My only friend on the course might be leaving

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.

I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.

There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.

I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.

Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Reply 1

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.
I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.
There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.
I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.
Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Hi there,

I know exactly how you feel because I had to leave my small group of friends in third year when we all went our separate ways on placement. Its always a difficult step to take once you've established a nice group of people you are comfortable with.

The first thing I'd say is that just because your friend may be leaving does not mean you can't stay in contact with them and meet up with them occasionally when you're both free. Perhaps keep a WhatsApp chat going?

It also sounds like you have a really nice bunch of potential friends in your future housemates though - if they have also struggled to make friends then perhaps they too are quite quiet, introverted people like you. Why not try to draw on this and try to develop a group with them? Perhaps start by suggesting a card game night in your halls after dinner, or ask if they want to grab coffee on a Wednesday afternoon or go out for a meal in town.

You could also, if you wanted, join a society or club to meet a few new people. Perhaps check out what's on offer at your uni and see if anything takes your interest.

Its always difficult when your friends go a separate way to you, but you don't need to worry because there are always ways to meet more people and develop the friend group you have. I think also living with your hall mates next year will bring you closer together.

I hope some of this helps, best of luck with everything 🙂

Holly
University of Bath

Reply 2

YSJstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.
I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.
There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.
I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.
Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Hi!

I am so sorry this is the case and hope you can keep in touch with the friends you have made wherever they may be now. If you enjoy your course i'm sure you will enjoy it whoever you are with, especially considering you have friends outside of your course. I would definitely just try speaking to people, you don't even have to become best friends, it's just nice to not be sat alone.

Hope this helps! Faye 🙂

Reply 3

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.
I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.
There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.
I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.
Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Hi there,

I am really sorry that this is happening to you - I also had a good friend leave my course and it's really hard!

Firstly, I would ask if you have other friends outside your course? It seems like you have other friends that you live with, but I thought I could give you some of my tips for making friends at uni in general in case you were wanting to try anything new to meet some new people!

•

Join a society. I know you might have done this already and I am sure that you will have considered it at least, but I would really recommend it. They are great ways of meeting new people and it's also nice to get out and do something that you enjoy!

•

See if you can meet anyone on social media. There will quite often be groups that you can join where you meet lots of new people at your uni, and you might even meet some people on your course that you haven't really got the chance to meet yet!

•

See if your SU puts any events on. Quite often the SU will do events for students and these are great ways of meeting new people too and also trying something new.

In general on your course, try and speak to some new people if there are new people that you haven't really spoken too yet. It's good to try and speak to new people in lectures and I am sure they will want to chat to you! With the groups that you would like to be friend with, try and make a conversation with them as I am sure they would love to talk to you. Most people will be pretty friendly so it's worth trying.

I hope some of this helps,

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Original post

by hallamstudents

Hi there,
I am really sorry that this is happening to you - I also had a good friend leave my course and it's really hard!
Firstly, I would ask if you have other friends outside your course? It seems like you have other friends that you live with, but I thought I could give you some of my tips for making friends at uni in general in case you were wanting to try anything new to meet some new people!

•

See if your SU puts any events on. Quite often the SU will do events for students and these are great ways of meeting new people too and also trying something new.

In general on your course, try and speak to some new people if there are new people that you haven't really spoken too yet. It's good to try and speak to new people in lectures and I am sure they will want to chat to you! With the groups that you would like to be friend with, try and make a conversation with them as I am sure they would love to talk to you. Most people will be pretty friendly so it's worth trying.
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Hi, yes I have friends outside of my course so it’s not an issue socialising in the evening. But I am lonely during the day on campus so I am considering joining a society just to meet people to hang out with during the day :smile:

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

Original post

by hallamstudents

Hi there,
I am really sorry that this is happening to you - I also had a good friend leave my course and it's really hard!
Firstly, I would ask if you have other friends outside your course? It seems like you have other friends that you live with, but I thought I could give you some of my tips for making friends at uni in general in case you were wanting to try anything new to meet some new people!

•

See if your SU puts any events on. Quite often the SU will do events for students and these are great ways of meeting new people too and also trying something new.

In general on your course, try and speak to some new people if there are new people that you haven't really spoken too yet. It's good to try and speak to new people in lectures and I am sure they will want to chat to you! With the groups that you would like to be friend with, try and make a conversation with them as I am sure they would love to talk to you. Most people will be pretty friendly so it's worth trying.
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Also- did u manage to make friends on the course in second year? I hear it’s difficult once groups are established

Reply 6

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.
I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.
There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.
I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.
Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Hi

This can be really difficult, I would advise you to try talking to the people on your course as well as this I would advise you to join societies as they are a really great idea to make new friends as people have common interests in that subject, or even it might be a good idea to see if the people wanted to grab a drink after lectures which could create social opportunities.

I hope that helps,

Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps

Reply 7

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I originally had a group of 5 friends but they’ve all slowly left the course. The only friend left also wants to leave now.
I like my course and don’t want to leave but I’m worried I’ll be miserable on it next year without friends. Everyone else is very cliquey and unfriendly/ not my type of people.
There is one other group I’d like to be friends with but they’re not in my group for this year and they too seem very closed off to new friends.
I’m living with my friends from halls in a shared house and they too have struggled to make friends on their courses it’s a weird atmosphere.
Any advice? I will try and make some more friends but I’m kind of socially awkward/ shy- maybe I’m overthinking it and the people are really nice

Hi Anon,
Sorry to hear your situation, and hope you can still keep in contact with your friends after they've moved away.
Personally, i would recommend speaking to people before and after lectures, so if you see someone sat in the lecture alone try and sit next to them and make conversation with them or ask they if they want to study with you in the library sometime. Also, Labs, practical's and seminars can be easier places to get to know people as you get more opportunities to chat with others. Also, don't lose hope of making coursemates, I managed to make some new course friends in my 2nd and 3rd year purely by chatting to them over the course of a few labs and as you move through university you will find you have modules with new people in them who you can get to know.
As other people have also mentioned, societies can be a great way to meet new people too, as everyone there is usually quite chill to chat with, as you all have a common interest you can talk about.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 8

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

Also- did u manage to make friends on the course in second year? I hear it’s difficult once groups are established

Hi again Anon,

To answer your question, in second year I actually found I made more friends. This is because I was living at home in second year and commuting rather than being in halls, and this motivated me to make extra effort to get involved with things on campus. I joined my first society in year 2, as well as arranged more things with friends such as coffees after lectures, meals out in town and dog walks (a close friend of mine had a guide dog who we walked after our Neuropsychology lecture on Thursdays).

I also had friends who got involved with peer-assisted-learning where second years offer advice and support for new first-years which opened up a new social circle for them.

Hoping this helps 🙂

Holly
University of Bath