With Fresher’s Week in the UK being a month away, I wanted to share a fun, interesting chapter from a new book giving you a few unofficial tips for making friends at university. If you’re nervous about starting university or simply want to know more about university social lives, then you’re in for a treat with this great university student life podcast episode. Enjoy.
Today’s podcast episode has been sponsored by A Student’s Guide To University and Learning: A Psychology Student’s Guide To University. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also, you can buy the eBook directly from me at https://www.payhip.com/connorwhiteley
Extract From A Student’s Guide To University and Learning COPYRIGHT Connor Whiteley 2023
To break up all this university and learning content, I wanted to spend the next section of the book focusing on the all important social side of university. Since university can be an extremely social and good time of your life if you know how to make friends and find new people.
In this chapter, I’m going to help you find your people at university and why this is so important.
Enjoy!
Finding Your People At University
This is probably one of the only blog posts I have ever resisted writing because this isn’t my expert area. But I guess that means I am a good person to write it in the end. Therefore, in today’s blog post I’ll be giving you a few tips about how to find your people at university.
Note: as I am a UK student, there will be some things that are specific to UK universities, but the vast majority of points are universal.
Talk To People In Your Lectures and Be Proactive
This is an easy and a difficult tip to start off with because we all know we need to talk to others. We know we need to be social, talkative and be proactive if we want to find new people in any environment.
But this is scary.
I will fully admit I find this sort of thing difficult. I am not a massive fan of talking to new people in large groups amongst other things.
Yet I do encourage you to do it. I recommend you talk to new people, socialise, see where conversations take you. You might end up meeting someone really interesting, a person similar to yourself and hopefully a life long friend.
None of it is possible unless you take the first step and start talking to people.
Also I need to mention that everyone is in the same boat. Everyone in your lectures and seminars will be nervous, scared and anxious about meeting new people. There is nothing new here, so be kind to yourself and take the first step to talk to someone.
In addition, there is a great easy fact here that might help you. Giving you the world’s easiest ice breaker. You are all there to study the same thing. Everyone in my lectures and seminars is there to study psychology, so something I got to remember for my final year is to use the very easy ice break of “what made you want to study psychology?” or some version of that.
Instant ice breaker and conversation starter.
I think most of this idea about finding your people is down to all of us to stop being nervous about meeting new people and taking that first step.
Join Societies
This is the UK specific thing I mentioned earlier, but for the international audience, UK universities have these large social clubs that are formed around a particular activity called Societies. These I cannot stress enough are great ways to meet people.
For example, in my first year of university, I was a member of the Baking Society and this was a brilliant way to meet other people who enjoyed baking and did other degrees. Meaning I could hear their experiences, get to know them and get to learn from them. It was a great few hours every week where I got to hang out with people like me.
Additionally, the great thing about societies is most universities have tons of them centred around any activity you can imagine. So I would recommend you check out your university’s website to see what they offer, and if there are any that interest you, sign up and go to them. You could have a LOT of fun.
One of my friends in first year did the Quidditch society!
(And yes, that is the sport from Harry Potter)
Lastly, there are always academic societies available to students so this gives you another opportunity to mix with others students. Some of which will be from later stages at university so you can hear their experiences. That I do recommend you do.
Don’t Stress Out
As I preluded to in the first section, we all get stressed out or concerned about making new friends, meeting and mixing with new people. But please try not to get stressed out. It isn’t healthy and it could only make your concern worse.
I would just relax, just do what I’m mentioned and remember something else.
I first heard this in my second year from my Student Ambassador Mentor and she mentioned the very true fact that we will meet new people every term. Due to every term we will have new modules with different students and we will have to mix with them again.
Meaning there is never a lack of opportunity to meet new people.
The only thing there is a lack of interest in taking the opportunity.
And I know, I really know this is scary and lots of people don’t want to take that first step. But I highly recommend you do because you never know where that first step could take you. A person to talk to, a friend for the rest of university or a true lifelong friend.
You will never know unless you take that first step.
I really hope you enjoyed today’s psychology student life podcast episode.
If you want to learn more, please check out:
A Student’s Guide To University and Learning: A Psychology Student’s Guide To University. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also, you can buy the eBook directly from me at https://www.payhip.com/connorwhiteley
Have a great day.
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