How to Make Friends While at University

There’s solid evidence that friendships do make our lives happier. Students who want to make new friends find it hard to approach people. Keep on reading our guide on how to make friends while at university.

A Comprehensive Guide on Making Friends in School

High school and university environments really are one of the best places to make new friends. At this stage of your life, you all are surrounded by loads of peers, most of whom are friendly and willing to meet people. It is the best time to create new useful contacts not only in the world of academia but in the professional area as well.

However, if you are introverted and shy to approach people. Or if you are frightened just thinking about getting out of your comfort zone, you can overcome that challenge by communicating with students with the same interests as you. If you are friendly and take part in various extracurricular events and clubs, you’ll get a chance to meet interested people not only in class but also outside of it.

In this article, we have listed some of the tried and tested methods that tend to help students settle into university routine and be at ease with your social life.

Check Your Dorm

Your dorm is the place where you spend most of your time while in college. It is your new home so make sure you know your neighbors. Especially if it is your first year in a higher educational institution. It’s no doubt, the décor doesn’t look the way you expected, and the food may be really gross, but the reality is that your dorm is a perfect place to make new friends.

College dorms include spontaneous interactions with students. Whether it is doing your makeup in the community bathroom, hanging out together doing home assignments, or decorating the area for Halloween or Christmas, it is a great ground for new connections to build and develop.

Of course, you can also use the ideas mentioned above in other living situations. Regardless of the place, sharing a dorm with different people is where you can make some of your best friends in school. And even if you rent an apartment off-campus, you still have an opportunity to meet and get to know your neighbors.

Online

Making friends online usually takes different forms. However, the most obvious is joining some groups on Facebook that are associated with the school or your course. At the same time, every student can meet new people when s/he decides to buy assignment at the sites like DoMyPapers.com. They check reviews, communicate with the previous customers of the company, and as a result, make some good friends who happen to be stuck with the same assignments.

Regardless of the way you are active on social media platforms or anywhere else on the internet, you have a chance to make friends before the semester even started. What is more, getting to know people online could be an option if you are more eloquent in writing than in in-person communication.

Look for Groups and Clubs Based on Your Hobbies

You are more likely to make friends with people who attend the same groups and clubs that you’re interested in. Make sure to look for the organizations based on your hobbies and preferences, then join the ones that you have something in common with. When getting together with like-minded students, ensure to pay attention to the ones who like to spend their free time the way you do. Are you a fan of drawing? Make sure to attend art shows, register for an art class, or search for students who are making manga sketches during physics class. If you’re passionate about reading, feel free to find a book club on campus, or chat with someone who always has a novel at hand.

It is recommended to approach your favorite tutors to find out if they can recommend some good on-campus clubs to join. These may include art quiz teams, clubs for passionate theatergoers, or debate teams.

Ask Your Current Pals to Introduce You to New People

If you are lucky to have already made some friends but you’d love to meet new people, it’s time to check the friends of your friends. If you all are too busy to meet during the school day, make sure to throw a party or plan up a group event on the weekends or after classes. This can be a horror movie marathon, doing yoga together, or any other activity that you all can take part in.

First, you could start meeting once or twice a week (Monday and Thursday, for instance) at a local café after classes. Make sure to encourage your friends to meet regularly and invite new people. By meeting regularly, you will make new friends sooner than you think. To meet new people, you could also attend study groups or even events like football games or fairs.

Try an Intramural Sport

If you really want to meet new people and make friends, trying some intramural sport is one of the best ways to do so. If it’s something entirely new for you, the great news is that you’re going to meet people who feel the same way about it and are good to share the load with.

Most colleges and universities have intramural teams, which means you will have some options to choose from. Find out how often and when they meet, then check the next event to see if you can join.

Good thing is that you don’t have to be an athlete to join the intramural sport. Playing intramurals includes anything from flag football and soccer to dodgeball, golf, and floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, etc. As a rule, all these types of sport are designed to be a great way to have fun, get fit, stay healthy, and make a bunch of new friends.

Communicate Even If You’re in no Mood for It

If making new friends is challenging, you may decide to shut yourself off at some point to avoid social struggles. However, that is not the right thing to do. Don’t distance yourself from the other students. Instead, do quite the opposite! When you are walking from class to class or somewhere on campus, make sure to smile and hold your head up high. Do not avoid eye contact and communicate with people whenever you have a chance.

There’s no need to have long conversations during the day. Talking to someone you don’t know well could include something like, “Hey, your presentation was great!” when you meet someone near the class, “How are you doing today?” when you meet someone at your locker, or “Ready for the lab?” when you’re about to enter the laboratory.

If you find yourself too busy with the academic routine that keeps you from communicating with people, it’s time to change something. For example, you can choose a new route to go from your dorm to the campus building. Thus, you will have a chance to meet and talk to new people.

Give out Compliments

People like to know that you appreciate them. For that reason, complimenting them will break the ice and make you seem positive and friendly. For instance, you may let someone know that you really like their hairstyle or jewelry. Or, perhaps, some of your new friends are particularly good at choosing clothes that they wear in college. Let them know you like their choice! If you meet someone wearing a t-shirt with the logo of your favorite TV show, you could approach them saying something like, “Hey, I love your t-shirt! I watched all the seasons!”

At the end of the day, all the recommendations given above are just some hypothetical ideas we’ve derived from many today’s and former college students. People are different, and different communication tricks will work for different people. However, one thing we know for sure: you have to be nice to people, and remember that you do deserve to meet new people and make some good friends.