<p>Yeah, I had to reread everything thrice to get the gist of it. I was wondering what on earth Xanatos meant originally, now it’s clear. I’d agree - it’s very easy to make friends freshman year, much harder as an upperclassman. Most events are open to the whole campus, and the exclusive ones are ones you probably don’t want to go to anyway.</p>
<p>One thing about pledging at a Greek society is that you automatically make a bunch of new friends. (A senior described it to me last year as essentially orientation all over again.) If you remain unaffiliated, your social circle will be a lot smaller relative to your Greek friends (who also probably won’t hang out with you as much as you guys did freshman year).</p>
<p>But one nice thing about Dartmouth is that almost everyone has their niche. Even if you’re the most socially awkward person ever, you can’t go without making friends freshman year. I think it’s physically impossible. I know a guy who a lot of people find creepy and very awkward - even he found his own gang. As an upperclassman, you just mainly solidify the friends you got in freshman year, and occasionally make new ones as your friends/classes introduce you to new people. The number of friends you ultimately make will depend in some way on your personality and intro-/extravertedness, but it won’t be zero.</p>