Making friends at University can be a daunting process, especially if you are living off campus, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are living off campus and are struggling to integrate yourself into the university culture and worried about not making friends, then here are a few tips to help you.
Take every opportunity.
Throughout your time at university there will likely be a multitude of different activities and opportunities that you can take part in which could help you to become more sociable whether that’s taking part in freshers’ week (COVID permitting) or quiz nights for example. There is likely to be a lot of activities that your university will put on that should encourage you to become more comfortable with your peers and potentially strike up some long-lasting friendships.
Join a society.
A society is a great way to make friends because you will be surrounded by people with the same interests as you who might meet up and either discuss or take part in activities related to a specific interest or hobby. For example, current societies at BGU consist of football, dance, music and many many more and the University of Lincoln also has a lot of different ones you can join. These groups allow for an opportunity for you to be able to connect with others over something you enjoy. The fact that you have a common interest with someone makes trying to make friends so much easier. If your university does not have a society that you are interested in joining, why not make your own? It’s simple and easy and the chances are that there will be others with that interest who will be happy to have a place to talk about it.
Engage with those on your course.
This is probably going to be the easiest way to make friends because all it requires is for you to talk. Talking will be difficult to begin with, but as time goes on talking with others in your class will become easier than it originally seemed. There will likely be a time at university where you will have to take part in group tasks or group assignments. This is valuable when it comes to forming friendships as you may end up building a synergy with your partners which might make it easier to spark a conversation that leads too friendships. If talking to your classmates proves to be too difficult then you can always try talking you those who you will likely be sharing a house with for the next year.
Making friends at university can be a scary concept but these tips are there to hopefully give you some ideas on how to ease yourself into the university social culture. The main thing is to not worry too much about making friends straight away. Friendships may take time, but they will happen.
Please note: This content was created prior to Coronavirus, and some things might be different due to current laws and restrictions. Please refer to Government advice and the University of Lincoln for the latest information.
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