My mates and I put together this list of extra tips for Fresher’s week and also just in general:
MAKING FRIENDS: UNI EDITION
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Don’t sit in your room, come to the kitchen.
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If you have free time after moving in, go and bang on doors and introduce yourself.
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Bring snacks. People love food. I fail to see how being remembered as “brownie girl” or “chips guy” could in any way ever be a bad thing. This is more of a life tip.
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Be prepared to spend money on alcohol unless you don’t drink. Free drinks are rare, but spending a bit on drinks will help your social life in mysterious ways. Preferably, come with your own bottle of vodka already.
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No matter how awkward things are, stay–this is how your social life will happen, and this is the only way
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Get phone numbers, Facebook friend people, etc. Text and message people; invite people you’ve just met to do things. “Hey, want to go check out the prelash at Fisher?” “Hey, want to go grab dinner from Eastside bar?” Even just a simple “Where are you?” will sometimes do.
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Buy food upon arrival. Let parents pay. Refer to number 3.
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Tupperware. (General life tip.)
- Cook with people! There’s nothing sadder than spending half an hour making yourself a meal just so you can sit in the kitchen alone. If you’re getting on with someone in your floor/hall, just text him/her to go to the kitchen when you’re cooking!
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Go to the events, etc. Literally everything. Buy your tickets ahead of time. See if your parents will pay. If you can meet up with someone before the Mingle on the first night and stick with that person throughout the night, you probably have a new best friend.
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Join every club. Sign up for things. Volunteer. Everything you do will come with a new set of people. Two case studies. 1) I signed up for Arabic as my Horizons course and through this bonded with a guy on my floor I’d never talked to before. 2) I applied for my blog and the people at the welcome-drinks (fellow bloggers) were fantastic. The list of examples goes on.
- Lastly (for now), consider the sets of people I mentioned above. You’ll find that people who overlap between these different sets will be your closer friends: people in your course AND in your hall, people doing your course AND your sport, etc. Infinite combinations, permutations, etc. Or, as my friend reading over my shoulder put it, “You’re more likely to be friends with people you see the most.”
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