How To Make Friends in College

Going to college can be an intimidating experience for anybody. You’re leaving behind your friends, family, house, and the neighborhood you grew up in and know inside and out so that you can move somewhere completely new. You may have only visited your college once before, and the area or city in which it is located may be utterly unfamiliar to you. What you’ll need are some people who can help you settle in, with whom you can speak about your worries, and with whom you can have a good time. In other words, you’ll need friends. Here’s how to make some fantastic friends in college. 

Be Yourself 

Be your authentic self. It’s an old idea, perhaps even a cliché, yet it remains true. No matter where you go to college, you will meet people who share your interests and dislikes. They will have similar hobbies and enjoy similar activities, whether that’s discovering more UFO information, knitting, swimming, horror movies, or anything else. These are the people you’ll want to be friends with since they have the most in common with you, and their friendships will last the longest.

This is why it is critical to be yourself – if you pretend to be someone or something you are not, you won’t be able to establish friendships with the people who will be good friends and whose company you’ll enjoy. Instead, you’ll make acquaintances with people who, after a time, you’ll drift away from since you have nothing in common.

Join Clubs 

Every college will offer a diverse variety of clubs and extra-curricular activities to choose from. Sign up for a few of them (don’t sign up for too many, or you’ll get overwhelmed and won’t like them as much) and have fun. Whether it’s an art class, music, movies, gaming, cuisine, or anything else, being part of these extra activities means you’ll have at least one thing in common with the other people there, if not a lot more. If you take the time to get to know the individuals in these clubs with you, you could end up making lifelong friends.

Ask Questions 

Think up some questions to ask the people you’re going to meet before you get to college. It might sound strange to think of questions before you even meet anyone, but it will help you hugely if you’re prepared when you are in a situation when you need to speak to new people. 

Small talk is an excellent method to make new friends, and the last thing you want to do is say hello to someone who might be fascinating, only to slip into an uncomfortable, embarrassed silence. Because you already have the questions in your head, you can move the discussion forward more quickly and learn as much as possible about this new person, and conversation should flow more easily once you do this. 

Talk To New People 

Make it a goal to meet at least one new person every day. You may not like all of them (and they may not like you), but if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Also, you will meet people you have never met before, particularly if your college is one of the larger ones. This means that it is easy to meet new people. Have a few phrases in your mind that you can use to start a discussion and get the topic going; as we mentioned above, always keep in mind that the more people you meet, the more friends you will make.