Perhaps some of y’all were really excited when you got into your dream school, but the anxiousness soon kicks in when you realize none of your friends would be attending your college. That was me in my senior year of high school, as I am the only person in my graduating class going to college in the United States. I was glad that I got into the school I liked, but I was so nervous about adjusting to a new environment alone and the social aspect in general. Now that I’ve been in college for a few months, I kind of have a good grasp on how to develop a social life from scratch. I will be sharing a few tips on what I think is the best way to meet people based on my experience.
#1: Join programs that are held before the start of the semester
This is probably the most useful tip for people that do not know anyone in their new college, because it helped me out A LOT. My college had programs that were held right before the start of the semester, and I joined one called the Symposium for Multicultural Scholars. This program allowed participants to move in early, and there would be a series of activities for participants to join before regular move-in day. Although the people I met there are not my closest friends now, the program gave me a head start in developing my social circle before the start of the semester and the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds. I highly recommend y’all to join similar programs held by your college if there is one, everyone is longing to meet new people and having a group of people to spend the first few weeks of college with will make your college experience more fulfilling.
#2: Be really involved in a couple of clubs/student orgs, meet the members and the people on board
I feel like this has been said a lot but I have to talk about it again. I remember feeling scared to join a club event for the first time alone during the first week. But I went anyway, and met 2 friends immediately. Most of the bigger clubs have events regularly, and I tried my best to attend all of them. This led me to meet many other active members on board and even some of the board members, they introduced me to parties and all sorts of activities. I am really thankful to be involved in a community and had so much fun with them. I personally recommend going to more events held by different clubs at the start of the semester to get a glimpse of what each has to offer, after that choose a couple of clubs that you really like and go to those regularly. Some clubs may also look for freshman representatives, which I think is a great opportunity to know more about a club in-depth and help out the board members with their work.
#3: Keep in contact with whoever you think you ‘click’ with
This may sound general but this is also the key to building up friendships. I’ve heard a good amount of people saying that people you meet from orientation will not last. I thought so too until I met my roommate for orientation. I spent most of the day with her and her friend from high school and we all got along really well. I reached out to them at the start of the semester and we remained friends to this day, and we will be rooming together next year! You can meet anyone anywhere in college, whether from classes, events, or even the dining hall. People come and go all the time, what matters is how you keep it going. Don’t be afraid to reach out because everyone else is just as nervous as you are.
Each person has a unique story to tell, and the tips I listed above are solely based on my own experience. College is a place to discover your interests and there’s unlimited possibilities when it comes to your social life. It may seem daunting at first but once you get used to it you will hopefully enjoy your time there with the new friends you just met. Good luck!