For many students, college represents a brand new start and a chance to break out of high school identities.At least that's what it represents to students who come to University without knowing anyone.But what if you came here with dozens of people from your high school or your hometown?
First-year College student Ethan Carroll, from Arlington, Va., intentionally avoided the 21 other kids from his high school who also came to the University this fall. While he said having friends here when he moved in this August provided him with "an added sense of security," he worried about the negative consequences of being yet another member of the large Northern Virginia population at the University. Carroll admitted to not talking to many of his high school friends during his first week on Grounds so that he could meet and befriend new people, such as the other guys in his suite.
"At first I was afraid I would only hang out with people from my high school and miss out on the opportunity to make new friends," Carroll said.
Carroll is not the only one who felt this way coming to college. Many students in this situation share the same concerns, including making new friends and not being stuck in that dreaded high school clique.
Another Northern Virginia native, third-year College student Golnaz Jalali, had similar thoughts when she moved in. Despite coming here with three or four of her best friends, Jalali said they chose not to room together because they hoped to meet new people and expand their group of friends."
But after two full years at the University, Jalali said she realized she's still very close with those same best friends from her high school. She pointed out that knowing people made the transition easier as a first year.
"I guess it's just a lot scarier for people out of state who don't know anyone here," Jalali said.
First-year Engineering student Hannah Noyes, who hails from Connecticut, offered insight into her experience of knowing no one on Grounds at the start of this semester. She said she feared going through the transition from high school to college life alone but noted that "it gave me a completely fresh start in who I am and the people I meet."
Yet even after making new friends and settling into her college schedule, Noyes said she continues to worry about her situation.
"It still worries me that people have already made their group of friends" before arriving at the University, Noyes said. "It's intimidating also being out-of-state not just because I don't know people from high school, but because here everyone and everything is about Virginia, and I'm not."
Students encounter both advantages and disadvantages regardless of whether they enter the University knowing 100 people or no people. Knowing people prior to arriving can mean an easier transition, an established group to hang out with and fewer lonely meals at the dining halls.
Not knowing anyone, however, can represent freedom, a clean slate to meet different people and escape high school life. Conversely, while the first group may fear being stuck in their old systems and comfort zones, the latter group may feel isolated from peers.
Sociology Prof. Paul Kingston offered his personal understanding of both possibilities from the point of view of a parent.
"My daughter went to school knowing lots of people and did very well, and my son went to school knowing no one and adjusted well also," Kingston said. Those out-of-state students and those from small high schools can find their own niches within the college community, and those students who came with many of their friends can choose to branch out as much as they want.
Still, there is clearly one advantage to knowing students who already attend the University, Carroll said.
"It's cool to have upperclassmen friends from high school ... they have cars," he said. "But no, really, they're good for parties too."
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