<p>So I was originally admitted to UCSD for fall 2009.. before that, I had friends in HS, it was fine, and I felt like I had my place.</p>
<p>Then I started at UCSD. Students who live on campus seem to form social links naturally, during things like Welcome Week and just hanging out with their roommates and forming more friendships from there. But as a commuter still living at home, I felt really left out and I didn't really know anybody. I would just drive to school, go to my classes, then go back home, and not talk to anyone outside of class really.</p>
<p>I always had to go home at four to take care of my sister and my parents really discouraged any trips to the school that weren't classes on my schedule, so I never joined any clubs.</p>
<p>My grades suffered that year and I received academic disqualification at the end of the year. So I attended community college last year and got surprisingly good grades. I applied for re-admission to UCSD over the summer and got accepted again.</p>
<p>So I feel like it's a fresh start for me now, but I want to try to actually make some friends. I feel though, like I'm coming from a place that's a little unusual. I'm not a freshman or transfer, so doing anything related to Welcome Week seems awkward. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice? Share their experiences? Commuters especially? I feel stupid asking this, but how did you start to make friends here?</p>
<p>Go to welcome week or at least Triton Power Hour at RIMAC and the club fairs on library walk. You don’t need to know anyone to go and a lot of people are alone at some point because chances are ur new friends/ roommates are interested in all the same clubs/ sports that you are into. Rush a sorority or frat. If you aren’t really into partying you can join a professional or community service oriented co-ed frat. UCSD has commuter lounges and other events for specifically for commuters to meet new people. Another way to make friends is go to Pines at lunch time. Pines is a great way to meet people. At lunch time it is so crowded that often people share tables with someone they have never met and start conversations. A good (and in some cases bad thing) about UCSD is that it is very common to see people eating alone. Go up to a table on a crowded day with an empty seat and start talking to someone. People are pretty friendly here. Try to get an on campus job if you need one. My whole life I’ve met friends in some very unconventional ways just be open to finding people. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Clubs/Organizations are reportedly one of the best and easiest ways to make friends in any institution, it is easier to make them in clubs than in classes. The reason for this? Because classes are mandatory for students; and clubs are voluntary and require genuine dedication/commitment from the member. New club joiners/existing club members are interested in that club’s activities/values and actually want to be there and hence are open to developing friendships with the others who are there for the same reason.
So knowing this, what do you do? During the first and second weeks of classes, storm out to Library Walk and join every club/organization that interests you by putting your name down on their e-mailing list (you don’t need to talk much if you don’t want to to the booth leaders; clubs actually are desperate for new students to join their clubs, otherwise they wouldn’t be there). Then you attend all said clubs’ first meetings/gatherings. After the first couple meetings you’ll likely have a sense of the ones you identify with most. Eliminate the other clubs and stop attending them if you want, narrowing down your list of clubs/orgs to maybe 2 or 3 (or even 1) – Quality>Quantity. From here on you’ll make friends in those clubs: Bonds tend to naturally form by seeing the same people with same interests (i.e. fellow club members) week after week at the same place and time. Though of course you should at least expend a little effort trying to get to know others as well, as they should and most likely will expend the effort getting to know you and developing a friendship with you.</p>
<p>Hope this helped. I based this on my experience at a different university (not a community college) where I observed and experienced this phenomenon and made some good friends there.</p>