Starting at university and meeting new people can be a daunting experience, however, university is a great place to meet likeminded people and create lifelong friendships with people who share the same hobbies and interests as you do. One of the best places to make friends is on your course or within your school. Below are some tips to help you getting started on making friends with your course mates at the School of Arts Languages and Cultures.
- Start conversations with the people around you
Introduce yourself to the people who you sit next to in lectures, seminars and tutorials then spark up a conversation with them.
An easy way to introduce yourself is to say Hi followed by your name:
e.g., Hi, my name’s Amy, what’s your name?
Some simple conversations starters you can use after you’ve introduced yourself are:
- What are you studying?
- Where are you originally from?
- Whereabouts are you living in Manchester?
- Why did you pick to study this course?
Introducing yourself to other students on your courses is a great way to start making friends and it will also give you the opportunity to form study groups and find people to work with for group projects.
- Join societies related to your course
Joining societies and partaking in society activities is a great way to meet other people on your course or within SALC. It will also give you the opportunity to meet students who have the same interests and hobbies as you.
There are many societies within the university who are related to SALC. Some examples are:
- University of Manchester Film Society
- University of Manchester History Society
- Chinese Studies Society
- Art History Society
- Manchester University Music Society (MUMS)
All of our subject areas have a dedicated society and some have Facebook groups and blogs of their own so you can keep in the know about the latest social events.
A full list of societies at the University of Manchester can be found here.
- Attend events hosted by SALC
SALC hosts a variety of events during welcome week and throughout the academic year. There’s something to interest everyone such as yoga, treasure hunts and wellbeing activities. Attending these events will allow you to easily meet other students within the school whilst giving you a great opportunity to make new friends.
Check out the SALC Instagram page, SALC Facebook page and news page to stay up to date on upcoming events and news.
- Join Facebook and social media groups
Frequently, groups will be set up on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp for certain courses.
These groups are a great way to connect with students who are on your course or are a part of SALC. Try and find these groups online before welcome week and see if you can connect to some of your fellow students online before and during your time at university.
- Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and do something you enjoy all whilst helping the local Manchester community. Volunteering also contributes towards the Make a Difference (volunteering) part of the Stellify Award and can look great on your CV. You can choose to volunteer on a regular basis (e.g. once a week) or you can partake in volunteer days which allow you make friends and get a taste of different types of volunteering.
There are a variety of volunteering opportunities you can get stuck into that are related to SALC such as volunteering to teach languages at local schools or entertaining older people with music and cultural activities. You can find all sorts of volunteering opportunities on the University of Manchester Volunteering Hub.
Post written by Anna Smith