How can we improve our relationships with our coursemates?

The first few weeks of university are some of the most eventful and sociable times of our lives, visiting new places, learning new things and meeting so many new people every day. For me, everything I did felt like an opportunity to make new friends: socialising with my housemates, going on nights out, and joining societies. But despite there being hundreds of people on the BA English Literature course, my degree was the one place I didn’t try too hard to make friends.

Sure, I made a few close friends here and there, and chatted with many more in the middle of lectures and seminars, but our relationships didn’t go much further than that the vast majority of the time. I’ve met so many cool people on my course that I’d love to spend time with outside of studying, but making that transition can feel so hard sometimes, especially if you’re just interacting one-on-one rather than in a group.

"I’ve found that adding my classmates on social media means I’ll be way more likely to stay in contact with them."

I think what makes it so hard to get close to your coursemates is that, because you see them every week anyways, there isn’t any real pressure to organise meeting much outside of your classes. The fear of being rejected by someone is terrifying, especially when you’ve got to face them in a seminar the next morning.

The English Literature BA here at Newcastle doesn’t have much group work either, with only some modules having study groups that a lot of students don’t bother going to anyways. It makes the degree a really isolating one, and there are so many other courses with a similar one. We show up to our classes and head home because we aren’t given a reason to talk to each other in the first place.

So how do you go about making friends on your course? If you haven’t been given a reason to connect with your classmates, then make one. Ask someone in your seminar if they’d like to go over the topic with you at the library. Suggest to your study group that you meet in a coffee shop this week. Take the long walk home after a lecture to keep the conversation going.

I’ve found that adding my classmates on social media means I’ll be way more likely to stay in contact with them. The winter and summer breaks can really cause you to drift apart from each other, and being able to send a text every once in a while helps keep that connection. Even if it’s just to ask what they’re writing their essay on.

Despite having so many ways to make friends at university, your coursemates are easily one of the best options. You’re on the same degree for a reason, and will have a lot more in common than you think. So don’t just look at lectures as something you have to sit through before you can go home and watch TV in the living room all day. Look at them as a chance to find friends for life.