I totally agree that it's a good idea to get a new "friends" name, email and phone number, but I think it's important to be outgoing and try to talk to people that are different from you. Part of attending post secondary is to expand your horizons and make connections that will help you in the future. The more different people you meet the more you will grow.

University is a great opportunity to meet people different from yourself in culture. People come from all over to attend university, so take advantage of this and expand your friendship! You never know who your new best friend will be until you make the effort. Even if you don't become good friends, you are sure to learn something new in the proccess of talking to a new person.

yeah I would be pretty annoyed if someone tried to talk to me during lecture. There are way better opportunities to meet people in universities than in classes and even tutorials. Clubs and other activities is where you make the majority of your new friends, even more if you live in residence. Also gravitating towards people of a similar ethnicity is not the best advice. University is very multi-cultural and you'll see very few ethnic cliques. Also having the attitude that its far easier to talk to someone of that ethnicity just because you share that in common is a baaaad attitude to have.

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1 We are from Mac! 2 A little bit louder! 3 I still can't hear you! 4 more more more...

McMaster Class of 2011
Combined Honours Political Science and Philosophy

Whether you disagree with it or not, it's the truth. Ethnic groups tend to hang out together. That's not to say they hangout exclusively with their own ethnicity, but you'll notice that trend whether you're in high school, university, or the "real world".

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-Stringer

lol, I actually found it easier to make friends in first year than it is in second year, b/c in first year classes everyone's kinda new and we all want to meet new people and stuff.

Anyway, joining clubs would help a lot, and also, be an orientation leader! =D I met a lot of good friends through that.


Wrt people hanging out with those in the same ethnic groups, it surely doesn't have to be that way, but it is also true that a lot of people do that. It is understandable, though. I also had a lot of Jewish friends in high school, and I tried my best to keep in touch with them and be good friends with them, but I think that was possible b/c it was in highschool, where there aren't that many people compared to university, and I had friends in highschool that I first met in elementary school which was even smaller. But now in univ, it's hard to make new friends who are not Asians. First of all, there really isn't that much to talk about, other than maybe school stuffs. Even those academic stuffs, though, don't really work out for me because of the nature of my program (majority are Chinese). I mostly only listen to Korean music, and watch Korean dramas, so there really isn't much to talk about with non-Asians in that area, either. I wanted to try and get up-to-date with TV-related stuffs here, but now that I'm in university that's kinda hard to do. Not having watched TV for 2 years doesn't help, either. Also, what you do when you're with your friends also matter a bit, I guess. I'm more of an eat-and-go-sing-karaoke type. That being said, it's not like I don't have anything to talk about or do with non-Asians, but it's generally harder to find a topic that interests both.
So yeah, I'm not hanging out mostly with my own ethnic groups on purpose, but it just happens to be that they are the ones that I can best relate to.

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University of Waterloo '11
Honours Computer Science, Co-op
Biology Minor

In addition to meeting people through classes, clubs and residence, here are a few ideas on how to meet others:

Volunteering can be a great way to meet like-minded others. Most campuses have a volunteer connection group that can hook you up with a specific agency, group or event that could use your time and energy. Your residence assistant can probably give you information about several student volunteer groups as well. It's also a great way to pad your academics with extra curriculars (i.e. earn more scholarships, become more employable, earn acceptance into grad programs). For instance, bio-med majors might be interested in volunteering at their campus health services building.

If you excelled in high school sports, try out for the varsity team. Or, if you're not exactly a superstar athlete but still like to keep active and have fun, try intramural sports. Check out what your school offers, you can usually sign up as an individual and get placed with a soccer team, volleyball team, water polo team, etc., or sign up with a group of friends. Intramural fees are usually pretty minimal.

Conferences in your academic field are also a great way to meet new people and to network. Check online for conferences at our school or in the area, many offer free or reduced cost admission for students. It's a great way to become inspired and to find out what's going on within your academic discipline!

for the first few weeks ....i think thats a great idea

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ITS AMAZING WHEN A STRANGER BECOMES A FRIEND
BUT
IT IS SAD WHEN A FRIEND BECOMES STRANGER

is it really that hard to make new friends? can't you just go find someone who would be a good friend and walk up to them and talk to them? cuz thats wat i would do. though it may be strange

Just be your typical, seemingly approachable self and friends will make their way to you.
Smile a lot. Though some may mistake you for a psycho, others will be inclined to befriend you and there you go ;)
instant friend.

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UTSG Computer Science '12

dont keep to yourself worse thing ever you gonna be a hermet haha i did that first time around .... i learnt my lesson