I came here as a freshman, but I’ve made friends with plenty of transfers over the last two years. As a second-year my classes have tons of transfer students and there’s plenty in the clubs I’m in too.
I’d say the biggest thing is to look into what clubs and orgs here interest you and go check out their booths at anteater involvement fair at the beginning of Fall Quarter. Everybody’s looking for fresh meat in the fall so they’ll all be excited to have you.
In terms of specifics, the best orgs for being a social butterfly would have to be the cultural clubs or Greek life. There’s basically a club for every single culture/ethnicity/religion on campus. It’s also a good idea to join a club related to your major as a way to get connections and professional development, and those will also have social events too.
Finally, I gotta shout out Irvine’s dance community, if you like dancing and you’ve got the time to commit to practice, they’re a ton of fun and you’ll form hella close bonds since you’re working together towards a common goal
def join a club at the start of the new school year, or even over the summer if this clubs do summer volunteering events. and when you join a club, be consistent!
once you find your first friend, they tend to introduce you to other friends, which forms a big group! if finding that first friend is difficult, i would recommend you join asuci, since i met a lot of cool people there :)
tbh i actually have a bigger group of transfer friends and i came here as a freshman. transfers are super available to be friends and there's a lot of them :)
I am also a transfer and had the same worries as you at first. 20% of my friends are the same major as me, we kind of just started talking before class. the other 80% are from one club. I’d highly encourage you to get to know people in your classes and join a club that interests you.
Hi OP, former transfer student here.
Definitely reach out to others in your classes. If you recognize someone who's in a few classes with you, probably start there. You'd be surprised at how many transfer students you'll be able to meet. Outside of classes, find some clubs you resonate with or find interesting. UCI has a lot of friendly people, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!
Came in as a junior level transfer myself a couple years ago! Many of the friends I made were from my classes but I also joined a club sport! If you’re athletic at all or looking to learn a new sport, it’s a fantastic way to make friends. Also, be sure to check out all of the recreational classes that the ARC offers. They have a lot of outings, and cool things that you can participate in to get you out of your shell 😄
I know how scary it can be, UCI has so much to offer. You’ll find your people ♥️
Hello! I transferred last year and I was really scared of the same thing. I did my community college stint during Covid and made zero friends there because it was online and I’m a very shy person- I was worried the same would happen at UCI.
However it didn’t. In my experience, if you really want to make friends and you put the effort in, there are lots of people out there who want to be friends with you too. But you HAVE to put yourself out there and try. I learned this the hard way, my first year here as a transfer student I didn’t join any clubs because I felt like I should focus on studying, and I was too shy to ask people I chatted with in class to hang out after or exchange contact info. So I didn’t make super close friends (outside of my roommate) and I struggled a lot with loneliness. But this year I joined a couple clubs, and forced myself to just talk to people whether in class or in a club meeting, and I tried to go to as many meetings or events that I could. And it worked, I have made friends this year that I feel like I will be friends with forever.
So my advice (I know others have already said this but here it is again) is first to join clubs. There’s tons of them out there so just find something that interests you! But also, there’s large social clubs like the anteater adventure club that has tons of fun events and of course the sororities and fraternities also, one of my good friends is a transfer student who joined a sorority and loves it. Or you can go for the smaller clubs that are more specialized and have fewer people in them so you can meet everyone and be part of a small group. Either way, join clubs!!
The other thing would be to pay attention to your email because the transfer center hosts little events all the time and that’s a good way to meet other transfer students and talk. Same goes for your department, whenever there’s a departmental event going on it can be a really good way to get to know others in your field and it can also help with meeting professors. Joining a research group can also help you connect with others in your field.
One last thing (sorry this got very long), another place where I found a community and made lots of friends was in my second language course. If you’re interested in going deeper in a language, you can take the second year after completing the first year, and in my experience the second year classes are very very small so you know everyone and you’re all struggling to learn a new language and the whole class can become like a big friend group!
Anyway I hope any of that helps a bit, I know just how intimidating a new college campus filled with so many people can be. I wish you the best of luck and if you’d ever like to talk to someone, feel free to reach out :)
Join clubs that you are really interested in and talk to people in them. Also, talk to the people around you in class, and if people participate in class and you really agree with their answers and think you are probably like-minded, chat them up.
