Tips to Bond with Your Batchmates when Starting College Online

With classes happening online and the chances of going back to college anytime soon dicey, you might think you'll miss out on the happening symbi social life. But will you?

Repeat after us:

YES it's possible!

YES we'll do it!

NO we won't let covid bully us into a sloppy college life!

Say it until you believe it.

Having the social life Symbi colleges are famous for is gonna be impossible this year. But you can still form allies and even make friends when college starts. Having not faced a challenge like this ourselves, we don't claim to be an expert on this. But maybe we can ease your friend-making process with a few tips that you can customize to suit yourselves.

Tips for Making Friends in Online College

1. Sit Through Introductions

In your first few classes, the teachers will most probably make you introduce yourself to the class one by one. While it may get boring after the first ten people, we advise you to listen carefully to everyone.

Spot the people you might like, who say they have similar interests or hobbies like you do, or are from the same city, or a city you like. You can later hit these people up asking them questions related to their introduction. Tell them that you found something common between yourself and them and that you'd like to be friends. Now this does have backfiring potential. But as long as you are respectful and not invasive, you'll probably be fine.

2. Video conference for Group Projects

Once the classes officially start, you will soon start getting group assignments. While it is very tempting to figure out and divide work through whatsapp and emails, insist on video calls for discussing the project.

Video calls are the closest you can come to real-life interactions. Personality, humor, intelligence and other qualities that attract us to friends can show in virtual meetings.

3. Share Information

Don't shy away from being the first person to share information. Whether it's a new covid-development or an interesting event by one of the college clubs, feel free to discuss it with your classmates online on your batch groups (God knows how y'all will manage to make those tbh).

You can also let's say, share updates and articles from the cool website you found run by a secret society in college. Totally your call though.

4. Start Hobby/Interest Chains

'Hi my name is _______ and my interests are _________.'

One person from each class can volunteer to start an introduction chain like this. People can keep copying and pasting the list with their own name and interests at the end. Rules are that if two or more of your interests match with a person, you have to text them.

This is one of the less daunting ways to get to know people in your class and batch.

You have the tips and our blessings. All you need to do now is to summon up the courage and try them. If they backfire, feel free to share this article and blame it on us. Now repeat after us again:

YES it's possible!

YES we'll do it!

NO we won't let covid bully us into a sloppy college life!