Editorials

The Best Ways to Make New Friends at Uni

29 October 2019

By Lauren E. White

the-best-ways-to-make-new-friends-at-uni

Now that the immediate buzz surrounding the infamous Freshers’ Week is over, and students are starting to settle in, things can start to get a little bit more overwhelming.

Suddenly you’re alone in the world with a bunch of random people you’ve known for just a few short weeks, and yet it feels like the end of the beginning. This feeling is completely normal – and it’s also completely normal to resent it. After all, surely this can’t be it?

Correct – the end of Freshers’ Week is not the end of you making friends. And neither is the end of first year. In fact, you can make new friends at pretty much any point of the year, and indeed in any year at all.

Here are the best ways to make new friends at uni…

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1. Join a sports club

Sports is an easy way to make friends for people who enjoy it. And universities are full of sports clubs just waiting for new and eager people wanting to try them out. Get involved in training and matches to meet brand new people.

2. Join a society

Sports certainly is not for everyone – and that’s okay. You can still make friends easily at uni by joining a society. Be it a Louis Theroux society, debating society, feminist society or just something you’re interested in, joining a new group of people inevitably gets you friends.

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3. Run for an exec role

Every university has a students’ union or a JCR where exec roles are up for grabs. They are a great way to meet new people and get involved with different projects, which brings you to encounter new people. Running for one of these roles may lead you down some interesting paths, where there are sure to be interesting characters too.

4. Engage with your course more

Some courses and some unis don’t really emphasise getting involved with your coursemates very much, which is fine. However, if you’re looking to make new friends at uni, engaging with your course is a good way to do it. Pop along to a lecturer’s tea and coffee session, or go to an event hosted by your department and see who you get to meet.

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5. Help run an event

Events play a huge part of uni life – and someone has to organise them. There’s nothing like teambuilding and what better way to do that than by helping to run an event with a group of other people? It cultivates enthusiasm and that’s key to any friendship.

Good luck!

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