5 Tips for Maintaining Friendships at College

Many people that go to college worry about their friendships with people from home. Often, people in the same social group go to different colleges, and may be separated by considerable geographical distance. How does one manage and maintain such friendships at college? In this article, I intend to describe several things that college students can do to maintain high school friendships.

Maintaining Friendships in College Tip #1 - Email Frequently
Of all the things that you can do to remain close in a friendship while in college, I would recommend using email the most. Email is more personal than Facebook, and email allows people with different class schedules to communicate when they have free time. It can be difficult to organize times to talk or chat if more than two people are involved. Using email allows this problem to be avoided. Email is also unlikely to interfere with the process of getting to know new people because you can choose when you want to respond.

Maintaining Friendships in College Tip #2 - Talk and Instant Message Less Frequently
Talking on the phone, videochatting, and instant messaging are all large time commitments. If you spend an hour or two talking to your best friends every night while in college, you will miss out on new experiences. You won't build as strong friendships with your roommate and others living around you, and you'll miss out on things like exploring the area where you go to school and trying new restaurants. If you enjoy talking or instant messaging frequently, consider setting a time limit of fifteen or twenty minutes per session. You could also choose one night a week where you talk for an unlimited amount of time. With this plan, it is best that you stick to the one-night-a-week agreement.

Maintaining Friendships in College Tip #3 - Don't Be Dependent On Your Friends
Almost everyone thinks that his or her high school friends are the best. Don't let this prevent you from making new friends. New and interesting people are at your school, provided that you look for them. You will be miserable if you don't establish a new group of friends with whom you can spend time, study, eat, and do other college activities. This goes along with the previous tip. You'll resent your friends from home if they make friends at college and you don't. This is ultimately bad for you and your friendship. If you're having trouble finding people with the same interests as you, talk to people in your classes and join clubs and organizations relevant to your interests.

Maintaining Friendships in College Tip #4 - Don't Abandon Your Friends
While your friends from home should not occupy all of your time or prevent you from making new friends, you should stay in contact with your friends and be there for them if they need your support. You should be able to expect the same from them in return.

Maintaining Friendships in College Tip #5 - Acknowledge that People Change
Many people change after going to college. It's a fact of life. It might happen to you, and it might happen to your friends from home. While it's not a certainty, it can happen. Unless you or your friends change in some drastic, unforeseen manner, allow for character differences and altered tastes and interests. Your friends are probably still the same people at heart.

One of the biggest fears of many people about going to college is losing friendships from home. Provided that you stay in touch with your friends and still take time to make new ones at school, you should be fine. Balance is key. If you have any other tips for how college students can maintain friendships while at school, please leave your thoughts in the form of a comment. Thanks for reading!