<p>Hi everyone! I made a similar post some time ago, but was curious if anyone might have some additional insights.</p>
<p>I’m a 26-year old grad student at UCD, and was wondering what a good way to meet new
friends (around Davis for example) might be? I wasn’t very social when I was younger (started college early and kept myself pretty busy after that!), and now that I’ve got the time I’ve been curious how I might go about making new friends or joining social groups in the area - to have people to go see a movie or even just to ride bikes around campus and chat with! Though I don’t have any required classes yet, I do sometimes still take courses to learn a new sport or learn about interesting new subjects…though I don’t really see a lot of people inviting people they’ve just met in class to join social groups or to go places. (I should probably add here that I’m not really into drinking…so bars and such probably wouldn’t be my thing.)</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice? Are there groups to join around campus as a way to get to know more people? (And do you think that at 26, I’m still well within the age demographic of a lot of other students?)</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>There are certainly plenty of students your age at Davis. Though I suspect a majority are younger, with 30,000 students in total, that still leaves thousands of students your age (and older).</p>
<p>You might start by asking around your department for clubs and activities to get involved with. Yes, they have specific themes and goals, but they are essentially social. If I decided to join the concrete canoe design team in my department, I would surely spend plenty of time working on the design, but I would also be socializing with my teammates outside of a classroom setting. And sometimes there are less organized activities, like the group of engineering grad students who got together to play sloshball I think this past weekend? You can find out about this stuff by asking everyone you meet, “Is there anything fun going on?”</p>
<p>I’m 26, by the way, married and commuting from Sacramento as an undergraduate. If I can find friends, you sure as hell can.</p>
<p>Yeah, joining a club/organization, becoming friends with roommates and possibly classmates, is the way to go. It’s much harder getting friends as a transfer student vs being a freshmen and living in the dorms.</p>
<p>@ sseleman: I’m a transfer student and I live in the dorms. A lot of transfer students who opt to live in the residence halls live in Webster.</p>
<p>clubs definitely help with meeting people. going to events on campus/around town (check davis dirt) will help you explore. also, if you belong to a certain church those communities are always pretty welcoming. also, i know there are graduate clubs/groups out there too. :)</p>