Guide to making friends at uni

1) Be yourself

The great thing about uni is that you can start a fresh and be who you want to be. At school and college, you may have been condemned into being certain version of yourself that falls in line with everyone else. But the beautiful thing about uni is that you can be whoever you want to be. You will meet so many people who have the same interests as you. So be yourself! ☺️

2) Get a part-time job

In my own experience, a lot of friends at uni were the ones I met at my part time job. Obviously, when I got the part-time job, I just needed money. I didn't imagine that I would meet so many funny and lovely humans. But to my surprise, getting my part-time job at uni was such a blessing in disguise. As it was part-time work on a weekend, there were so many other students working there. So immediately, we had so much to talk about and relate to. This made speaking to them a lot easier. 

3) Go to socials

Obviously, going to socials or events and stuff you are bound to meet people who have things in common with you. I'm not talking about drinking🤣! I mean going to University and starting this whole new chapter. However, a lot of people drink on the socials so they have liquid courage to speak to new people. So even if you don't drink, other people do so they will most likely initiate conversations with you.

4) Go to your seminars

I know as the academic year goes on, it gets harder and harder to attend seminars. But I feel like they were the most beneficial to actually speak to people on my module. Like even asking 'how are you getting on with the assignment?' can be such a good catalyst for a conversation. And then towards the end of the seminar, ask for their socials and say 'Do you have Snap, or Insta and if you ever want to talk about the assignment we can?' - by this point, I can guarantee they are getting their phone out to exchange socials.

5) Join societies

Joining societies are a fun way to make friends and also stay busy. Not going to lie I joined so many societies in first year and stopped attending all of them in second year. But even in third year, I was in Lidl and I bumped into one friend I met at drama society. It was so lovely to see a familiar face! However, I think if I stuck with some of the societies, I would have made great friends with some of those people.

6) Actually arrange plans with people

Obviously, gaining confidence comes with time but, one thing I wish I knew earlier was that it is so normal to arrange to meet up with people. I used to be worried that I didn't want to come across very forward or clingy for asking. But then I thought of it this way, if someone I had a good conversation with asked me if I wanted to go for drinks or coffee or go shopping, would I think it was weird? No, so why would they think this about me?!

Some conversation topics: