Social Life at Brown for transfers

<p>Hey, I just recently transferred to Brown. Because I am a sophomore and it is the middle of the year, I find it hard to meet new people. Sure I walk by people all the time and stuff. I see people in class and what not. But its hard to make friends in class or on the run. I was wondering if there was something I could do to remedy this situation, besides joining clubs and being friendly. I am friendly so I have made one or 2 friends. Club meetings will be starting soon too, so hopefully those will help.
But is there anywhere else I should go/something else I should do. Thanks!</p>

<p>RUSH! If any of the houses appeal to you that will be a great way to integrate into the brown community. You should still have a few weeks left but you’ll have to hurry since houses will be giving bids soon and of you’re a girl you actually may have already missed the boat :(</p>

<p>none of the houses really appealed to me :-/. I forgot to add that I have already considered that.</p>

<p>Did you go to the Activities Fair? Just go to a lot of club meetings, and see whether you like them. I’ve made some good friends through activities.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re on meal plan, read tableslips! All sorts of interesting things happen on campus, and they’re typically better ways to meet people than large classes or the street.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

<p>Hey Darksingularity, I’m trying to transfer to Brown as well. Do you mind telling me your stats, or helping me with my transfer essays or supplements? Pm me if needed. Thanks so much man!</p>

<p>Yea, I went to the activities fair. I wasn’t too happy with it, but I did opt to join a few clubs. We’ll see how that pans out. Thanks though. I’m thinking of making my own club too.</p>

<p>Portmanteau, I’ll PM you soon. I gotta study at the moment lol.</p>

<p>darksingularity, I was considering going as a freshman but declined and instead went to Washington & Lee in lexington, VA. I decided to take this semester off and like Portmanteau5 am also applying to transfer to brown as a sophomore for the 2012-2013 school year! Would you mind PMing me as well? Do you think they will consider the fact that I was previously admitted or would it look bad that I declined and now actually want to go there? One of my friends moms attended brown for engineering and said she actually made some good friends with people in the same concentration/major. What are you studying? Apparently people tend to make friends in their area of study in addition to clubs. People also make friends with students at RISD or Providence.</p>

<p>go to events, join clubs, and REALLY put yourself out there. take risks. most brown students want to be your friend, so if you just say “hey, my name is ____ and i just transferred here from _____. What’s your name?” that’s all it really takes. usually if you make friends with one person, they will introduce you to their group of friends. </p>

<p>DO NOT RUSH. It will narrow your social spectrum phenomenally and some of the fraternities and sororities are highly dysfunctional. </p>

<p>I was also a transfer and I found making friends really easy by doing that. Try to find a common thread with people and take it from there.</p>

<p>I transferred into Cornell, albeit 30 years ago.</p>

<p>It was very hard being a transfer.</p>

<p>Friendships made during freshman year were already set.</p>

<p>I decided not to join a frat, because everyone joining was a freshman, which was a big mistake, because in retrospect, that would have been a way to meet more people, and get invited to parties, and stuff like that.</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s fair to write off all Greek program houses as dysfunctional. Some of them definitely have their issues, but a lot of my closest friends are in Greek houses where the brothers treat each other with respect. Of course, before you join a house you should know what you’re getting yourself into, but if you just want to meet some new people I wouldn’t write off going to rush events.</p>

<p>darksingularity I’m a midsemester sophomore transfer with no friends too! I had sports stuff during most of the orientation so I pretty much didn’t get to meet anybody and the other transfers seem to have disappeared/bubbled off/I can’t find them. Let’s be friends!</p>

<p>Hey, I don’t remember if I replied to you, transfer28, but yea that sounds great lol. PM me or something.</p>

<p>Hey, just wondering if everything worked out - if it got easier - as a mid-year transfer?</p>

<p>please do not rush. if you are looking for friends, which it sounds like you are, there couldn’t be a worse way to go about it. Sure, you will meet some folks in your pledge class that you are naturally friends with, but the bottom line is that the way fraternities work is that you are put in a room with a bunch of people and told THESE ARE YOUR FRIENDS. Those aren’t real friends. And since most of the institutions ARE dysfunctional, these friends-by-association will not be there for you if there’s trouble. Further, fraternities and sororities, co-ed or single gender, will isolate you to that particular group and make it harder to have as deep of friendships on the outside</p>

<p>instead, do this: join clubs and participate in activities for things that interest you. there you will find real friends with like interests and will have an allegiance to you beyond a few greek letters. </p>

<p>Also, be bold. put yourself forward. sit with new people. introduce yourself into a conversation. I think you will find that people at brown WANT to be your friend. but you have to do your part to make it happen!</p>

<p>oh wow i realized i already replied to this thread. anyways, there’s some new thoughts</p>

<p>Are you speaking from personal experience napoleon or some movie you saw? My fraternity experience was the exact opposite of your description.</p>

<p>I’m with wanna. I’ve really enjoyed my experience as a member of a co-ed fraternity at Brown. Contrary to what you say, most of my close friends I’ve actually found outside my fraternity - I see it more of a home that I can bring friends back to and have a space to socialize, though I enjoy house activities as well.</p>