<p>Since most freshmen probably know a decent amount of other students from their high school going to Rutgers, did people tend to, in the beginning, hang out with all their high school friends? About how long does it take to make new friends? </p>
<p>I'm not sure if I will have any really close friends going to Rutgers with me, especially in my program, so I think that (at least in the beginning) it might be really awkward. Does that happen to freshmen often?</p>
<p>Oh btw, I know I misspelled initially in the title, but it won't let me change it...</p>
<p>my school sent about 100 students to Rutgers so everywhere I went I saw a classmate regardless of whether I knew them or not, so that was rather awkward. You would recognize the face, but you actually don’t know them haha.</p>
<p>Anyway, it would be best for you to join student organizations and make friends there. Sure, going to the first general interest meeting alone can be tough, but put in the effort, be brave, and you can make new friends!</p>
<p>A lot of people are from NJ/the same high school, but many people are also looking to branch out - especially as freshmen. If some people want to hang out with their high school friends, that’s fine; but it shouldn’t be too awkward socially.</p>
<p>Which program are you in? If it’s a larger program, you will probably be making a lot of friends outside classes anyway. And for small ones, a lot of people probably don’t know each other either.</p>
<p>In any case, just do activities and make friends. Simple as that.</p>
<p>at first-- yes, but people eventually move on and make their own friends. </p>
<p>my advice is to try and bond with a lot of the people on your floor or building. it’s been amazing for me, and it can make-or-break your dorming experience. but, that truly depends on the individual floor.</p>
<p>as everyone else said, clubs are a very good way of making friends.</p>
<p>@koto
I’m in pharmacy, but I guess I won’t really meet everyone until two years in. </p>
<p>I’ll try everyone’s advice when I get there, but one thing I was wondering about was the summer orientation. Did any of you know anybody else? Or did you just try to make new friends there?</p>
<p>i didn’t know anyone at my orientation. but they split you into small groups, and you spend a lot of time with this group, so it’s easy to make friends. the leader of the group is an upperclassman who is also very nice. but, depending on your group and everyone’s majors, you may not see them during the year :(</p>
<p>Orientation seems to be a varied experience. The OL (orientation leader) is always very nice, but the group may be less than happy to be spending two days at school before the year begins, as mine was.</p>
<p>Pharmacy may have special pharmacy orientation dates set aside, so if you attend those, you are likely to meet other students in your major. Otherwise, it will generally be students from SAS.</p>