Tips for Socialising at University as a Commuter Student

About the author: Hi! My name is Ash Sutton, and I am a Digital Media and Communications student at the University of Birmingham. I am an aspiring lifestyle, arts and culture journalist and all-around geek. In the times I’m not spending an absurd amount of money in restaurants, you can usually find me tucked in the corner of my bedroom with a coffee and my latest cross-stitch kit, rewatching a Marvel movie or listening to Broadway soundtracks until I am sick of them.

As a commuter student, there are a lot of challenges at university that don’t get spoken about. Most notably, how difficult it can be to make friends. While in halls you are thrown into a social circle right off the bat at freshers’ week, but as a commuter it is completely up to you to find your people and forge those bonds. I cannot claim to be an expert in socialising, but there are some ways that you can increase your network to find new friends at university.

Social media

If you want to get ahead of the game, it’s common for every university to have an ‘Offer Holder and Prospective Students’ group on Facebook that’s full of eager academics searching for someone on their course. Group chats get made and friendships will form, and if you’re really lucky you might find one of the ones that stick before you even step foot on campus. I did.

(For more tips on this, see our 'Next Stop: Uni guide on making friends before starting uni).

Coursemates

The first people you will meet will be those on your course. All like-minded people with at least one common interest makes for an easy ice breaker. Oftentimes, you will even be encouraged to introduce yourself to the people around you in lectures and seminars, so conversation is bound to spark. Don’t worry if you don’t find your people first try though as all classes will have a different group of people for you to chat to.

Once you’ve found a group of people in your lectures, it’s always fun to set up a group chat to use during lectures. Whether you’re joking about the content, wishing you hadn’t bothered with the journey, or complaining of the boredom; trying to hide your laughter can make a particularly bad morning better.

Societies

The most obvious way to make friends is to join a society. The athletic groups tend to quickly form a camaraderie that doesn’t quite compare to any other friendship you might make at university. Don't be fooled, though – all other societies also do the trick. The geeky ones will provide you with a group of people to obsess over your common love with, the academic ones may provide some friendly competition, and student media even build a bond through teamwork you might not quite expect.

If you find yourself enjoying one society in particular, I would always recommend trying to get more involved by joining their committee if you can. In my experience, it opens you up to having contact with more members and finding friends all across the society as well as being able to form connections with those you are working alongside to run the group.

Still not sure about societies? Check out our Content Ambassador Sophie's post on what she wishes she had known about societies before joining one.

Mutuals

I particularly live by this one, considering many of my university friends don’t even go to university with me. If you have a school friend or a boyfriend/girlfriend who has followed you to university or to one close by, it always benefits to push yourself into as many groups as you can. My main group of friends all go to university with my boyfriend, but as a group of film students, my similar adoration for media made me fit in a lot better there than with some of the people in my course who are more interested in the communications and marketing side of the course. It may be hard to find personality matches in a university setting where chit-chat is limited, so relying on someone who knows you outside of academia may make for a life-long group of pals.

To conclude

There are highs and lows of both commuting and living in student housing, and while commuting can save a lot of money, I would encourage, if you are in a position to do so, to live out one year. It makes for an experience that you completely miss being so far from the social life of the city. Even if it’s just for your final year, like I have done, at least by then you might have a group of friends you know well and are comfortable enough to live with.

Our UniHomes Content Ambassadors are current students across the UK who share tips about student life in their city to help you make the most of your time at uni. If you're interested in writing for our programme, click here for more details.

The views and opinions expressed in these blogs are those of the UniHomes Content Ambassadors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of UniHomes. UniHomes accepts no liability for the content of these Student Blogs.