<p>i go to a community college. there is literally no socializing. im a freshman straight out of high school but almost everybody here is in their 20s or much, much older. </p>
<p>i wish i could have gone to a school with dorms because i feel like i'm missing out on the socializing that other students my age get to experience in such schools. i was always pretty quiet in high school, i didn't get to hang out as much as your typical high school student so i never really got to experience what it's like to socialize and have fun with people your own age. i'm the youngest one at home and the age gap between my only sibling was too big for us to ever get along and interact. i'm tired of hanging out with old people/adults at home, and i just wish i could interact with people my own age and actually coexist with my fellow peers. i don't want to grow up and have never gotten to be a silly dumb kid who gets to be carefree and laugh and have fun. </p>
<p>i know dorm life isn't all i think it to be, i know the horror stories of having an inconsiderate room mate and loud partying obnoxious suite mates, </p>
<p>but i'm curious, is there any way for a community college student like myself to interact and have the chance to regularly socialize with people my own age? i've tried joining clubs but they seem very serious and straight to business. </p>
<p>also i don't want to give the impression that i'm only in school to socialize. i'm here to learn. but the academics have been so easy for me, i'm left with so much free time that i don't know what to do with it all. i've been job hunting as well, so if i get hired, hopefully that'll lessen my desire to socialize with peers but i feel like i'll be left with the same feeling of having missed out either way.</p>
<p>Hi there! I’m a freshman and am currently taking classes part-time at a CC, so hopefully I can help. </p>
<p>I will agree that many CC students aren’t your traditional “college students” per se. Many of them are older and have jobs and families–pretty different than a bunch of teenagers throwing a frisbee around on a quad. Aside from one dual enrollment student in my class, everyone else is pretty enmeshed in the workforce (and my class is considered pretty young with mostly 20 to 30 year olds). </p>
<p>What to do in this case? Well, I’d try to talk to the people closest to you, both in seat location and age. Are there any students like you who are just out of high school or a little beyond that? Or majoring in the same thing as you? Even if it’s only a couple people, that’s fine–I really only talk to one other person in my class but I find it makes the time go by so much faster. You should also try joining some more clubs! Maybe ones that aren’t necessarily career-geared but more for adventure (I have a friend who goes to a CC full-time and she’s part of an outdoors club that goes hiking every weekend) might be more up your alley. </p>
<p>Basically, keep trucking away. Focus on what’s ahead–are you looking to transfer to a four-year institution? You could start planning things out to give yourself a bigger sense of purpose. </p>
<p>Sounds about right… CC tends to be pretty dead. If you’re aiming to transfer, it’ll get better then.</p>
<p>Aim for earlier classes (til about 3pm) if you want more students in your age group. Late classes tend to get more non-traditional students, early ones are filled with younger students (just out of highschool, not working 9-5 jobs). Beyond that, say hi, talk to people, try your best. I wouldn’t expect to have a big exciting social life, but you can certainly make a couple friends. Good luck! </p>
<p>ITS ok. I was in your shoes. 2 years at a community college. It was sooo boring, and yes youa re missing out, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, you have a chance to do well in school cause communtiy college is WAY easier. When I transferred over to LSU, IT HIT ME LIKE A BRICK WALL. So many partying and people and hanging out…it was so new to me and I didnt do well at that semester. </p>
<p>CCs are like…go to school, take class, and go back home. </p>
<p>Try hanging out with your old high school friends. Thats what I did.</p>
<p>If you read this subforum, you will see many people that are not making friends in dorms. So sometimes it is the person, not the situation. You have to reach out a bit more. Ask someone in your class if you could contact them about homework. See if you can get a study group together. See if there are clubs/service opportunities that you could do to meet people. Hang out in the student center…when you see someone you know, say hi.</p>
<p>Like bopper said, this isn’t a problem that’s exclusive to community colleges. There are a ton of students in this subforum and in others that are at universities and having a hard time making friends or fitting into any social niche. </p>
<p>I’m in my last year at community college, and the social life here is a bit lacking in comparison to a university, but I’ve still managed to make a ton of friends here. Most of my friends I’ve made here aren’t the type of friend that I’m going to call on the weekend to go hang out with, but there are plenty that I see around campus and stop to talk to for a while. Whether for a few minutes or for an hour between classes. I’ve also made some friends there that I now hang out with on a very regular basis. </p>
<p>This is going to vary quite a bit from school to school as well. My school does have a large population of older students, but there are also a ton of students that are fresh out of high school. I’m 28, so I find myself fitting into both categories. Some of the people I talk to there are 18-19 and fresh out of high school. Some of the students I talk to are in their 40s. </p>
<p>Go talk to the dean or director of student life or some such. Let him or her know there is a serious need for the young cohort of students to have a gathering place/events/network. What might attrach that age group? See what you two can drum up. Ask for his/her help to find a few more like yourself who can form a task force and launch a new arena of student life at your community college. </p>
<p>It’s October! Two words: Costume dodgeball! </p>
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