One of the most stressful parts of coming into college as a freshman is the process of making new friends. This is probably one of the first times in your life you’ve had a completely fresh start, and it’s completely rational to be nervous. Unless you ended up going to the same school as your high school best friends (which is unlikely), you are likely pretty anxious about this part of the new transition.

Have no fear: Almost all of the other freshman are feeling the exact same as you. Here are the tips and tricks you need to find your niche within the University of Illinois social scene.

Leave your door open at your dorm

One of the easiest ways to open yourself up to new friendships starts at your new home. As the most stereotypical way to make friends in your freshman year dorm, leaving your door open has some truth behind it. It gives you the opportunity to meet new people without having to go too far out of your way to interact with others.

Make use of Quad Day

Everyone loves Quad Day and with good reason. Quad Day is such an easy way to join tons of new clubs and meet new people. By joining clubs, it gives you the opportunity to meet people who share your interests and can open the door to meeting tons of new people. It also could open you up to joining clubs you had never thought you would have been interested in. The cherry on top is the tons of free stuff that’s handed out as well.

Join Greek life

With Greek recruitment at the beginning of the school year, it gives a great opportunity to meet new people. No matter joining a fraternity or a sorority, there’s a rush process involved that allows you to meet tons of new people, even if you decide Greek life isn’t your speed.

If you don’t want to join Panhellenic Greek life but still want to be in an organization, there are plenty of other options. There are a plethora of honors societies and fraternities available for most majors and career paths; you just have to be active in your search.

Be on the lookout in your classes

A really convenient — and helpful — way to make friends is through sitting next to new people in your classes. Not only does it give you a chance to find new people to study with, but you also have a common connection with those people to start with: the class. Even though it can be intimidating at first to sit down next to a new person and start a conversation, it will most often pay off in the long run. More likely than not you will have these people in the same classes throughout your college career, so it will give you the chance to meet some new familiar faces.

No matter what route you go to make friends, make sure you’re putting yourself out there and being authentic. On one last note, remember most other freshmen are feeling the same nerves as you, and thinking about this will make the first move a lot less intimidating.

Ava is a sophomore in ACES.

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