friends help: How can I approach people in college in a cafeteria? - Help.com

Happens!
Thing is if its the first week, it dosent matter…
Not everyone has a group yet…
Just walk in there, look at the tables, see which one seems to be the most inviting and comfortable for you and ask them if you could join them!
Youll kinda know whos new there as well…
Dont overthink it, just have fun and get to know the people ur sitting with!

once class starts it will get much easier and sit down, just go for it, if they are like WTF then it their loss part of college is meeting so many different people and if they close themselves off then it would be their loss. and another good way to meet people is get involved clubs and groups can be super fun… and very diverse on a campus

Now is the time to do it, because everyone is looking to meet new people. If you don’t try to meet people now, it will be 10x harder a few weeks from now. It is perfectly acceptable this early in the school year to just ask to join a group of people at a meal… they’ll probably be happy you asked!

try walking

There are usually people sitting by themselves in school cafeterias. Im sure it would be okay if you walked up to them and asked to sit. As for a group… if their long time friends it might be somewhat harder. But don’t be nervous most people in college are looking to make new friends :) Just talk to people and you might even find someone in your class who would like to meet up in the morning and have breakfast or coffee for those who don’t eat breakfast :) good luck.

personally, i find it ok to eat by yourself at a table. but if you don’t want to, how about approaching a small group first. preferably a person alone, just like you? seems more safe to me. i mean, less chance of people collectively laughing at you or going WTF.

and don’t forget to smile always. best of luck!:)

Trust me, none of these kids have their butts settled in yet. They’re all like you, even the upperclassmen are looking forward to new relationships this year. If someone says no when you ask for a seat, truth be told, they’re jerks and not worth your time. You’ll get a seat easily if you ask around. Have questions prepared when you get there, so you can start up a conversation right away and remove any awkward silence. Start off with an introduction and then ask everyone around you what they’re plans are for majors, where they’re housing is, how they like the food… yea it sounds stupid and obvious but the key is a happy, confident delivery. You’ll be fine.