Meeting New People in College
So much of your college experience is made up of your social life. Sometimes the academic side of college is easier than the social aspect. Even though you are being dropped into a setting comprised of young men and women around your age, it can be difficult meeting new people and making solid friendships in college. Not everyone is blessed with the perfect roommate their freshman year. It is definitely easier if you have a friend in your roommate as you can spread your wings together and draw more people into your group. However, don’t be dismayed if you arrive on your first day of freshman year and you can tell you despise your roommate. There are tons of easy ways to make friends.
Keep in mind that everyone is in the same boat at the beginning of freshman year. Sure, some students will arrive at school knowing some other people from their hometown, but, on the whole, everyone else is looking to meet friends. One of the simplest things you can do on Day 1 of freshman year is say, "hello," to other people in your dorm. This sounds silly and obvious, but it can be difficult to muster up the courage to say "hi" to a stranger. Just remember that everyone else feels like you do. There will be countless opportunities to mingle with people in your dorm the first couple of days at school. Classes haven’t gotten into full swing yet and everyone is still moving in and getting comfortable with their surroundings.
Talk to people in your classes. You are coming from a high school setting where you knew many of your classmates for years; it was easy to find someone to talk to back then. Now, you just need to suck it up and strike up a conversation with someone sitting near you. Usually, the other people in your class are waiting to say something themselves, and if you can break the ice you will notice a deluge of conversation erupt.
If your college has fraternities and sororities, these are great places to meet new people. If you decide to rush one of these organizations, you will be initiated into a group of classmates with likeminded interests. It is almost an instantaneous way to make new friends. Do some research about the different organizations on campus to make sure you will be a good fit with the frat or sorority you decide to join. If the Greek life is not for you, find a club or group on campus that is based around a theme you enjoy like volunteer work, tutoring, sports, etc. The possibilities are endless! The only way you won’t make friends is if you stay in your dorm room and never come out.
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This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 11:13 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
