By the time you’re in your senior year of high school, you’ve known most of your friends for almost your entire life. You probably don’t remember what it’s like to not know anybody in a room, so it can be very intimidating to start getting to know people without a mutual friend to make introductions. That said, this is a very important skill to develop, and you will need to use this skill many times throughout your life. This is also one of the best ways to make your transition into college as smooth as possible. Here is how to make friends at your college orientation.
Compliment People
In general, you are probably going to have a lot more in common with most of your cohorts than you think. However, one way to start picking out similarities is to really start observing people. Look at their clothes, hairstyles, jewelry, and mannerisms. You will be able to see a lot before you even start talking. One great way to open conversation is to compliment other people. If they’re wearing a shirt that represents your favorite sports team or musical group, then you’ll automatically have plenty to talk about.
Introduce Yourself to People
Once you do break the ice with some kind of compliment, you want to introduce yourself. Be kind of formal about it at first. Tell them your name and shake their hand. Tell them a little bit about yourself, and ask them questions about who they are. These seem like simple and natural steps toward forming friendships, but most people just go the easy route and retreat into their phones. If you do that, you can guarantee that you are going to have a hard time making friends.
Tag Along with Your Roommate
If you’ve already been introduced to your roommate, then it can be a lot more comfortable to meet people together. This way, you’re not just talking about yourself, you can talk a bit about your roommate and ease the pressure to really open up too much right off the bat. Plus, if either or you know anybody already, you can start by introducing each other to your friends.
Make Plans to Hang Out After Orientation
During your orientation, you’re probably going to learn a lot about the different events that will be happening on campus throughout the first week. Take note of any activities that sound fun to you and make a plan with your roommate to attend. Once you’ve met a few people together, you can make plans to all attend the event together as a group. This is the best way to start turning acquaintances into friends. It’s important to take advantage of this opportunity, because by the time you’re in grad school earning NEC’s masters in accounting online, you won’t have any friends to help you get through college. You will need to take on your studies all by yourself and it won’t be the same process of finding yourself and creating a support network.