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Caleb
Student
Burnsville, Minnesota
2
Questions
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How can I best connect to my classmaters with related interests in college? Not just academically but as well as socially
I am a high school senior entering college next year and am anxious about how to find classmates with similar interts.
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Nahid Ferdous
9
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Nahid’s Answer
Making new friends in college can seem daunting, but as long as you engage with your peers and put yourself out there, you're bound to make new friends! A couple tips that worked for me:
- Engage with the people you sit next to in your classes: This tip seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many students are nervous or shy about interacting with each other! You're already taking the same class together, so you already have some common ground to get the conversation started. From there, you can branch into your backgrounds, goals, common interests, etc. It's an easy way to get an organic conversation going.
- Join college clubs and organizations: Many college clubs and organizations are built around non-academic interests, so it's a great way to meet people with the same hobbies or interests as you. A lot of my lifelong friends were made through these kinds of groups!
- If religion is important to you, engage with your local place of worship: Many religious places and groups have programs and activities that help engage college students in lighthearted ways. It can be a great way to meet new friends in a safe space. If you don't consider yourself very religious, many colleges also have interfaith organizations meant to help people meet and make friends with students of various backgrounds.
- Once you've become acquainted with people and/or exchanged contact info, plan social activities together: A lot of students tend to exchange contact info or become "friends" without any idea of how to develop and maintain the friendship. Planning get-togethers outside of class can help build bonds and great memories. Play some games, catch a movie/enjoy a watch party, try a new food spot, volunteer, host a potluck, the possibilities are endless.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends!
- Engage with the people you sit next to in your classes: This tip seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many students are nervous or shy about interacting with each other! You're already taking the same class together, so you already have some common ground to get the conversation started. From there, you can branch into your backgrounds, goals, common interests, etc. It's an easy way to get an organic conversation going.
- Join college clubs and organizations: Many college clubs and organizations are built around non-academic interests, so it's a great way to meet people with the same hobbies or interests as you. A lot of my lifelong friends were made through these kinds of groups!
- If religion is important to you, engage with your local place of worship: Many religious places and groups have programs and activities that help engage college students in lighthearted ways. It can be a great way to meet new friends in a safe space. If you don't consider yourself very religious, many colleges also have interfaith organizations meant to help people meet and make friends with students of various backgrounds.
- Once you've become acquainted with people and/or exchanged contact info, plan social activities together: A lot of students tend to exchange contact info or become "friends" without any idea of how to develop and maintain the friendship. Planning get-togethers outside of class can help build bonds and great memories. Play some games, catch a movie/enjoy a watch party, try a new food spot, volunteer, host a potluck, the possibilities are endless.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends!