Question:
I can't make friends at the pharmacy school
I can't make friends in pharmacy school, I guess because of my poor social skills. Everyone here is exceptionally nice, but it seems like many people have friends to go to lunch, coffee, study groups, etc. with, and I do not.
Response 1:
It can be tough when it seems like everyone has got their “clique”, but things are not always how they seem. Many groups are very welcoming and as you said, everyone is very friendly! A great way to make friends can be a mix of school events, school group work, and just asking someone what they're up to! Sometimes “small talk” can lead into talking about interests and bonding. I personally was without friends for a long time in pharmacy school, then I started studying with a couple of people and we eventually started to become friends. It’s never too late to socialize, it helps if you put yourself out there and keep trying.
Response 2:
It is understandable that you seem to feel that your situation is because of something you are doing, but try to remember that it may not have anything to do with you personally. Lots of people come into pharmacy school already having close friends from undergrad, and lots of people get to know others through roommates, mutual friends, etc. The circumstances maybe haven’t quite worked out for you to get to know people very well yet, but as you pointed out, everyone here is very nice. While you can certainly take some actions to socialize more (e.g. study in the basement with others, participate in extracurricular activities, or even just through classes and especially group work) or try to improve your social skills if you feel that would help, one of the most important things to do is to not be hard on yourself and to trust that over time you will find that people are very friendly and accepting of you for who you are!
Response 3:
Additionally, I encourage you to contact one of our Mentors as we love to meet up with other pharmacy students! We could just hang out and get a coffee, or plan some other fun activities. And it doesn't have to be to talk about any issues, but we can just chat about pharmacy or whatever interests us. You can view our Mentor Profiles on our website under the “About Us” section to see if there is anyone in particular you might connect with, and you can contact them directly. Alternatively, you can email UWRxPRN@gmail.com and we will set everything up! We look forward to hearing from you! :-)