Making friends at Boston University

Boston University is a long, vertical campus stretched along Commonwealth Avenue. It does not have a traditional quad, and the neighborhoods around it do the work of creating community. That means your social life depends on where you live, where you eat, and what you walk past every day. The good news is that Boston gives you a lot to walk past.

The first few weeks of freshman year are the highest-leverage period for making friends. Go to the floor meetings, the RA events, and the dining hall with your door open. The people who live near you will see you the most often. That repetition is the core of friendship.

BU's campus is connected to the T, Fenway, the South End, Allston, and Back Bay. You can walk to the Esplanade, the Museum of Fine Arts, and dozens of restaurants and cafés in minutes. The students who build the best social lives often have one off-campus routine: a study café, a running loop, a trivia night, or a weekly dinner in a neighborhood.

BU has a huge student activities scene. The key is to find one group that meets weekly and has a social component. Club sports, performance groups, cultural organizations, and professional societies are all good starting points. Avoid signing up for twenty clubs at the activities fair. One committed group is more valuable than twenty email lists.

Greek life is present but not dominant at BU. Professional and academic societies are larger, especially for pre-med, pre-law, business, and communications students. These are useful for networking and can lead to friendships, but they can also feel transactional. The people who get the most out of them often also join a social or activity-based group.

• Week 1: Meet your floormates and find one person to walk to class with.
• Week 2: Explore one neighborhood on foot: Allston, Fenway, or the South End.
• Week 3: Join one student organization with a weekly meeting and attend twice.
• Week 4: Plan a low-stakes event with three people from your floor, class, or club.

• Is BU a commuter school? Some students commute, but the campus is residential enough that a full college experience is easy to find.
• What is the best freshman dorm for social life? Warren and West campuses are the main freshman dorms and both are social. The best dorm is the one where you leave your door open.
• Do I need to join Greek life? No. Most students are not in Greek life, and there are many other ways to meet people.
• What is the best way to meet people in classes? Study groups, group projects, and asking questions before or after class.
• Can I make friends if I do not drink? Yes. There are plenty of cafés, student events, and activity-based groups that do not revolve around alcohol.