No one said that studying in a university with more than 45,000 would be the easiest place to make friendships. Trust me, it might sound scary and unrealistic, but this is not necessarily the case. Many students are scared to study in London because of this reason, but this should not scare you. In my opinion, you should see this as an opportunity to meet many different people where in the case of living and studying in a smaller environment that would be impossible.

Personally, as an international student, from a much smaller city where English is not my first language, I never saw the big and chaotic UCL environment as a barrier. Other than that, every day, I tried -and I still do- to treat it as a chance to expand my circle and meet people from various cultural backgrounds. If you do not try, you will not know, and that was what I thought every time I attempted to build a friendship. 

My advice is to talk to people. In most cases, your classmates are going to be the people that will be with you throughout your years as a student. Make an effort, get out of your comfort zone, and after your seminar, ask the person that sat next to you to go out for a coffee. What if you do not really like them in the end? Worst case, you just lost an hour of your life.

In my experience, people that study the same thing as you have similar passions and ambitions in life, and hence finding things in common is easy. That is the way I actually met one of my greatest friends at UCL. After my French Grammar class, I asked a classmate out for coffee, and now a year later, she is one of my closest friends.

Another way where you can make friends is through societies. UCL has more than 300 societies with various different activities. If you are an international student that misses home, you can always try the society from your country to engage in cultural activities from your country.

However, personally, I will recommend during your time at UCL to make the most out of it and try to socialise with people from all around the world. Do not stick with only people from your country because, in this way, you will miss the invaluable opportunity of intercultural relationships. Do not be shy or scared to try; get out of your comfort zone, say hi to people, say yes to invitations, and try new activities. 

UCL is full of wonderful opportunities and people that will make you happy. Maybe your real friends will not come in the first week of university, it did not happen to me either, but I tried, and I am still trying because having friends is a great gift that will brighten your life.

Marilena Rentzou, School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS-CMII)

Published: 2 October 2023