Making Friends at College

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I'm feeling a little lost here.
I had this nice little group of friends in high school, who overall, made the experience much more enjoyable, but now that I'm at college I'm freaking out a bit because I don't know anyone. I don't want to be Ms. popularity or anything, but a few friends would be nice. I'm also a little homesick, and I miss my dog a lot, but I know these feelings will pass as I get settled in.
So, what I want to know is if anyone has any advice for making friends at college, personal stories, or any tips to help out a poor, confused freshman : ).

Hi.
Sorry I have n0 excellent wisdom 0r advice..
yet I was in that same b0at 2 years ag0.
It was pretty hard. I STILL can't remember people from then. I ended up going home every weekend. My university is in my town. It was S0 b0ring with nothing 2 d0 and nobody 2 hang around. I stayed hidden in my r00m.
I'm glad you made it through high school with friends t0 help. You should stay in touch with them. And at least you can g0 home 0n holidays 2 see your dog. Right?
This isn't the same as having a friend in person, but if y0u need s0me 0ne 2 talk 2, I'm here. I may n0t be Dear Abby, but I will listen.
Friends will come along there, just you wait. It can't hurt 2 try.




The reason f0r all these "0"s? Long story. Kinda.

I was lucky on my first day of my course I sat behind a group of girls and they invited me to sit with them and through them I got introduced to the affectionately known 'freaks, geeks and gay biochemistry society' (thats what we called ourselves) basically if you didn't fit in with the rest you were one of us.

I met alot of friends through societies as well I joined in uni the Sci-fi, Pagan, Biochem, Wildlife and Kung Fu were great helps I found housemates through them as well.

Living in the dorms should be enough to help you make friends. Make sure to leave your room often (or at least keep your door open) so that people can stop in and say hi. Go around and introduce yourself to other people (everyone is doing this the first few days that you're in a new dorm). When you meet new people, ask them about themselves - where they're from, interests, music tastes, potential majors, who they know, etc. If you make some friends, they can introduce you to new potential friends. College is one giant networking circle, remember this!

Another good thing to do is, when you're getting to know someone, it's good to ask them what classes they have. This way you can find out if you're in the same class or in different sections of the same class - great for study sessions or paper writing parties.

Ask people to concerts if you find out you have the same music taste -

A- "I love Badfish! They're playing at (insert club name here) on Friday."
B- "Sweet - that sounds fun!"
A- "Yeah, a bunch of us should go!"

If you can't think of any good concerts on the spot, then keep that person's music taste in mind and look for concerts so you can notify them when the band is playing!

Early on in the semester, if you have a kitchen, have a party with food - go around and be like "who wants cupcakes?" This will bring people to you, so it will be easier to seek them out. It also provides a common activity for all of you to discuss. Video games, air hockey, foosball, and movies are great for this as well.

Of course, I don't know what kind of dorm you live in (or even if you live in a dorm!) but this is what I've learned from my personal experience! Even though it applies mostly to living on-campus, I hope I could help!

Clubs and other activities that are in your interests are a great way to start meeting new people and making friends.

Thanks for all the advice!! !

I've met a few people, and I'm doing better now. I think it was just the initial change from home life to college that freaked me out a bit.

Anway, feeling much better : )

your 'o' button id broken or damaged....

also I was going to say the same JerryHatake said; clubs and interest...

I find the best method probably be to just smile. I'm actually the opposite - I'd rather people left me alone so I could get on with my own thing. Sitting with other people my age talking about, well...rubbish, in my opinion, bores the socks off me. But, yeah, smiling and answering anyone who talks to you =]

I am "bery bad" rigjht now...

............very bad....

amd kist wishj I had a

avatar....

that was hugging me...

so thjat I was 2 ppple.....instead of the oine that I am....


I should (even though I shouldn't should on myslefg ....or anyuwone else...)

should

loo, k

into...

getting a

two people - hug - avatgrar...

cause thenm you''all wold take me a lot more serously...

(ooops....I.......pla...
somebwere there is a nother person hugging my prcupooine avaztora!!1 ha....

keep yo the good asork!! !

me....(little gennguy huggijh merzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz0.....jrrrr////jrr./

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find the home keys\\\

but little geen guy.lllll\\is hugging porqu0iuje w8t6h\\

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it's all good
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keep yhe gf

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faith














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jhehh

heh..

g'nite'

p.s.\\

will u b my friiejd"??

ha.

I didn[rt do myh hoinmewoork....big tourgle
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I diont' wanta johl..l.joh==\\

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but\;;;;;;;yoiu are goof........NO....NOT GOOOFG....I AM goov.....gkk= gooof.....u not .....mo..,I mwN

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GOOD
!

Stop posting drunk; it's embarrassing

I'm having this exact same problem right now.
I live with my parents and commute to college by bus every day. My classes are all lecture classes in which students are expected to stay fairly quiet, so I haven't really gotten to know anyone.
I've run into a few people I knew from high school, but never managed to talk to them for more than a few minutes, and I've seen a few people around that I wanted to talk to, but didn't know what to say without coming across as weird or creepy, and I mean saying something like "Hey, how are ya, I've seen you around before but we've never talked" is kind of creepy for sure.
And for that matter even when I'm on campus outside of class I can't exactly talk to people. I'm actually surprised by how many little cliques there seem to be at my community college given how difficult it is for anyone to start a conversation with anyone about anything.

Lucky I go to college with two guys who I went to school with, so thats ok. But the only other person I've talked to is a guy I knew from when I lived in an other area (I moved from there 5 years ago).

Watch me make it not creepy at all.

"Hi, I'm __________. I've seen you around campus and you seem really cool. I love [your fashion sense/that shirt/your hairstyle/the jokes I've overheard you tell when I walk by/anything else you can say and really mean it sincerely]. What's your name?"

Make it complimentary and casual, and you'll be fine. Frankly even your version is mostly okay. You didn't introduce yourself, though, and that's a mistake. My godfather once said that he should teach a class in how to walk up to people and say, "Hi. I'm ___________." It would be a 10-second class. It really is that simple. Most people will be more flattered than anything else if you do it right. Practice, practice, practice!

Commuting your first semester is rough. My advice is to get on-campus housing for the Spring semester and start hanging out with the Spring transfers.

For the non-commuters: Try going into your common area's kitchen if there is one and baking brownies. You can use pre-made supermarket brownie mix (just not store brand). Then, put them in a ziploc bag, and leave them in the common area next to a piece of paper that says, "Please! Take one! -from Jane, room 123" or something. If there isn't a common area kitchen, buy a thing of cookies and do that instead. Suddenly people will be flocking to your dorm room to hang out with you. People you don't recognize will say hi from across the lawn and know your name. It's freaky.

Commuting isn't that bad. I've commuted all my time to college (and I'm a junior now)... The people in my major tend to pop up in multiple classes with me, so I got to know a few of them. Plus, I'm still active in my church, so that whole social network is still intact. In effect, I got rid of the crappy social network in HS (where alot of the people that were jerks resided), and held on to the one that is supportive of my endeavors.

I recommend to any commuters to find a religious or community type of place. Many community places can often use the help of college-age people, due to their rarity, and most community centers are fairly supportive places. Also, If you have a job, you can use that to meet new people...

The only downside is that most of the people you meet are not of your own age group (I'm the sole representative in my church of the 18-30 crowd), but that doesn't bother me much, since people my own age throughout younger years were the jerks. You'll have to decide for yourself if that is fitting for you, however.

In the end, commuting helps me with getting that college degree without getting that "college education" (and by "college education" I'm referring to the drinking/partying aspect of it that's not as desirable...)