I’ve read that it takes 90 hours to move someone from an acquaintance to a friend. This may be why greek life, theater, and athletic teams are so successful at incubating friendships - you are around the same group for a LOT of time.
Good incubator - choir with weekly meal, 3 hours of weekly rehersal and a trip each semester.
Bad incubator - a health occupations club where you listen to a guest speaker for an hour each week.
These are rudemetray examples, anything can be fruitful for finding friendships, but time, interactions and postivity (warmth, fun, joy) seem to be key ingredients. A study group can have time and interactions, but someone will have to put some joy/laughter/fun into the study group to transform it into friendships.
You are really wise to be thinking about this now. Here’s some advice you can impliment now:
- learn people’s names this year. Seriously, youd be surprised how few people know the names of every person. In every class they take.
- use peoples names
- make low stakes “bids for connection”
Like borrowing a pencil or complimenting something