Hello! In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be going to my college’s (Ohio State 
) orientation and then going to be finding out who my roommate is going to be (I went random since I had other priorities to do by the time I committed to OSU). What are some good conversation starters for me to use in both of these social events so that I could hopefully make some new friends? I am shy at first, but sociable when I’m comfortable with a person. Thanks!
Ask them where they are from? What their intended major is? What hobbies or interests do they have? There will be plenty of ice breaker events at Orientation.
^^^ Those are all great ideas.
I’m an introvert, too. When I went to a month-long academic program at a college, I went in not knowing anyone and had a group to go to Chipotle with by dinner-time of the first full day. I know it can be difficult, but the easiest way to make friends is to just put yourself out there. Most people, if not everyone, will be in the same situation as you. Strike up a conversation with the people around you. Talk to people you generally wouldn’t for whatever reason. In that situation, there are a ton of easy small-talk types of things to ask, and the ones invader71 mentioned are some of the best.
Funny(ish) story from my experience: I come in not knowing anyone, except for a few people I sort of recognize from the Facebook group. My roommate and I were cordial, but not BFFs. There were board games on each floor of the dorm that first night, and I went to a random floor and played uno or something. There was a guy in the group who I thought was really cute and at breakfast the next morning, he seemed unsure of where to sit, so I told him he could sit next to me. We spent the rest of the day together and I met a bunch of other guys from his floor who were great, but who I NEVER would’ve befriended otherwise. From there, I met some of my best friends through those guys I first met. Turns out that the guy I thought was cute had a girlfriend back home, but putting myself out there and awkwardly socializing with him opened up a lot of doors socially.
Another friend, who continues to be someone I text with regularly, just happened to be next to me during the first floor meeting. At first I thought she was totally weird, but once I started talking to her I realized that we had a lot in common.
Thanks for the nice conversation starters @invader71 !
And @Knittergirrl , very interesting story! I’m confident in socializing in groups as one of the “go with the flow” people, but I believe that I can also suggest a place to hangout every once in a while after your story. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Lol I’m gonna be a sophomore and I literally can’t name one person I was in class last year with. But from what I’ve seen. Just do the basic 25 question game.
Introvert here as well. I definitely feel you. 
You could ask all the go-to questions, but in my opinion, both you and your roommate are going to hear those questions a million times on orientation from other students, so it might be a bit of a breath of fresh air to ask something else. Just my opinion though. Do whatever you want.
Maybe ask them what made them choose their major? (After you ask what their major is, of course.) That’ll probably lead to a more substantial, long lasting conversation that’s not, “So what are you majoring in?” “insert major here” “Oh, cool”.
My go-to conversation starter is always looking at my surroundings. Ex. “Wow, I didn’t realize there would be so many people here.” Because I feel like the expected “So what sports do you play?” and “So do you have any siblings?” get old after a while.
Also, introvert pro-tip: If you’re forced (well, “forced”) to have a prolonged conversation with someone and don’t know what to say, call yourself out. Something like “Sorry, I’m really bad at small talk. Don’t read me the wrong way” will do. I like this tactic because I think a lot of people assume people who don’t talk a lot are snobs or whatever, but chances are, you’re not. And it’ll make both of you a little more comfortable.
From what I hear, you won’t see almost everyone you meet at orientation ever again, so I wouldn’t stress. Good luck
@dragonfly26 Sorry for the late reply, but thanks so much! This was really helpful for me to start up convos with people at orientation and my roommate!
@dragonfly26 that’s some great advice with the “sorry, I’m bad at small talk” I’ll have to use that next time I’m in that situation