How To Make Friends After College

They say that college is some of the best years of your life, you meet a lot of people, experience new things together and from there, bonds are formed and memories are made.

However, what happens when you graduate, and everyone goes their different ways?

It may not be nice to hear but for most people, it becomes much harder for them to make friends once they leave college, and this is due to numerous things.

Why Making Friends After College Can Be Hard

One of the main reasons is that you are no longer sharing the same living space with them as you would in dorms, this leads to constant opportunities to have conversations and make plans together on the spot.

Even if you are part of a very large university on a sprawling campus, you are bound to come across like-minded people who are up for anything.

All of this makes it a lot easier to make friends in college because you hardly even have to try for most of the time!

Another reason why making friends after college is hard is due to everyone going their own separate ways.

This usually means that they are moving across the state or even to another country to go back home or to pursue their own career and interests.

How To Make Friends After College

Having a job that takes up most of your time can be a big hit to having opportunities to make friends and if you are someone who works from home, you will face this challenge even more so.

Having everyone in different places makes it much harder to meet up and people also tend to be busier after college with new jobs and relationships so even maintaining a conversation over text message can be a challenge.

Unfortunately, all of these factors can lead to a lot of friendships drifting apart from one another unless you have a strong bond or both parties are willing to put in more effort.

Finally, it’s natural for people to outgrow others and this can be especially prevalent when you graduate because people are maturing and discovering who they are, and sadly that doesn’t always mean you will be compatible as friends anymore.

So, now that we have covered the reasons why making and maintaining friends after college can be hard, we can talk about how to overcome this challenge and reinvigorate your social life.

Use An App

With the rise of technology, more and more people are relying on apps to meet new people especially on dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge.

However, you can also use apps such as this to look for platonic relationships simply by adjusting the settings in your profile and what you are looking for.

By using an app, you can meet people from all over the place and can be matched with each other depending on similar interests and hobbies which is great when coming up with conversation starters.

You can also choose from a big variety of apps that are designed specifically for making new friends which let you exchange messages before meeting up for a coffee in order to get to know each other better.

Think of it as a friend date because if it’s successful, you could have made a friend for life all thanks to an app.

Join A Group

You can also try joining a group such as a sports group where you can all play together and share the same interests. If sports aren’t your thing, don’t worry as there are lots of other groups that you can join that can get very niche if you look hard enough.

If you live in a city, you should be able to search on the internet for groups in your area that will have spots open. There may be a joining fee, but it’s usually very cheap and the friendships you can make from them will be more than worth it.

Take Classes

This is a great way to kill two birds with one stone as you can pursue a hobby as well as make new friends. It could range from anything between yoga to pottery, and you will meet people that whom you will already have something in common.

If you have a skill that you have a lot of knowledge and experience in, and you think others would be interested in it too, you could even hold your own classes and become a teacher.

This will not only improve your confidence, but people will look to you for advice and this is a sure-fire way to strike up a conversation.

Volunteer

No matter where you are in the world, there will be numerous places around you that are looking for volunteers, especially charity shops and shelters.

You will be offering a big help to those in need as well as working alongside other people who share the same morals.

It’s also a good judge of character as someone who volunteers is more than likely a good person, so why wouldn’t you want them to be your friend and vice versa?

Get Roommates

If you have just moved to a new city, getting roommates is a great way to make new friends because it’s almost like being in college again except much more grown-up and tidy.

You can meet them before they move in to make sure that you click and if you do, you can have dinners together and have conversations whenever you like – a perfect recipe for a friendship.

Having roommates also introduces more opportunities to meet new people as you can meet their friends too by holding dinner parties or joining them on days out.

Before you know it you will have a whole new group of friends that you didn’t think you would ever have again since graduating.

Here are some more tips on how to find a great roommate.

How To Make Friends After College – Conclusion

Overall, as painful and disheartening it is when you are transitioning from the social environment of college to adult life, there are many ways that you can tackle the challenge of making new friends.

However, this is not to say that you will be successful with every method that you try as you cannot force friendships, and sometimes you just won’t click with people, but that’s ok!

The right people will come into your life, and you can hold the memories that you made in college close to your heart knowing that even though it’s over, your best times are not behind you anymore.