Five Ways To Make Friends as a Freshman in College

Meeting people and making friends is something we all must do when we move to a different place, especially if the move is to start a new episode as an independent adult. College can be a tough transition but the friends I made as an FSU first-year student allowed this transition to be smoother and overall, better. With that being said, I have learned a couple of tips on how I made friends as a freshman in a time when meeting people became 10x harder.

1. Bumble

While this might seem like an unconventional way of finding friends, it is the method I used to meet one of my closest friends at Florida State University. While the main purpose of Bumble is to be used as a dating app, they do have a BFF mode where you can look strictly for friends. The layout is exactly like the dating mode but instead, you put information that you would want to find in potential friends. When meeting anyone online, I suggest meeting them in a public area like a coffee shop or with another friend. It can be nerve-wracking meeting people like this but my biggest tip is to make sure that you guys can vibe through texting before meeting them in person and if the vibes don’t seem right, you can always unmatch and try again.

2. Dorms

While some universities do not require freshmen to live on campus their first year, it is a tradition that most people do. I decided to do dorms my first year because I believed that it would help me meet more people and I was right. If you do decide to live on campus, there are several things you can do to attract people into wanting to say hi. One of my friends that I met because we lived in the same hall baked a cake and told the hall group chat that they were giving out food. I believe this was the best way to attract people because I remember tons of people going over to their dorm and staying a while to get to know the people that decided a cake would be the best way to meet people. Another way is knocking on people’s dorms and introducing yourself. This option is a bit more terrifying for the people who are not as bold or extraverted, but it is something that many people did throughout the first week of everyone being moved in. I met a lot of people through this method and every time I see them in the halls, I always say hi. 

3. Compliments

I noticed that since being at college, people tend to compliment you a lot. I have heard “nice outfit,” “I love your backpack” and “Cool stickers” every time I would go out. At first, I was not sure why I was hearing an overabundance of compliments but then I realized that most people are nervous and the best method of talking to someone is by complimenting them. It is a conversation starter that is easy, simple and will brighten the day up for anyone. Once I realized this, I decided that I would try this method as well and it worked. I have met a lot of people through this method and the question that always follows is: “Can I have your Snapchat?” Through the compliments  method, you can now continue the conversation or wait and talk to them through Snapchat. 

4. Mutual Friends

What I have learned throughout my first year at college is that you only need to know one other person to meet more friends. After meeting and becoming friends with the girl I met through Bumble, we slowly started introducing each other to our other friends we know and before we knew it, we had formed our little group of friends. The friend group started with two people meeting and then slowly people started joining as well. Mutual friends are great because it is very likely that you will both have similar interests. After all, you have similar friends. It is a lot easier to meet people when you already know one so I suggest meeting and befriending at least one person in order to open the horizon for more friends. 

5. Clubs

While clubs are not meeting in person at the moment because of COVID-19, clubs are still a great way to meet people that have similar interests. Most clubs have events that allow people to get to know the other people in the club. It might be difficult at the moment but establishing yourself in a club and putting your name out there will make it a lot easier for people to approach you when the events do become in person. Through several different clubs and events hosted by them, I have met many people that I now have a connection to because we know each other from those clubs. 

The biggest piece of advice is to put yourself out there. Everyone is nervous and looking for friends. You are not the only one and by using these different methods, meeting people and making friends will become a skill. Just remember to be yourself.

Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube and Pinterest!

• college
• freshmen
• friends
• FSU