More than a home: how student accommodation can help you make new friends
Photo: Elly (in black sweatshirt) at Medley Hall with the Student Committee
You’ve accepted your place at university, packed your bags and moved to a new city. There are so many exciting experiences awaiting you, but possibly the most nerve-wracking of all is trying to make new friends.
Luckily, staying in university accommodation is one way to get a head start. We talked to some of our residents about how university accommodation helped them find their community and form lasting friendships.
Photo: Lisa Bellar House event for new residents
A warm welcome to university life
When Lisa Bellear House (LBH) resident Rheema first arrived in Australia, she was all alone, but this quickly changed.
“I knew no one”, she says.
“But living at LBH helped smoothen my first steps into my Melbourne lifestyle. It was here that I made my very first friends whom I could trust and venture around an unknown city.”
Graduate student and Medley Hall resident Elly agrees. Having previously lived in share houses, they found the university accommodation experience much more welcoming.
“Living at college makes it that much easier to connect and form meaningful friendships,” says Elly.
“After dealing with expensive and stressful share houses and rentals during my undergraduate degree, the sense of stability and community at Medley has been a welcome change”.
Photo: Dinner event at International House
Building lasting friendships, across the globe
As well as providing ways to meet new people, university accommodation provides lots of opportunities to deepen friendships through shared experiences.
Residents can learn more about Melbourne in the Residential Life program and participate in a busy calendar of events and activities with other students from around the world. It’s what The Lofts resident Vanya loves most about university accommodation.
“I love this accommodation because of the community-centric focus”, she says.
“We have multiple social gatherings, fun activities, and a chance to engage and interact with people from around the globe.”
Tam, of Little Hall, shares Vanya’s enthusiasm.
“What I love most about living at Little Hall is I get to meet new exchange students from all over the world every semester, and it is an opportunity to make new friends and to get to know their culture”, says Tam.
Photo: Tam Huynh (front row, 2nd from right) with friends in Little Hall's cinema
Getting the balance right between fun and study
Making new friends might be the most fun part of university, but finding a balance between your studies and socialising is also important.
There is plenty of study support available to you in University Accommodation including academic advisors and workshops, and sometimes the best support can come from your new friends. This support network is what appealed most to International House resident Radya.
"Living together with other students will allow you to make new friends and provide a good support system that can help you face the challenges that university life brings", she says.
"We often study and attend classes together and help each other out whenever we are facing any difficulties. The tutorials provided by my accommodation also really helped me strengthen my understanding of the topics covered in class".
Elly from Medley Hall also finds student accommodation helpful for their studies,
“Medley also has an environment where socialising and studying go together”, she says, “I don’t feel like I must sacrifice one to have the other”.
“It’s such an amazing community.”
Photo: Vanya (first from left) at The Lofts with friends