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Making friends in second year uni?

Long story short, I made no friends in first year (my fault). I kinda made one, though. Anyway, is it too late to make friends in year 2? And how do I go about it? I'm generally a quiet introvert but I'm good when I get to know the person/the person gets to know me and we connect.

thanks

:smile:
Go to socials
Reply 2
Original post by Student-95
Go to socials


don't even know what that is tbh lol
Original post by Anonymous
don't even know what that is tbh lol


Does your uni have clubs and societies which have events where people go out and stuff?
Reply 4
Original post by Student-95
Does your uni have clubs and societies which have events where people go out and stuff?


Oh yeah sure
Reply 5
stay in halls 2nd year
Reply 6
Original post by sdotd
stay in halls 2nd year


I stayed in halls first year but my 4 flatmates and I didn't really socialise a lot. We're all quite different people.
Reply 7
Original post by Anonymous
I stayed in halls first year but my 4 flatmates and I didn't really socialise a lot. We're all quite different people.


Who are you living with 2nd year?
Well I'm sure if you hang out with the one friend you made, they will introduce you to their other friends and you may get on well.
I would also suggest going to your course socials, maybe bring that friend you have or go on your own.
If you have group work this year, put in a little bit more effort to talk to at least one of them. Maybe say there's this event you want to go to and see if they're up for it.
Sounds weird but tinder can kind of work. You can get chatting and decide to meet more casually and remain friends. Meet their friends as well. Or you could date someone for a bit and then make friends with their friends. Obviously don't date them for that reason.
Are you in second year right now and approaching the end? Or first year going into 2nd year in september?
At the start of next term you can always join a society, even if it seems a bit lame, you're bound to meet some people.
If you're really struggling then I would suggest getting a part time job, either retail or bar work. Everyone I've met who has had a part time job at uni (particularly bar work) has made a decent group of new friends.
I had a similar experience after a bad break up at the end of my first year left me in need of a new social circle. What worked really well for me - and also helped me get a lot of confidence back - was getting involved with a bunch of societies. I met a lot of people, some of whom I'm still friends with years later. It also meant I enjoyed my uni experience a lot more AND had a way easier time finding a job after graduating than I otherwise would've.

TBH socialising in first year often tends to revolve around halls of residence, but in second year it's common for people to start expanding their social circles now they're not living in halls. Like you, a lot of people don't "click" with their randomly allocated flatmates, and even those that did are often open to meeting more people and doing new things at this stage. So don't worry about it being "too late" or anything like that. It's really not!

Oh - and if you end up sharing any classes with a study abroad student who's just arrived at your uni, you might want to try reaching out to them, seeing if they'd like to grab a coffee or drink after class sometime. If they're new, they'll probably appreciate it. That's how I met one of my best friends - I'll be travelling to her home country to attend her wedding next year :smile:
Original post by laebae
I had a similar experience after a bad break up at the end of my first year left me in need of a new social circle. What worked really well for me - and also helped me get a lot of confidence back - was getting involved with a bunch of societies. I met a lot of people, some of whom I'm still friends with years later. It also meant I enjoyed my uni experience a lot more AND had a way easier time finding a job after graduating than I otherwise would've.

TBH socialising in first year often tends to revolve around halls of residence, but in second year it's common for people to start expanding their social circles now they're not living in halls. Like you, a lot of people don't "click" with their randomly allocated flatmates, and even those that did are often open to meeting more people and doing new things at this stage. So don't worry about it being "too late" or anything like that. It's really not!

Oh - and if you end up sharing any classes with a study abroad student who's just arrived at your uni, you might want to try reaching out to them, seeing if they'd like to grab a coffee or drink after class sometime. If they're new, they'll probably appreciate it. That's how I met one of my best friends - I'll be travelling to her home country to attend her wedding next year :smile:


Ahh thank you so much, this is really reassuring! x
Original post by Anonymous
Well I'm sure if you hang out with the one friend you made, they will introduce you to their other friends and you may get on well.
I would also suggest going to your course socials, maybe bring that friend you have or go on your own.
If you have group work this year, put in a little bit more effort to talk to at least one of them. Maybe say there's this event you want to go to and see if they're up for it.
Sounds weird but tinder can kind of work. You can get chatting and decide to meet more casually and remain friends. Meet their friends as well. Or you could date someone for a bit and then make friends with their friends. Obviously don't date them for that reason.
Are you in second year right now and approaching the end? Or first year going into 2nd year in september?
At the start of next term you can always join a society, even if it seems a bit lame, you're bound to meet some people.
If you're really struggling then I would suggest getting a part time job, either retail or bar work. Everyone I've met who has had a part time job at uni (particularly bar work) has made a decent group of new friends.


Thank you!

I'm going to try going to societies in second year, but do you think it will be awkward going by myself? I feel like everyone will already know each other
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you!

I'm going to try going to societies in second year, but do you think it will be awkward going by myself? I feel like everyone will already know each other


Not at all. Plenty of people join on their own in second year. Plus there will be freshers joining on their own as well. You won’t be the only new person and you won’t look weird coming on your own. Will be no different from you joining in first year because there will always be old members there
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you!

I'm going to try going to societies in second year, but do you think it will be awkward going by myself? I feel like everyone will already know each other


If you join next year you definitely won't be the only new person. There will be loads of freshers/masters/other people who just want to start something new joining.

How about joining a sport (especially team sports)? Having a something fun to do together makes it easier to fit in and can help you get to know others without too much awkward conversation at the beginning. Don't worry, most sports at uni will offer sessions for people with various abilities. Having regular training etc. will ensure you meet the others often and sport societies love going out too. Sharing a common interest is a great basis for friendship.
Original post by Anonymous
Long story short, I made no friends in first year (my fault). I kinda made one, though. Anyway, is it too late to make friends in year 2? And how do I go about it? I'm generally a quiet introvert but I'm good when I get to know the person/the person gets to know me and we connect.

thanks

:smile:


So your main areas of meeting new people in first year are through accomodation, your couse and societies. 'Socials' are a part of all of them as you have halls events in Fresher's week and balls throughout the year, course socials and society socials.

Depending on what you do (I am still 1st year), I don't see second year as being that different. If you are moving into a house then the meeting people through halls diminishes but if you stay in halls then you would have new flatmates, still crash flat parties; meet people at the balls and club events.

As for your course, in the first few weeks you introduce yourself to all you meet because everyone is new, less so on your course in second year. But for me (law), optional modules are open to 2nd, 3rd and 4th years so you could meet some new people through that. Even if not, if you sit next to people who don't seem to be in a group and just say hi you can make friends from there.

Societies are probably your best shot. I go to some course related, Bar, Pro Bono and Mooting and sports wise I play badminton, dodgeball, table tennis and handball. You just connect with people through these and to be honest, until I got to know people I had no clue what year they are in so there's people from first year all the way to postgrads.

In short, find opportunities, get involved and be proactive, introduce yourself to people early on.

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