Five Ways to Get an Instant Social Life on Campus (Even If You’re Shy)

Many people’s worst fear about college isn’t the academics or even doing laundry alone for the first time. Instead, it’s leaving old friends behind and making new ones. In fact, 39.2 percent of surveyed freshmen “frequently” or “occasionally” felt worried about meeting new people, according to one survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA.

So if you’re scared to meet new people, you’re not alone. You’re also at the perfect place. Fortunately, college is designed for people who are looking to make friends. There are few cliques because almost everyone is starting over and leaving high school friends behind. Here are just a few ways to find a ready-made social life on a campus of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

Go to All the Orientation Events. Be sure to arrive on campus on the first day of freshman orientation, when everyone is moving in, and don’t miss any of the orientation events. Even the ice cream social. Why? Because it’s the best opportunity to meet new people; no one knows anyone yet, and everyone is looking to make new friends. Jane Brown* remembers being a freshman at the University of Cincinnati. “I was so shy and terrified of just going to the ice cream social that night, but for the first time, as a shy person, I looked around and could honestly say, ‘Wow -- everyone here is terrified! It’s not just me anymore. No one knew ANYONE. An hour later, I was at a great party with some girls I just met. Completely out of character for me, but college was an awesome opportunity to go from introvert to extrovert overnight”

To make orientation events easier, consider going with your roommate or someone you just struck up a conversation with on your dorm floor, or even an entire group of people from your dorm. If you go with another person, or in a group, you may have a better chance of meeting people than you would if you were alone.
Eat in the Cafeteria. Cat Blake* remembers her first year at the University of Cincinnati. She tried to eat all meals in the cafeteria, even though she hated the food, so she could get to know her roommate and the other girls from her floor. “My roommate was pretty popular, as was my best friend down the hall,” she says. “Before you knew it, we had about 30 people -- and a lot of guys -- at our table. It was like a ready-made social life, and if you ate dinner in the caf on a Friday evening you knew you’d get invited to some party.” When you go to the caf, find someone from your floor and sit beside them; don’t eat alone! The best time to do this is the first few weeks, before people pair off into cliques, and it becomes awkward to join their table.
Talk to the People Who Sit Beside You in Your Classes; Make a Homework Buddy. Group projects in a class are a great way to socialize and meet people. Get people’s e-mail addresses, and suggest meeting a few times at a coffee house outside of class to work on your project. If you don’t have group projects, you probably at least sit by the same person during every class; make friends with this person. Suggest working on projects together and meeting for coffee after class.
Join a Group You’re Passionate About. Passion is highly attractive; when you’re enthusiastic about something, people gravitate toward you. Luckily, on a college campus, there’s an organization for everything -- from the truly bizarre, “Men Who Love Wiffle Ball & the Women Who Love Them” to the less bizarre, “Self-Confessed Drama Queens.” A truly diverse campus will also have quite a few groups devoted to particular nationalities, races, and genders. Before you even arrive on campus, look through organizations on your college’s website. Find your tribe based on what you love and who you are. E-mail them and start networking right away. Then show up to the first meeting. Remember that almost every freshman will be new and knows no one -- no one’s at an advantage.
Connect with Future Freshmen Through Facebook. Most colleges and universities now have some kind of social community for incoming freshman. Go ahead and post something on the page -- introduce yourself. Friend people based on common interests, and get to know them through wall posts and chat before you even arrive. You never know; you could have a tribe of friends built up before you even arrive on campus.

* This name has been changed at the request of the interviewee.