One of the most daunting prospects of starting university for me was the thought of arriving at a completely new place and not knowing anyone. Now, halfway through my first term at Durham, I know that making friends at university is not as hard as it may seem.
The collegiate experience
Being a collegiate university, upon my arrival at Durham I immediately felt a sense of community unlike most other universities. Even before stepping foot in Durham, there are numerous ways to start making connections and take control of your university experience. From choosing college preferences—whether that’s a smaller college like St Chad’s or a larger one such as Collingwood—to joining freshers’ group chats in the summer before university starts.
Freshers’ week
Getting in contact with another coursemate personally gave me a lot more confidence before my arrival, upon which I experienced an unforgettable freshers’ week, with activities organised entirely by the college, allowing me to naturally make friends with a huge variety of people. While freshers can be a whirlwind, I found that getting involved with as much as possible, whether it was a paint and sip night or a clubbing night, helped me establish stronger relationships.
Societies
Not only does the collegiate system effortlessly facilitate friendships but there are plenty more opportunities to meet people through the university’s sports and societies (of which the University and colleges offer over 1000). From ultimate frisbee to banana society to one of our many student-led theatre groups, there’s a society for everyone, providing sessions and socials that are a perfect way to meet students across all year groups and departments (and help you check out all our college bars of course – which are also great places to socialise). I have found that attending sessions and bar crawls with crochet, art society and book club have already really expanded my connections and enhanced my overall experience!
Coursemates
Another place where it’s easy to make friends (and, as I found, likely those you’ll have the most in common with) will be on your course. During fresher’s week, it is likely that your college will hold an activity with the course mates in your college, which I found was a great way to meet people who I could walk to lectures with! I also found it super useful to branch out and talk to new people in your lectures and classes; even if this means arriving 5 minutes earlier to a 9 am to chat with another coursemate!
My advice
I can attest that making friends and building relationships is an ongoing process, focus on getting a few familiar faces at the start of term and the rest will all fall into place.
Overall, what I’d say to myself, and others is that it isn’t unusual if you don’t find your ‘group’ straight away, in fact, that’s the norm. My biggest piece of advice would be to come with an open mind and positive attitude and remember that everyone is in the same boat!
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