Worried about college

Question

I'm finding myself really worried about college recently. I live on the east coast and am going to college all the way in California. I won't be able to see all of my friends again until December.

I'm concerned that I may not be able to make new friends out there. I'm a little bit 'weird', but I've found friends who accept me for who I am and who I get along with fine with. Plus, I'm going to a huge state school with over 30,000 people.

Any tips?

Answer 1

be yourself everyone is probably feeling the same way

Answer 2

Attend orientation. You will meet the thousands of other new students who are feeling the same way and are also looking to make friends. Also, live on campus in a double room. You will meet lots of people and your Resident Assistant will be a great resource for you. If you live in a single, it is too easy to isolate yourself. Another thing you can do is get involved in a couple of clubs or organizations. I would hold off on pledging a Greek organization until sophomore year. This will give you time to get adjusted to the academic demands of the school and learn about the other opportunities you have.

PS- Don't "hook up" during orientation. Even at a large university, there tends to be fall out from these relationships.

Answer 3

Don't worry about it too much. You'll meet friends in your dorm building, in your classes, and in the dining hall. You can join a club or two--since it's such a big school, I'm sure there will be at least one club that matches one of your "weird" interests.

Answer 4

I live in AZ but we have people who move to Cali all the time and people from Cali come to AZ and there are nice ones and rude ones. People on the west coast are friendly, accepting and tolerating of various lifestyles. So it doesn't matter how "weird' you are, we have weird people too.

Also in college, no matter where you go, most people are accepting because when you are a freshman and just starting out, most people are looking for friends. I'm sure you remember the first week of high school and how it was like. Its sort of like that in college, where everyone is meeting each other, talking, deciding who they have things in common with.

People are alike all over, if you just say hi, and start a small conversation you can build on that. So just take baby steps and you'll find friends who will like you for you.  

Answer 5

There are quite a few 'weird' people at college, I've come to find.  And sometimes I think they make better friends that the 'normal' people.  If there are 30,000 people there, there have to be a few who will be friends with you :)  Don't worry.  Everyone is nervous about college and going to school away from home.  My college is only 3 hours away from home, and I was still nervous about going!

Answer 6

Relax. Being nervous about college is perfectly normal.

Since you're going to a huge state school with such a large student population, though, you should have absolutely no trouble whatsoever making new friends. It might help to join an organization or two. Your college should have a wide variety of organizations, and should definitely have something to fit your interests.