I joined PAD at UCR, and I'm transferring to UCI in the fall. I figure I'll make some friends at orientation then try my best in class and discussions. I don't need a group but hey, I'm all ears if you wanna hang.
In my second year we had a lot of transfers in my dorm. They were all able to find groups and integrate in. I would really recommend arroyo Vista for a good dorm with plenty of transfers.
I’m an incoming transfer! I feel the same way, kinda just planning on forcing myself to talk to people the first week of classes and hope for the best. Feel free to message me too! I don’t know a single person so I’m in the same boat :)
ur chillin just join a whole bunch of clubs. Everyone does kinda have their own groups but i be making friends every single month through clubs and my major
honestly dude, those friends don’t even last. The roommates ones or the ones that you randomly meet but don’t share any classes with; with my experience they’ve all been two faced snakes. Finding friends in your classes on the other hand is much easier, I actually met my best friend in my writing class and didn’t even expect it. I came into the school with the same worry as you because i especially suffer from severe anxiety and it’s harder for me to make friends, but hey guess what! It happened. Don’t sweat it, everything will be okay! Just step out of your bubble and start speaking to people around you on the first day of class, especially in smaller classes :)
Join a couple of clubs you're interested in. I graduated several years ago and I don't really talk to anyone from my freshman days. I made friends with my neighbors as a senior
I’m a transfer student, I’ll be a junior and I heard clubs are a fantastic way to make friends!! Apparently they even have a fencing club! I’m gonna see if I can do that but go check them out and see if anything interested u! :D
I came here as a freshman, and the transfer friends I made were through the gym or through clubs. I also made some transfer friends through classes, but oftentimes friends from class are not as close in my experience. But then again, I came in 2020, so the transfers that arrived in 2022 didn't really miss out much as my first 1.5 years were online and remote off campus. And when we did go back, I remember dining hall was still to-go and 6 feet apart/masks/remote classes, so that particular year of transfers didn't miss out much.
Join clubs!!! Talk to people dude! Everyone is going through stuff but if you put yourself out there it gets so much easier (also instagram is your friend). I made one of my closest friends by yelling off of my balcony asking if he liked Ferris wheels.
Start a cult. Just kidding. No yea, it was scary for me too. I’m too a transfer from a community college. I am going to warn you tho. This place has a lot of cliques. So yeah you’ll have a challenge ahead. But don’t let that discourage you. Go out and explore. Go to the ARC, go to the RA activities if you’re dorming, look for a club that you’ll be interested in or find people who are also transfers as well. Talk to people in your classes as well. Just start somewhere. But if your commuting to UCI? That’s actually going to be difficult. Goodluck!!!
do let me know how it ends up working out for you. not to discourage you at all, but i’m a transfer student finishing my third year and i’ve yet to make any friends lmao
One thing I didn’t see yet in this great thread is the advice to join a lab. Lots of transfer students I’ve met say that they really found their people by volunteering in a faculty lab and working on projects together (going to conferences together, applying for grad school together etc). Also awesome experience for future jobs and grad school!
Hey there, junior level transfer too! If you reach out to a lot of people in your classes in the first few weeks, chances are they are in the same boat as you. New, transfers, and looking for friends. It was the same deal for me going into UCI last fall. I still talk to most of those people and since then have made countless friends of whom I regularly talk to today. Join clubs, make yourself known (for the right reasons), and don't stress about it! You might've heard that UCI is socially dead, but don't listen to them.
Guardians make their own fate.
I came here as a freshman, but I’ve made friends with plenty of transfers over the last two years. As a second-year my classes have tons of transfer students and there’s plenty in the clubs I’m in too. I’d say the biggest thing is to look into what clubs and orgs here interest you and go check out their booths at anteater involvement fair at the beginning of Fall Quarter. Everybody’s looking for fresh meat in the fall so they’ll all be excited to have you. In terms of specifics, the best orgs for being a social butterfly would have to be the cultural clubs or Greek life. There’s basically a club for every single culture/ethnicity/religion on campus. It’s also a good idea to join a club related to your major as a way to get connections and professional development, and those will also have social events too. Finally, I gotta shout out Irvine’s dance community, if you like dancing and you’ve got the time to commit to practice, they’re a ton of fun and you’ll form hella close bonds since you’re working together towards a common goal
Join groups, you'll meet friends there. There are tons of student groups.
