9 Tips To Make Friends In Grad School

9 Tips To Make Friends In Grad School

Education

You have finished university, done your national service and probably worked for some years. Well, you would like an upgrade on your education…what to do?  Grad school! Yes! You are going to do your masters or Doctorate Degree. You get the form, pass the entry exams, and voila! You are in grad school! No one can say you didn’t earn it. You’re so elated, but after settling in you start to realize that you are on your own and loneliness might set in. Now you need to make friends, healthy friendships even. way to go? A dilemma, what with some married grad students who can’t wait to get back to their partners after classes, nursing mothers who need to take care of their lovely babies or even students who juggle school and work together and don’t have extra time to spare. How would you achieve friendship? That’s not a bother, because this article would give you the right tips on just how to make friends in grad school.

Tip 1

Table of Contents

Join A Community On Social Media

Social platforms like; Facebook, WhatsApp, or Telegram always have online groups made for various kinds of people, in this case, grad students.  Interesting and helpful topics are usually discussed in these groups ranging from academics, sports, courses to take, and even entertainment. You get to be in the know of changes and know how to adapt better.

Tip 2

Don’t Shut Up! Ask Questions!

Getting into grad school after a long time can prove to be quite challenging. As a student just starting grad school, seniors are one of the best people to meet and get information necessary for an enjoyable grad school experience. Ask questions about courses to take, research, or certain tips that are helpful. Because the seniors have been there before you, they’ve probably faced many of the issues you might be having and they’ll have the right answers or advice for you and of course, you could find a friend in them.

Tip 3

Get a Roomie Who Is A Fellow Grad Student

Getting a grad student just like you as a roommate is quite beneficial and creates that bond you need for a great friendship. You get to relate with each other at the same level. In fact, you now have someone you can move around with, go to lunch with, and other kinds of functions, and you can also plan to do things together thereby relieving anxiety or stress faced as a fresh grad school student. It is a real plus if you can get a senior as a roomie because you’ll have someone who knows the ropes and would give you guidance in areas like courses to choose, managing certain aspects of your program, and also how to effectively balance school and other activities as a grad student. Now isn’t that positive friendship? Yes!

Tip 4

Join a Religious or Spiritual Community in Your Grad School

Now you don’t just find ordinary friends, it’s almost like you found another family. Religious groups usually help to give you a sense of belonging, they make you feel at home and give you the atmosphere to say, ask or discuss any topic bothering you. These spiritual groups usually pay attention to new students like you because they often need more members as seniors are graduating. Getting into such community, you get to see your mates and also seniors that might be close to lecturers handling your course and of course, it’s an avenue to also get close to the lecture for better guidance. The lecturer could even become a friend or a good mentor. Beat that!

Tip 5

Don’t Be Too Shy Or Antisocial

You might be an introvert and have a hard time interacting with fellow students. Try and leave your comfort zone, invite a fellow student to lunch, sports, or a social event and when also invited yourself, try and do them the honors. You get to see different people with different characters and you get to choose the personality you need in a friend, get close to that grad student, and naturally initiate friendship.

Tip 6

Be a Volunteer!

Grad school is an institution filled with people who have various interests. Try and get information about clubs or associations needing volunteers, opt for a club that has activities you find interesting, and join. This helps to have meaningful things to do after classes and you are certainly going to form bonds that produce that type of friendship you need in your grad school period and even beyond.

Tip 7

Develop A Social Plan Or Schedule

This is quite important because you might have had a very busy academic day or week and you just need to ease off or you might even have some free time with nothing much to do during the week. Having a social plan like; days or periods for calling family members, going to the movies, going to a Spa, going on a date and visiting friends, because you can’t just make friends and leave them, so regular visits or invitations helps to strengthen friendships made.

Tip 8

Join or Form a Study Group

Having lost touch with certain topics since you finished university and then coming back to grad school to go further on such subject or topic can be quite challenging. Getting in touch with a study group goes a long way in helping out with academics because you have one or more people along with yourself, solving problems and helping each other and it is also a great avenue to make meaningful friendships in grad school.

Tip 9

Attend concerts!

You don’t know? Yes, concerts. How can you not attend concerts where the big stars you and fellow grad students adore are performing? Or where else would you see so many lively people to make friends with?… And don’t attempt to go alone, invite fellow grad students and go have some massive fun or is it only book you came to befriend? Go out there and make some healthy and lively friendships!

👉 CLICK HERE to Subscribe for Canada jobs with visa sponsorship

Spread the love
Author: Simon RobertEasyInfoBlog is a multi-author blog. We have experts and professionals in various fields who share their ideas and expert knowledge to help you with your daily information needs. Thanks for reading!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.