By Zainab Maniya
UNC Chapel Hill
June 23, 2024
How do I make friends in college from "scratch"?
Starting fresh on a new college campus can be intimidating, especially when it comes to making new friends in an unfamiliar place. However, we often don’t realize that everyone comes into their freshman year in the same boat, and as a result, everyone is very open and wants to make new friends. For me, starting college during the pandemic, I thought making friends in college would be especially tough, given that classes, most clubs, and other events were online. However, I graduated just this past May and left college with friends that I know will be with me for a lifetime. How did I do it? By leveraging any opportunity I could to interact with and meet new people. A great place to start is with your new roommates and suitemates. If you have the opportunity, I recommend living in a suite-style dorm, which for me meant living with 8 other people with one shared bathroom (sounds like a nightmare I know), but it allowed me to meet 7 potential college friends off the bat. For the first few weeks that I was on campus, I did most things with my new suitemates, which allowed us to get especially close. Beyond that, make sure to attend all of the events that your dorm or university hosts for their “welcome week.” Those events are a great opportunity to meet new people and put yourself out there by introducing yourself to someone new. Make sure to get their number so that you can follow up with them later to grab a meal at the dining hall or just hang out. Also, when classes start, take the opportunity to get to your classes early so that you can sit next to someone new and start a conversation. This is also something you can do at the dining halls. One friend that I have been friends with through senior year, I met because she asked to sit at my table in the dining hall freshman year. There are so many connections to be made, you just have to be willing to pursue them!
Does your college roommate have to become your best friend?
Your roommate can be a great built-in friend if you get along, but one thing I’ve learned over the years is that you can live really well with someone, but that doesn’t mean they have to be or will be your best friend. If your roommate and you get close, then that’s great, but also if you don’t get along super well with your roommate, that’s completely okay and normal as well!
I’m attending a school that is not well known for their diversity. What are some ways to find community on campus as a student of color?
Finding a community and diversity in college as a student of color was something I struggled with a good bit. A good place to start is to think of communities that you are part of and see if there are any college clubs for those communities. For example, I’m Pakistani American, so I did some research and found a Pakistani Student Association at my university that I could join. There are usually a few college DEI programs and organizations to get students involved on campus. There are also different initiatives in student government that you can join related to DEI on campus that could be a good way to meet other students of color and also work to help amplify the voices of these students.
How do students learn about and/or join college clubs and student organizations?
At my university, we had a platform that had every club that was registered with the university listed on it and each club had a page with more information about it, as well as contact information for the leaders of the club to get more information on how to join. During the first week of classes, there was also a club fair that would set up booths on a main part of campus that you could go to and learn more about all the different club offerings. A good place to find out if your university has a similar website or event is through your first-year orientation, where there should be information provided, or it’s a great question to ask if it’s not covered!
What resources did you use to help you find community on campus?
There are so many benefits of joining clubs in college. The website listing out all the organizations on our campus that I mentioned earlier was really helpful and word of mouth from friends on spaces where they felt at home on campus!
How did Matriculate help you with this?
As a High School Fellow (HSF), my Advising Fellow (who had completed his first year of college) really helped me understand what to expect going into my first semester and how to leverage opportunities to meet new people on my campus.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Zainab Maniya
Zainab is from Charlotte, NC and is a Student Ambassador for Matriculate. She was a High School Fellow with Matriculate and graduated May 2024 from UNC Chapel Hill! During her time at UNC, Zainab studied Business and Public Policy with a Spanish minor. She enjoys hiking, reading and traveling in her free time.