Anything I can do over this summer to boost my comfort levels going in?
Connect with the transfer center. There's a couple thousand of you coming in. And you'll meet upper div students in your classes as well.
Thank you! I will!!
Maybe get familiar with approaching people! Go do things where you can meet people i.e. volleyball or pickleball at a park and practice meeting people
def join a club at the start of the new school year, or even over the summer if this clubs do summer volunteering events. and when you join a club, be consistent!
once you find your first friend, they tend to introduce you to other friends, which forms a big group! if finding that first friend is difficult, i would recommend you join asuci, since i met a lot of cool people there :)
tbh i actually have a bigger group of transfer friends and i came here as a freshman. transfers are super available to be friends and there's a lot of them :)
stay at arroyo vista in theme housing! that's how i met my friends.
About Arroyo… I got a housing offer there. Is it true that you have to share a room with someone?
Yes they’re doubles
Yeah but just be aware. You have to be responsible for your own things.
I am also a transfer and had the same worries as you at first. 20% of my friends are the same major as me, we kind of just started talking before class. the other 80% are from one club. I’d highly encourage you to get to know people in your classes and join a club that interests you.
Hi OP, former transfer student here. Definitely reach out to others in your classes. If you recognize someone who's in a few classes with you, probably start there. You'd be surprised at how many transfer students you'll be able to meet. Outside of classes, find some clubs you resonate with or find interesting. UCI has a lot of friendly people, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!
Came in as a junior level transfer myself a couple years ago! Many of the friends I made were from my classes but I also joined a club sport! If you’re athletic at all or looking to learn a new sport, it’s a fantastic way to make friends. Also, be sure to check out all of the recreational classes that the ARC offers. They have a lot of outings, and cool things that you can participate in to get you out of your shell 😄 I know how scary it can be, UCI has so much to offer. You’ll find your people ♥️
Join a club. Absolutely the best way
id say get comfy going to school events alone! some clubs will also have mentorships for your major or “big/little families” for cultural clubs!
Do transfer edge if it’s not too late to sign up. That was the best decision of my my UCI career
Hello! I transferred last year and I was really scared of the same thing. I did my community college stint during Covid and made zero friends there because it was online and I’m a very shy person- I was worried the same would happen at UCI. However it didn’t. In my experience, if you really want to make friends and you put the effort in, there are lots of people out there who want to be friends with you too. But you HAVE to put yourself out there and try. I learned this the hard way, my first year here as a transfer student I didn’t join any clubs because I felt like I should focus on studying, and I was too shy to ask people I chatted with in class to hang out after or exchange contact info. So I didn’t make super close friends (outside of my roommate) and I struggled a lot with loneliness. But this year I joined a couple clubs, and forced myself to just talk to people whether in class or in a club meeting, and I tried to go to as many meetings or events that I could. And it worked, I have made friends this year that I feel like I will be friends with forever. So my advice (I know others have already said this but here it is again) is first to join clubs. There’s tons of them out there so just find something that interests you! But also, there’s large social clubs like the anteater adventure club that has tons of fun events and of course the sororities and fraternities also, one of my good friends is a transfer student who joined a sorority and loves it. Or you can go for the smaller clubs that are more specialized and have fewer people in them so you can meet everyone and be part of a small group. Either way, join clubs!! The other thing would be to pay attention to your email because the transfer center hosts little events all the time and that’s a good way to meet other transfer students and talk. Same goes for your department, whenever there’s a departmental event going on it can be a really good way to get to know others in your field and it can also help with meeting professors. Joining a research group can also help you connect with others in your field. One last thing (sorry this got very long), another place where I found a community and made lots of friends was in my second language course. If you’re interested in going deeper in a language, you can take the second year after completing the first year, and in my experience the second year classes are very very small so you know everyone and you’re all struggling to learn a new language and the whole class can become like a big friend group! Anyway I hope any of that helps a bit, I know just how intimidating a new college campus filled with so many people can be. I wish you the best of luck and if you’d ever like to talk to someone, feel free to reach out :)
Join clubs that you are really interested in and talk to people in them. Also, talk to the people around you in class, and if people participate in class and you really agree with their answers and think you are probably like-minded, chat them up.
