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"If the prospect of going off to college for the first time seems intimidating, you&amp;#039;re not alone. On top of adjusting to a new environment\u2014possibly in a new state or region of the country\u2014new classes and professors, and a new schedule, you also need to adjust to a new social scene. If you&amp;#039;re going out-of-state or somewhere away from all your friends, it can be reassuring to know a few familiar faces before you make the big move onto campus.   While you absolutely should join your school&amp;#039;s official Facebook group to connect with other students and stay updated on your school&amp;#039;s latest announcements, exchanging enthusiastic &amp;quot;Hi!&amp;quot;s with countless other pre-frosh online might not help you develop meaningful relationships with your classmates. Instead, Instead, HerCampus came up with these 5 ways to connect with your classmates before school starts:  Attend A Lot of School-Sponsored Events: Check your school&amp;#039;s website to see if they offer Orientation, Welcome Week, or other social events over the summer and during the first week of school. These events will help cultivate your first friendships at your new school, and assimilate into the spirit of your school&amp;#039;s culture. Many school make these events required, but it&amp;#039;s a good idea to go regardless! Meet Other Local Students: The best way to get to know other students before you move in is to actually meet them in person! Even if you&amp;#039;re going away for college, check for meet-ups in your local area on Facebook. (These are usually found under the &amp;quot;Discussions&amp;quot; tab in your school&amp;#039;s official group, with titles such as, &amp;quot;Anyone from Boston?&amp;quot;) If you don&amp;#039;t see one in your area, organize one yourself! Plan an outing to a local spot such as an ice cream parlor, park, or restaurant. Ask Around: Chances are good that you might have a few connections you don&amp;#039;t even know about! Ask family, friends, and teachers if they know other students at your future school. They might be able to give you the names of an older student who can show you the ropes, or peers who are in the same excited, nervous place as you right now. Send your new connections a quick message on Facebook explaining how you found them and saying you hope to see them around on campus!  Get in Touch with Your Dormmates and Floormates: If meeting your classmates in person isn&amp;#039;t a possibility, you may want to get in touch with your future roomies online. Laura Baugh, a Virginia Tech sophomore, advises, &amp;quot;The second you figure out what dorm and what floor you&amp;#039;re going to be living on, find a group on Facebook for it! If there isn&amp;#039;t one, make it! This is a great way to meet people who will be living on your floor and in your building BEFORE you step on campus.&amp;quot; Plus, some schools send out the names and numbers of your roommates, so don&amp;#039;t hesitate to give them a call! Move in Early: One of the best ways to get used to college life and meet people is to get involved in activities you enjoy. Some schools offer opportunities to move onto campus early in order to perform community service. Plus, some club sports have early try-outs. You might not become BFFs with the other girls who try-out, but at least you&amp;#039;ll have something in common to talk about if you run into them on campus later on! Do you have any other ways that you made friends your freshman year? Sound off in the comments! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a15784/meet-college-friends-early/>