Starting in the winter term..

[ruby324]

Sooo I got into grad school and I am over the moon because I never thought I even stood a chance...except now I'm starting to panick because I'd be starting in the winter term. My program has fall and winter entry. But I'm afraid that I might be the only 'new kid' entering this upcoming semester and that everyone has already formed their little groups having started in the fall semester. I'm generally a VERY shy and awkward person and I'd be moving to a completely different city. Kinda afraid of being super lonely when I get there. Can anyone that started in the winter session offer any advice or tips? 

[fuzzylogician]

FWIW I had a lot of friends from cohorts that weren't my own. We had friends within the cohort, but it didn't define us. I met my non-cohort friends through coursework and sharing an office with a few of them. I also tried to go to parties and other departmental events to meet people. As a shy person, you might set a goal for yourself to talk to one new person a day/week/whatever. I do that at conferences and it's a useful way of forcing myself out of my comfort zone. You might find that taking the first step will be hard, but there are a lot of awkward shy people in academia who would appreciate someone else taking the first step and would love the friendship. 

[ruby324]

14 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

FWIW I had a lot of friends from cohorts that weren't my own. We had friends within the cohort, but it didn't define us. I met my non-cohort friends through coursework and sharing an office with a few of them. I also tried to go to parties and other departmental events to meet people. As a shy person, you might set a goal for yourself to talk to one new person a day/week/whatever. I do that at conferences and it's a useful way of forcing myself out of my comfort zone. You might find that taking the first step will be hard, but there are a lot of awkward shy people in academia who would appreciate someone else taking the first step and would love the friendship. 

Thank you for the advice! I don't know why I'm freaking out about everything. Maybe it's because I no longer have to stress about whether I'll actually get in. I guess all that energy is now being used to panic about essentially everything else. 
I will definitely try your idea for setting a goal to talk to at least one new person everyday!! Hopefully it all works out.