Advice On Making Friends During Freshman Orientation
posted on 07/30/2009
College is a twofold experience: the freedom to have fun, and the incredible pressure to score good grades on your own. Both are better with a solid group of friends, but meeting so many new people in one go can be very daunting. Most colleges provide a freshman orientation, which is a perfect opportunity to meet a large portion of your classmates and hall mates.
Most orientations will have a huge selection of activities, from concerts and ice breakers to movie nights and ice cream socials. It is highly advisable to go to as many events that interest you as you can, since you are more likely to find people with whom you share interests at the events that you enjoy than the mandatory, less exciting ones. Perhaps you can find a seminar on tree climbing, or a black-and-white movie night. No matter what your activity of choice is, it's a good way to find new faces; just try to remember at least some of their names!
Meeting a ton of people during orientation does little good if you never hear from them again, a particular problem on large campuses with many dorms. There are many ways to keep in contact with someone, but the easiest for most people and most common are trading cell phone numbers and using Facebook or other social networking services. Cell phones are particularly useful if you both use text messaging, because it is a low-pressure way to ask someone to meet up with you for a bite to eat and still gets a fairly quick response.
The people in your dorm are going to be living near you for the rest of the year at the least, so getting to know them is most likely a good idea. Many people simply leave their dorm room doors wide open during orientation, so to meet the people around you, just walk down the hall, choose a room with an open door, and knock on the door frame. Introducing yourself is easier than usual; you already share something in common by virtue of the fact that you live in the same building, and possibly share an RA.
The most important thing about making friends during orientation is to relax and be yourself. Cliché as that sounds, it is incredibly true. You do not have a long time to talk to each person when you're all rushing around to various activities, but far from making the best impression, you want to make a true impression. Friends who last won't be found if you only put off a false first impression.
So, relax, smile, and remember: everyone else at orientation is just as eager to make friends as you are!
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