How To Make Friends When You’re The Newbie On Campus

This post is presented in partnership with the Australian Catholic University.

“A five-hour commute.”

That’s how long it would have taken Christopher Spencer, 19, to drive from his home in Port Macquarie to university in Sydney. Five hours. Each way.

With a total distance of approximately 900km, it’d probably be more cost effective to charter a private jet than pay for the petrol.

So, shuttling back and forth was never really an option.

“I’ve known since probably early high school that uni was the direction I was going to take,” Christopher told Student Edge.

“[But] with a lack of options at home, it was always a decision of where I needed to move as opposed to, ‘Am I going to?’”

Christopher’s parents suggested he look into living on campus instead.

“I did discuss living options with my parents and they recommended a residence because it would give me an opportunity to meet some friends who are also starting uni; to give me a bit of a network, as opposed to moving into a share house and not having much of a network to build upon.”

After getting accepted into the Australian Catholic University, he moved into their newly opened Miguel Cordero Residence in July of 2014.

“You hear stories about residences when you’re in high school and they seem like pretty fun places to be in, so it was a position I was excited to move into; to meet some new people,” he said.

Thrown immediately into the deep end, he shared his first room with five other people.

“It was a little bit rocky when I showed up,” Christopher recalled.

“I was a bit nervous; there wasn’t that safety net from back home.”

Having left many of his friends in Port Macquarie, or seen them move to Sydney but attend different universities, Christopher acknowledged that it was on him to get out of his comfort zone and make some new connections.

“For the first week or two, a couple of the other guys in my room had started to bond and go out a bit,” he said.

“It was difficult, but once I said, ‘Yeah, actually I’m going to hang out with you guys, if you don’t mind,’ it just went from there.”

“I watched other people who didn’t necessarily put themselves out there and seemed to struggle a little bit.”

Now Christopher has his own studio in the residence, with a private kitchenette, shower and bathroom. However, he still appreciates the communal area with his fellow residence-mates, and even misses living in closer quarters with the others.

“I really loved that [shared room]. I’d prefer to go back to one!”

Christopher’s experience is a common one across Australia; a country spread out over such a vast plain, many students have little choice but to seek tertiary education far, far from where’s familiar, and often on their lonesome.

Knowing full well the obstacles faced by many who might be apprehensive about the move, he offered the following pieces of advice.

“I would definitely prioritise building those social circles and networks; making sure you’re close with your roommates, just so you have support to fall back on when things aren’t going your way or when study’s getting too hard, because it just makes it so much easier,” he advises.

“It’s important to put yourself out there early on, get involved with all the social events and make sure you get to know people early.”

He even has a hot tip for the best communal meal for you and your new friends.

“Lot of pasta. Pasta’s cheap and easy.”

To learn more about the Australian Catholic University’s new student residence in Sydney, the Miguel Cordero Residence (MCR), visit the ACU’s website.