Making friends after study abroad

This discussion was created from comments split from: To those who feel lonely/homesick/friendless/think they chose the wrong school, etc….

I am currently a second semester junior and am studying abroad in Spain. I’m loving my time abroad but am getting more and more anxious about going back to my small LAC (Bard College) because no matter how hard I’ve tried (being more outgoing, inviting people out, joining clubs) I haven’t been able to make a single friend or find people who like me. Even though it’s not likely that I’ll find even one good friend in my senior year when I come back, deep down I still really wish I had that.

I go to Bard College which sounds very similar to your alma mater. College still feels a lot like high school where people are judgmental, cliquey, mean and don’t know how to accept and be nice to other other yet.

What are ways to find kind, non-judgmental people even in senior year of college?

Are people willing to make friends in senior year or is it too late when all the cliques are established?

“College still feels a lot like high school where people are judgmental, cliquey, mean and don’t know how to accept and be nice to other other yet.”
hey there @paoluchsinger you’ll find these types of people throughout your entire life. I’m 48 and they exist at my job, at my kid’s high school…they’ll be out there until the end so just accept that but know that you don’t have to associate with them and I promise that there will be like minded people out there for you to be friends with. Try to focus less on the less friendly people and really look around and find the friendly ones.
For SURE people are willing to make friends their senior year. They might want to mix it up. I know I mixed it up senior year and it was super fun. My MO was to be friends with people in lots of different areas: at my job, those in my same major, those who liked the same music/going to the same shows I wanted to go to, my room mates.
I promise there are people who want to mix it up. In the mean time, enjoy Spain and be open to new people when you come back. Be interested in others, be a good listener, also share things about yourself, but most of all, be open.