It can be a slightly unnerving experience getting to school for the first time and not knowing anyone. While a few other students from your high school may be attending the same college, you’re still going to need to step outside of your comfort zone and start meeting new people. Even though it can be difficult at first, making friends is an acquired skill and something that you’ll feel more comfortable with over time. It’s a skill that you should invest some time in; you don’t want to be the weird kid in back of the class with no friends, do you?

Even though it takes some effort, you don’t have to go far to start meeting new people. Getting to know your neighbors in the dorm building that you live in is a great way to start making new friends. Many people make friends that they have for the rest of their lives right in their dorms. Most dorm floors will have social events, but you don’t have to wait for these. Just stop by some of your neighbors’ rooms and introduce yourself. Leave your door open to encourage others to stop by. You can even plan a floor party-put a sign up in the hallway inviting anyone on your floor to come over and bring a couple sodas or a bag of chips. Not only will you meet a bunch of people, but you’ll also help generate a sense of community on your floor, which will make your year a lot better.

Another place to meet people is in class. If you’re sitting next to someone that you don’t know, introduce yourself and strike up a conversation. You may find that you have a lot of things in common. If nothing else, you can try to scope out cute guys or the really smart girls that will make good study partners. A lot of professors use “ice breaking” activities during the first week of classes; instead of acting cool and avoiding these (sometimes very cheesy) activities, take advantage of the chance to talk to people that you may not have otherwise. If your professor doesn’t give you an opportunity like this, you’ll just have to make your own.

Because of the rise of social networking websites, you now have another option for meeting new people. While this shouldn’t be your primary method, you can use one of these sites to help you in your quest to make friends. Facebook is extremely popular with college students and is used by many people to organize parties and outings. You can meet a large number of people through your friends this way. It’s also very useful for finding people that have similar interests; you’ll be able to find people who listen to the same music, like the same movies, and spend their Friday nights doing the same things.

There are as many ways to meet people as there are people . . . you’ll come up with methods of your own soon enough. Just be confident and be yourself and you’ll have tons of friends in no time!

As always, if you have any questions, comments or funny stories you'd like me to share about college or the blog, email me at stu@stuvu.com