Skip to main content

Breaking the Ice: How Freshmen Events Can Help New Students Settle

Freshmen events

Heading off to college as a freshman is an exhilarating moment and the start of a new chapter in life. For many, it’s their first time away from home, which can bring excitement and newfound freedom. Despite this excitement, moving away from home and starting college can create a fair amount of stress! In addition to leaving home for the first time and taking the first step towards a chosen career path, you’re also meeting many new people.

Everyone is in the same boat, but it will always be stressful when meeting lots of new people in a completely new environment. Freshmen events can be a great way to break the ice and help people form new friendships. Additionally, these events can help people to get used to life on campus. This post will examine how these events can make all the difference and provide a few ideas for fun freshmen events.

Meet New People at Freshman Events

Meeting new people is not easy for everyone. Extroverts can quickly make friends, but less outgoing people can struggle. Freshmen events provide the perfect platform for meeting students in a friendly campus setting. This makes it easier for less outgoing people to form friendships. As you start making friends and seeing familiar faces, you’ll begin to feel more relaxed and settled on campus.

Getting Acquainted With Campus

Starting college can also be daunting because you’re in a completely new environment. Hosting student social events allows new students to familiarize themselves with the area. As they begin to get their bearings, they’ll feel more at home.

Embracing the Fun

The start of college should always be fun so that new students get settled and start making friends. Freshmen events can encourage this and will make the transition away from home much easier. Freshmen parties and fairs with music, games, activities, and rides like an inflatable alligator slide can help them feel settled.

Orientation

You can also create events that will help students get used to living on campus. Campus tours can help students to find their way and get their bearings. Campus tours can involve meeting relevant staff and faculty. This can make starting the course less intimidating.

On-campus Activity Ideas

As you can see, freshman events can be an effective way for new students to feel settled, adjust to life on campus, and start building friendships. So, what kind of events are best? Here are a few ideas for freshmen events that will break the ice and get their college life off to a flying start.

Campus Fair: A campus fair will always bring excitement to welcome week. Fairs are a chance for new students to get out and have adrenaline-inducing fun.

You will want to have a range of fun rides and games for them to choose from, including an alligator slide. The King Croc slide is ideal because it has a colorful, eye-catching design. It is also a fun slide experience that will thrill the students and create an electric atmosphere.

Campus Scavenger Hunt: Explore and meet new people in a campus-wide scavenger hunt. This will help students familiarize themselves with campus and strike up new friendships.

Welcome BBQ: It is hard to beat a welcome BBQ as a way to break the ice. Outdoor events like this are one of the best ways for people to feel settled, as they are laid-back and friendly. Just make sure you stock up on supplies!

Video Game Competitions: Video games are hugely popular among younger generations. New students will relish a video game contest, and it could help less outgoing types to bond. These events can also be more low-key and easier to plan than a fair.

Escape Room Challenge: Escape room challenges are all the rage right now and perfect for a freshmen event. Students must work together to solve fun challenges allowing them to escape before time elapses. Any event that requires teamwork and problem-solving in a fun environment will always be a highly effective icebreaker. 

Movie Marathon: A movie marathon is a low-key event that can be enjoyed by all. Settling into college can be exhausting as a first-year student, especially with so many events. A chilled movie marathon can help freshmen relax and feel settled while still partaking in a social activity. Be sure to show a range of popular films and stock up on tasty snacks. You could also have themed nights so that people can come to films that they will enjoy.

Sports Competitions: Few things bring people together quite like sports. People can strike up quick friendships when they have a sport or two in common, so hosting friendly sports competitions can help students break the ice.

Sports Screenings: Similarly, screening sports matches can quickly unite first-year students. Bonding over a match can instantly build friendships and create happy shared memories. Of course, you can also plan trips to see the college teams in action. The atmosphere at college sports is infectious and will help to drum up school spirit quickly.

Starting college can be a thrilling experience and the beginning of a new chapter. It can also be one of the scariest and most stressful experiences that a young person can go through. Leaving home, starting a new course, and meeting so many new people at once can be intimidating, which is why icebreaker events are crucial for new students. These events can help people make friends, get their bearings, and adjust to life on campus. Hopefully, this post will give you inspiration for fun event ideas that will break the ice and help new students acclimate to student life.