Starting university can be scary, but everyone feels the same. Remember, we've all been there! Here are my top tips to make friends and ease the transition.
Starting university can be scary, especially when you don't know anyone there. However, everyone else is in your position and feels exactly the same, this is very very important to remember! We have all be in that position, to make this transition less scary, here are my top tips to making friends at university:
Speak to your flatmates! These will be the people you will live with for your first year ( maybe even longer if you choose to!) So it is very important that you get to know them. At the start of the year, you will be visited by members of the student welcome team, this is a group of students that are there to help YOU. They will check everything is running smoothly in your flat, and get you all talking. Some ways to make friends with your flat include:
JOIN A SOCIETY OR SPORT!! For me, this has been the way I have made most of my friends. In September in my first year, I joined the UoB kayak club, and honestly, this was the best decision that I have made at University. Joining a sport, is a great way to find like minded people, who are welcoming and always willing to help you. A great benefit of joining a society or sport is that its not only first years you are interacting with, it might seem scary at first spending your time with ages ranging from first year to PhD students, but in reality, having friends in older years is amazing. They will , especially during freshers week, be able to provide you with their own pearls of wisdom to university life. There will always be a sport and society for you....who knows I may see you in September at kayaking!! During freshers week, all sports and societies run taster sessions, you can truly tailor it to you!
Speak to people on your course. In every course you are split into tutor groups, this is a small group of students you will work with throughout your time at university, each of them on your course. If you find you are on a large course and speaking to lots of different people is overwhelming then this is a great place to start! Much like with sports and societies, people on your course will have similar interests to you, and will feel equally as nervous starting off somewhere new. Even if you walk into a lecture, and just go 'hey, can i sit here?' that's amazing, who knows you they could be a friend for life!
And finally, what I would say is the most important tip. BE YOURSELF!!!!!! Don't pretend to be someone you are not. It may not feel it at first, but you will find your people at Uni, and you will love it!
Anna is a Geology and Physical Geography student at the University of Birmingham.
