Socialising tips?

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Here at the University of Lancashire, we have Facebook community groups for our offer holders, which are a great way to meet your potential cohort. Most universities will have something like this in place, it could be a what's app group or another platform. These groups allow you to then connect digitally with people from your course or accommodation and start chatting before meeting in person, which smooths the transition.

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Most people are nervous too, so I often found to break the awkwardness or silence, I would just start a conversation. A lot of the time, others appreciated this and it started the conversation/ friendship.

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If you are moving into accommodation, I often found that being in the communal areas allowed more conversations to start. I would leave my door open every now and then unless I wanted my own time. I would ask if my flat mates want to go for a walk and explore the campus or even do a food shop together. Sometimes it's the simpler things that can really spark a friendship.

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Offer holder days are also a great way to meet your potential cohort before starting the course. You could ask for their socials and this really helped me ease into a friendship as like I mentioned, I was and still am a shy person to an extent. It comes with practise!

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Freshers fairs and society fairs. Societies are another great way to meet like-minded people with similar interests. Go to as many events around university even if they are freshers fairs as events happen all year round. Whatever your personal hobbies are I'm sure there will be a society or event similar to attend.

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Joining a society is one of the best ways to meet people. Even if you don't have a specific hobby you might already have, there will be so many different societies so there might be something you enjoy that you haven't done before, or something you haven't done much! There will be socials but they will also put lots on which don't involve drinking so there will be so many opportunities to socialise with people without drinking, and lots of people join societies to make friends!

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See if your uni puts any events on as this is also a good way to meet some people and they likely won't always involve drinking. There may be coffee shop trips, trips to other cities or games nights so you may as well have a look and see when you get to uni.

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Have a look on social media as you might end up meeting some people on here that you can chat to and become friends with. Lots of people will join groups on social media so you can join some and you might end up meeting some people on here which can also feel less daunting!

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You will also end up meeting lots of people on your course so this is a good opportunity to socialise and meet people and make friends!

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If you are living in halls, you will meet lots of people here too and don't worry as it isn't as scary as you might think. I know there is a big thing about drinking about uni, but there will be so many opportunities to do other things too - in my first year we had movie nights, games nights or nights where we made dinners together so there will be loads of other things you can do to socialise!

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Join Societies: This is the best way to meet people who share your personal hobbies. Whether it’s a gaming, coding, or a sports club, it takes the pressure off "forced" socialising because you already have something in common to talk about.

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Course Friends: You’ll spend a lot of time with people in your Computer Science course. Simple things like asking someone if they understood a lecture or hanging out for a bit after a class can naturally lead to solid friendships.

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Quality over Quantity: You don't need a huge group of friends to have a great time. Finding just one or two people who truly get you can make your university experience feel complete.