if you tend to be introverted, like me.
How do you find people who have common interests to you with so many people around? And with everyone’s varied class schedules, it can be hard to run into the same person twice.
So, how do you find your friends in a new environment? Read on for several tips that can help you find your tribe.
How to Make Friends in College
- Make friends with fellow dorm-floor students. The people who live on your floor will be some of your best friends. If you need to borrow a spoon, they’ve got it. If you want to watch TV in your pajamas, they’ve got you too. Your roommate can be a good friend, but branching out and meeting with the people around you can help you get some much needed time out of your room and introduce you to many different people.
- Call on your old friends from high school. If anyone from your high school is attending college with them, ask them to have dinner with you a few times on the first week. And when you make friends, introduce them to your high school friends, and vice versa—that way, you both will have a wider circle of people to hang out with.
- Join clubs that you’re interested in. Chances are the people in clubs that focus on things you’re interested in will be interested in the same things as you! Or at least, you will have one thing in common to bond over. Ask these people out to dinner before club meetings or just to hang out during the day. Creating a network of people to hang out with at different time, even if it isn’t one friend group, can make for a really interesting group of friends.
- Talk to people in your classes. You might not have much in common with the people from your classes other than to complain about how hard the homework is but, sometimes, that’s all you need. Grab lunch between classes with them, and form study groups to make sure that you’re not missing any of the material. Being open and friendly with the people around you is sure to create more opportunities for you to get to know each other.
- Talk to strangers. I know this goes against the grain of anything you’ve ever been taught from elementary school on up, but if you see someone who looks friendly, don’t be afraid to ask them how they are! Two of my new friends met talking about how much they liked each other’s backpacks, and I met another one of my friends talking about laundry. Everyone on campus is just as willing and ready to meet new people as you are, and it never hurts to try to start a conversation that could eventually lead to something more.
- Focus on food. Social life in college revolves around food. Asking anybody if they want to get food is pretty much a guaranteed yes. But if you eat by yourself, don’t feel bad! There are probably others in the dining hall in the same situation and, most likely, they are more than willing to eat with you.
- Get phone numbers. Also, remember to get people’s phone numbers. If they aren’t in your class, you might not run into them again, and the ability to text really helps coordinate when you want to hang out.