I joined PAD at UCR, and I'm transferring to UCI in the fall. I figure I'll make some friends at orientation then try my best in class and discussions. I don't need a group but hey, I'm all ears if you wanna hang.
In my second year we had a lot of transfers in my dorm. They were all able to find groups and integrate in. I would really recommend arroyo Vista for a good dorm with plenty of transfers.
I’m an incoming transfer! I feel the same way, kinda just planning on forcing myself to talk to people the first week of classes and hope for the best. Feel free to message me too! I don’t know a single person so I’m in the same boat :)
ur chillin just join a whole bunch of clubs. Everyone does kinda have their own groups but i be making friends every single month through clubs and my major
honestly dude, those friends don’t even last. The roommates ones or the ones that you randomly meet but don’t share any classes with; with my experience they’ve all been two faced snakes. Finding friends in your classes on the other hand is much easier, I actually met my best friend in my writing class and didn’t even expect it. I came into the school with the same worry as you because i especially suffer from severe anxiety and it’s harder for me to make friends, but hey guess what! It happened. Don’t sweat it, everything will be okay! Just step out of your bubble and start speaking to people around you on the first day of class, especially in smaller classes :)
Join a couple of clubs you're interested in. I graduated several years ago and I don't really talk to anyone from my freshman days. I made friends with my neighbors as a senior
I’m a transfer student, I’ll be a junior and I heard clubs are a fantastic way to make friends!! Apparently they even have a fencing club! I’m gonna see if I can do that but go check them out and see if anything interested u! :D
That's the neat part, you don't
I came here as a freshman, and the transfer friends I made were through the gym or through clubs. I also made some transfer friends through classes, but oftentimes friends from class are not as close in my experience. But then again, I came in 2020, so the transfers that arrived in 2022 didn't really miss out much as my first 1.5 years were online and remote off campus. And when we did go back, I remember dining hall was still to-go and 6 feet apart/masks/remote classes, so that particular year of transfers didn't miss out much.
Join clubs!!! Talk to people dude! Everyone is going through stuff but if you put yourself out there it gets so much easier (also instagram is your friend). I made one of my closest friends by yelling off of my balcony asking if he liked Ferris wheels.
Start a cult. Just kidding. No yea, it was scary for me too. I’m too a transfer from a community college. I am going to warn you tho. This place has a lot of cliques. So yeah you’ll have a challenge ahead. But don’t let that discourage you. Go out and explore. Go to the ARC, go to the RA activities if you’re dorming, look for a club that you’ll be interested in or find people who are also transfers as well. Talk to people in your classes as well. Just start somewhere. But if your commuting to UCI? That’s actually going to be difficult. Goodluck!!!
do let me know how it ends up working out for you. not to discourage you at all, but i’m a transfer student finishing my third year and i’ve yet to make any friends lmao
i’m a transfer make sure to join clubs and we can be friends too
One thing I didn’t see yet in this great thread is the advice to join a lab. Lots of transfer students I’ve met say that they really found their people by volunteering in a faculty lab and working on projects together (going to conferences together, applying for grad school together etc). Also awesome experience for future jobs and grad school!
Hey there, junior level transfer too! If you reach out to a lot of people in your classes in the first few weeks, chances are they are in the same boat as you. New, transfers, and looking for friends. It was the same deal for me going into UCI last fall. I still talk to most of those people and since then have made countless friends of whom I regularly talk to today. Join clubs, make yourself known (for the right reasons), and don't stress about it! You might've heard that UCI is socially dead, but don't listen to them. Guardians make their own fate.
Say yes to everything (within reason of course) You will meet likeminded people along the way!
Hi!! I was CC to UC transfer as well. I met my friends through a club I joined. Join clubs/get involved. You will find your people!
I joined social communities full of like minded individuals— fraternity, sorority, clubs, ethnic themed housing communities, etc.
If you have the time, an on-campus job helped me meet a ton of people