I’ll be off to start my first year in a couple weeks and I’m excited, but of course nervous. I plan to major in mechanical engineering. I have a few concerns regarding socializing. I have a small group of awesome friends now, and have greatly enjoyed my summer, but like half the other engineers out there I’m not very outgoing. I’ve been to about 2 parties in high school, never been drunk, never had a girlfriend, and haven’t really been friends with many girls. There have to other people in my situation. I know I have to make an effort to be more outgoing, and I do have several clubs I plan on joining. I’ve heard mechanical engineering is pretty much a giant sausage fest though. Is that true? Aside from my dorm I guess I can meet some girls in orchestra, and maybe some other clubs. Anyone have suggestions? To me this isn’t a huge problem. For the most part I’m very happy with myself now, and extremely excited to do engineering. I just want to be more social. I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks.
Dating website or join some clubs or frats and societies. If you are brave just approach some girls at campus.
You won’t be in mechE classes right away. You’ll be taking general calc, general chem, general physics, maybe some gen eds. These classes are not closed to females.
Join clubs, meet dormmates, talk to people in class. And be nice to the girls you do meet. We want them to stick around!
The same way everyone else does. Just get out there and meet people. Join an org, club, special dorm event, etc. Girls are aplenty in college, enjoy your time.
Being conscious of the fact that you maybe aren’t the most social is at least half the battle; the stereotype of engineering being a nerdy sausage fest applies to those boys who can do Calc 45 with their eyes closed but have no idea how to talk to girls and seem entirely unaware of the fact that girls even exist. You’ll do fine, I’m sure. As for the drunk thing, try and ease into that (i.e, maybe don’t do 14 shots at your first party and throw up all over a cute girl). A beer or two will take off the nerves at parties, so take it from there.
Dont even worry about girls/dating. Focus on something that matters
Are you going to be in a co-ed dorm? Hopefully. If not, that will make it significantly more difficult, though not impossible! But the dorms are a great front line opportunity to socialize–people always need dining hall buddies, so look for opportunities to eat/go to the store, etc. with floor mates. I would approach any possible girls first as friends. It will take the pressure off you, and should mean you act like less of an awkward dork in front of them (I would literally reverse this advice to any girl–so I’m not implying you are a special breed of dork! We all turn into awkward pandas in these situations). If partying isn’t your thing, don’t stress out about it, though if you do get invites and you’re not opposed, by all means, go. If you do want to party… be very careful, re: testing your limits with drinking. That’s just general advice. No one wants to be the sloppy drunk who vomits all over things! (also getting caught drinking underage is Not Wise, generally)
Make friends in your non-engineering courses. You never know where it will stick. And not just girls–any new friend is a potential opportunity to be pulled into their social circle, and one of the best ways to meet romantic partners is to be introduced by friends. I guess my main advice boils down to: make friends first! Don’t be afraid to ask people to do things with you. Grab a meal, go see a movie, go to some social event on campus… especially freshman year, everyone is trying to make friends, so it’s easy to put yourself out there, because everyone else is too.
Also: go for nerd girls. You’ll probably have an easier time meeting them being an engineering major anyway, but also nerdy girls tend to be chill, often introverted, potentially just as awkward… plus many a nerd girl comes into her own in college and beyond. You’ll likely meet some not only in your major, but also orchestra. Do you have any other hobbies that might lend themselves to clubs you can join?
Most of my friends who were Engineering or CS met their SOs through friends of friends or through work or non major classes.
It’s generally not all that hard to meet people in college. I became friends with my spouse by walking around my dorm one weekend night and finding a group of guys gaming. I recognized him from class but didn’t know him really.
Btw I’m a woman on the flipside of your situation. My major was overwhelmingly female and I’m a shy introvert.
I feel that first sentence so much right now. Within my major, there are virtually no girls (aside from a few that sit away from the majority of us guys, understandably).
Thank goodness for GEs. I’ve met some amazing gals through those classes 
Service projects are a great way to meet people. Also religious organizations, if you’re at all interested. If you’re an engineering student, you could probably tutor math & science classes. Try to get a campus job where you are in contact with lots of people. Previous posters’ advice to make friends first is spot-on.
You will see a lot of girls in your classes. Many girls going into engineering these days.
My husband met ME in engineering classes, 30 years ago! And he was a bit of a nerd.
My son is in Mechanical Engineering and there are girls in his classes. They have even been his partners on semester long projects 
If it helps, my son is kind of “geeky” too and hasn’t had a problem meeting/talking with girls.
Make friends with the girls in your major. Respect them as fellow students and colleagues. Learn to work with then now, so that you can work with them professionally in the future. Everything else will fall into place with time.
Cool thanks everyone. @proudterrier Yes I believe the floor I live on is split guys on one half girls on the other. So thats good. I also like running and lots of sports so there will be opportunities there.
I went to college not planning to meet anyone and ended up in a long-term relationship. My friend went to college to find a guy to marry and she got married at 45.
Go to college to make friends, male or female or whatever.
The only advice I have is that if you are attracted to someone, make sure to take a step to go out with them. I have some friends in their 40s who have always been too shy to ask women out on “a real date”. They would see a lot of women in groups of friends, but even if they liked someone and knew she was unavailable, they couldn’t take the step to ask her out. It’s better to ask someone out then be rejected than to never ask anyone out.
My advice would be to go out in groups. Otherwise, your goal of mechanical engineer could fall by the wayside. It takes time to meet someone who will be a compatible partner.
The best meeting places are in your volunteer groups. There are usually young women in these groups who have passion and are driven by causes of the heart.
And not to make a joke, but my alma mater had a nursing school, so parties with nursing school students were popular with engineers. Both careers are pretty tough, but tend to be gender-imbalanced in the opposite way.
Go Greek.
Take psychology classes for your breadth requirements.