Making new friends after joining university

I am Arabella, a second year Ancient World BA student at UCL. 

I came to UCL directly after graduating from my boarding school in Wales, an experience in which I had grown accustomed to being constantly surrounded by people. Thus, when I got to London, I immediately felt very isolated as I no longer had three roommates and a household of friends. 

I care to share my personal experience and tips on making new friends after joining university, as I came to UCL not knowing a single person and understand how challenging it can be.

Firstly, I would definitely recommend utilising the opportunity of student accommodation, especially to fellow international students. I personally stayed in Garden Halls, a University of London housing quite close to UCL’s Bloomsbury campus. Garden Halls included around a thousand fellow students, from a range of London universities. Immediately, I was able to meet fellow students without even leaving my new home; through partaking in group activities and utilising a shared dining area, getting to know people became much easier. I remember the first conversation I had there began with a simple question, which promptly turned into a friendship.

If you’re like me, you might get nervous or scared by the possibility of going out to speak to strangers on your own. What I did, and would recommend is just go ahead and initiate those initial conversations, don’t be afraid. It can be scary to go out and seek people on your own, but everyone is willing to meet new people and is just as eager as you are to make friends. 

After the initial period, I also joined a few societies in order to meet people with common interests, which I find, often makes socialising much easier. I joined the Italian society where I found myself quickly bonding with new people through a shared culture and language. The same went for the Chilean society, in which I found it easy to socialise over common experiences and niche interests. In a similar fashion, joining other societies made getting to know people much easier and I quickly found myself immersed in the UCL community. 

Aside from societies and accommodation, I also met a lot of my friends through my classes. It is essential to participate in your school and all that it offers, as well as the exciting city in which it is situated. 

Try to be patient as things will develop, and friends will be made. There are so many wonderful experiences to be had. The best piece of advice that I have received is to really throw yourself into your surroundings and chat to whomever you might find along your way. 

Also it’s normal to feel alone sometimes in such a big city, but remember that you are not isolated, you are now part of the UCL community. 

I urge you to meet people from all walks of life and explore your new community to the best of your abilities, you won’t be a student at UCL forever.

Wishing you all the best.

Arabella Marangoni Garcia Hollmann, UCL Greek and Latin

Published: 13 May 2026