Students' and Parents' Experiences
101 Ways to Make a Friend
One of the biggest fears among students when coming to university is trying to integrate into a completely new atmosphere with no familiar faces to guide you along. Sheffield is such a big city, so this can seem even more intimidating. However, it can be quite easily turned into an exciting and interesting experience when looking at the positives
Like any university, Sheffield has an incredibly diverse range of students. From home to international, shy to outgoing, rockers to ravers (The list is endless!), there´s no doubt you´re going to meet people you love and people you don´t like too much. When choosing my accommodation, I decided to choose Ranmoor House, the biggest catered hall at the university. I wanted to meet as many people as I could, just because I knew there´d be a greater chance of meeting like-minded students. This was probably the best move I made once I had chosen to study Sheffield. If someone had told me I´d be living with a DJ, two other guitarists (excluding myself), an intellectual party animal, a chilled out Cypriot, amongst a few more laid-back characters,…not forgetting Jim Bowen´s next door neighbour… I´d have thought "Oh dear… All these fiery personalities will cause a clash or three," but I would have been seriously wrong. There isn´t one single person I don´t get on with. That´s the beauty of it; everyone is in the same position, and so nobody has preconceptions about each other. A new friend of mine staying in Ranmoor was petrified about the fact that he was staying with 799 other students, but after Intro Week he was loving it! I can´t really speak for those staying in self-catering flats, although everyone I know who is staying in flats is having a great time, and would recommend it to anyone who comes to Sheffield
There are, of course, other ways of making friends. Seminar groups are great ways of making friends, whether you´re joking about the new tutor´s dress sense or sharing a common interest. Then there are the societies, which, even if you´re not an outgoing person, are probably the best way to meet people. There´s something for everyone, whether it´s writing for the newspaper or the Tea Drinking Society, there´s so much to do you could end up signing up for too many. Each society has its own social nights organised by the society leaders which are a nice addition to going out with your flatmates. There are also numerous sports teams, from lacrosse to football to tennis, and for those more energetic members of society, there´s even regular Ultimate Frisbee meetings which are apparently a great laugh, if not rather tiring and sometimes vicious!!!
I could go on forever about the nightlife but I´ve babbled on enough. Whether you try out 101 things and make one friend or one thing and make 101 friends, you´ll meet someone in those first few weeks that will stay with you throughout university, and probably for life too.
Robert Butler
English Language & Linguistics
First Year