How to Make Friends in Your First Year of University

The photos everyone posts in freshers week make it look effortless. A blur of new people, a packed kitchen, twelve arms around each other for the camera. Then you close the app, look around your actual room, and it's just you and a duvet that still smells like home.

If that's where you are, take a breath. Learning how to make friends in university is a skill, not a personality trait you were either born with or not. Loads of people who look settled by October felt exactly like you in week one. They just did a few specific things, and you can do them too.

Here's what actually works in your first year, based on how friendships really form rather than freshers-week mythology.

Know the numbers before you panic

First, some reassurance backed by data. You are not the only lonely one in that lecture hall. A 2024 survey of nearly 44,000 students found that 57% reported feeling lonely, and first-years feel it most sharply because they've left an entire support network behind at once.

Zoom out and it's bigger than campus. The WHO Commission on Social Connection reported in June 2025 that around 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by loneliness. So when you scan the room and assume everyone else has it figured out, you're almost certainly wrong. Half of them are performing the same confidence you are.

The first six weeks matter more than you think

Here's the thing nobody tells freshers: the start of the year is a rare window. In the first few weeks, everyone is new, nobody has a group yet, and reaching out feels normal because that's what the whole campus is doing. By around week six, groups tend to settle. Reaching out is still possible after that, it just takes a bit more effort.

So the single best move is to over-invest early, even when you're knackered. Say yes to the awkward flat dinner. Say yes to the coffee after the lecture. Say yes to the society taster session you're not sure about. You can rest in second term. Right now, front-load it.

Say yes to your halls, your course, and one society

There are three natural pools of people in first year, and you want a line in each.

Your flat or halls. These are the people you'll see every single day, and daily repetition is the strongest ingredient in friendship. Prop your door open the first week. Do your washing up in the shared kitchen instead of hiding in your room. Offer to cook a big batch of pasta for whoever's around. Low effort, high return.

Your course. Sit near the same people in lectures and seminars and actually learn their names. Suggest a study group before the first deadline panic, not during it. Course friends come with built-in repeated contact and a shared thing to talk about.

One society, done properly. Don't sign up for fifteen at the freshers fair and attend none. Pick one or two that actually meet weekly, and go every single week even when you don't feel like it. A sports team, a climbing club, a debate society, a gaming group. Weekly attendance turns strangers into familiar faces into friends, in that order.

The magic of shared activity

Notice the pattern in all three: you're not manufacturing deep conversation out of nothing. You're doing a thing alongside other people, so the talking happens sideways while you're busy. That's why "what course are you on?" small talk feels flat, but bonding over a terrible group project or a 6am rowing session feels easy. The activity does the heavy lifting for you.

Be the one who follows up

Most people wait to be included. Be the one who includes. If you enjoyed talking to someone even a little, be the person who sends the next message. "Bunch of us are getting food later, want to come?" is enough.

You are not asking for a lifelong commitment. You're proposing a second, low-stakes hang. And the person on the other end is usually relieved, because they were too nervous to ask you. One returned invitation is often the whole difference between "someone I've met" and "my friend."

If starting conversations makes your stomach drop, you're not broken. We wrote a whole guide on making friends when you have social anxiety that breaks it into much smaller steps.

When the halls feel empty: meeting people online

Some nights the flat is dead, your course mates have gone home for the weekend, and the loneliness gets loud. This is where online tools genuinely help, not as a replacement for campus life, but as a bridge while you build it.

The problem with most chat apps is that they drop you into cold small talk with a stranger and expect chemistry. That almost never works, on screen or off. It's the same "so what do you do" dead end.

This is where YaraCircle does it differently. It connects you with people through shared activities and low-pressure games instead of a blank message box, so you have something to actually do together while you talk. It's built for making friends and beating loneliness, not dating, which takes the weirdness out of reaching out when you're new somewhere and know almost no one. Use it to meet a few people nearby, including other students in the same boat, then take the ones you click with into real plans. If you want more on turning online chats into offline friendships, our guide to chatting with strangers as an introvert covers it.

Stay safe when you meet up

Meeting someone from the internet in person is completely fine when you're sensible about it. A few rules keep it low risk:

• Meet in public, in daylight, the first time. A busy campus cafe or a coffee shop, never their room or yours.
• Tell a flatmate or friend. Share who you're meeting, where, and when. Text them when you arrive and when you leave.
• Video call first. A quick video chat confirms the person is who they say and gives you a feel for them.
• Keep your own way home. Don't rely on anyone else to get you back.
• Trust your gut. If something feels off, you're allowed to leave. No explanation owed.

None of this should make you paranoid. It's the same common sense you'd use meeting anyone new, and it lets you say yes to more people without the worry.

Give it more time than freshers week suggests

Here's the reassurance to end on. Friendships that last are rarely the ones formed in the first drunken week. They're the ones that build slowly, over shared seminars and society nights and late kitchen chats, across the whole first term.

So don't judge October by the highlight reel of week one. Judge it by whether last week had one more familiar face than the week before. One new regular, one returned invitation, one plan on the calendar. That's momentum, and momentum is the entire game. By second term, that quiet first month will feel like a different life.

People Also Ask

Is it normal to have no friends in first year of university?

Yes, especially in the first few weeks. You've left your whole support network behind at once, and everyone around you is doing the same, even the ones who look settled. Surveys show most students feel lonely at some point, and first-years feel it most. It usually eases a lot by the end of first term as repeated contact in halls, on your course, and in societies turns strangers into friends.

How do introverts make friends at university?

Lean into structured settings rather than big loud parties. Societies, study groups, sports teams, and smaller flat hangs all give you a shared activity, so you don't have to start conversations from nothing. Starting online can also help you warm up at your own pace before meeting in person. Quality over quantity: one or two solid friends beats a huge shallow group.

What's the best way to meet other students online safely?

Use platforms built around shared activities and friendship rather than cold small talk or dating, and check they have moderation and reporting tools. When you meet in person, keep it public the first time, tell a friend where you'll be, and do a quick video call beforehand. These simple habits let you meet more people while keeping the risk low.