How to Be Popular in College (13 Real & Practical Tips)

Wondering how to be popular in college? You’re not alone!

I firmly believe that college is one of the most memorable times in your life and rightfully so! During your college years, you’ll find out soo much about yourself and really come into your own as a person.

You’ll have some amazing and not-so-amazing experiences that will help shape you into the best version of yourself. Honestly, I think everyone should experience college life for at least one year, just for the personal development alone!

As someone who had to make all new friends in college, learn a new environment, and eventually studied college student development, I’ve learned some things or two along the way.

So if you’re searching for how to be popular in college, I’ve got the answers for you. (And trust me, these tips help when you’re out of college too!)

So tap into this post to learn all about how to be popular in college!

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13 Tips for How to Be Popular in College

1. Be Yourself

Not to be a cliche but…being yourself is the best way to be popular in college!

Authenticity is one of the greatest superpowers that we all have. We are all unique, peculiar, and special in our own ways. Your authenticity is literally one of your greatest gifts, so now is the time to embrace it.

One of the things I love about college is that it’s so different from high school.

Yes, you may come across “cliques” or students who think their social status is all that matters, but trust me it doesn’t. You’re among thousands of students and everyone is on their own personal journeys.

And that’s the beautiful thing about college, everyone is exploring who they truly are.

Now I’m guessing you’re thinking, how do I be myself? Well, the first step toward that is getting to know yourself. It’ll take some time, but the personal growth and freedom from being your authentic self is worth it.

Simply put, always be yourself, friend. Don’t try to be someone else and you’ll find your people.

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2. Choose Kindness

You know that golden rule…“Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Yeah, that’s what this tip is about!

Kind people tend to have a lot of friends and a great social life!

You want to know why…

People like people who are nice to them! (it’s really that simple)

When you’re given the choice to be right or be kind, always choose kind. If there’s one thing I know it’s that people always remember the good person who was kind to them.

If you are genuinely kind to your peers in college, watch your popularity level increase in no time!

Here’s some simple ways to be kind in college:

Hold the door open for others (this is a biggie!)
Listen during conversations and don’t talk over people
Give out compliments randomly
Help when you see someone in need

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3. Get Social

Here’s a little secret…the “popular students” in college are usually just the most social students. (it’s so simple right!)

In college, there’s lots of people and lots of things to do (especially if you go to a large public school), so to get more popular you have to meet more people.

That means getting out of your comfort zone and being more social.

Here’s are a few ways to be more social in college:

Join some clubs (more on that in a minute)
Strike up a conversation with a peer in the same class
Try out other places to eat or study on campus
Follow your peers on social media (like Snapchat)
Attend an event or college party

4. Join Clubs

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…student clubs are one of the best parts about college!

If you want to get into different social circles, you need to join clubs!

Clubs are awesome because you get to meet a lot of people that you probably won’t have meant if you weren’t in the club. There are so many clubs you can join from cultural clubs, debate, to a sports team.

There is a club for everyone and best yet, they give you the chance to connect with other like-minded people! If you ask any current students about their friend groups, I bet they met because they were in the same club.

To keep it simple, if you want to be popular in college, you need to join clubs!

It’s by far the easiest way to get to know more people and become more popular on campus.

5. Become a Student Leader

A lot of people who were popular in college were involved in student leadership positions! This could be anything from being a member of student government, student activities board, or a member of a club executive board.

These positions are usually highly visible and involve collaborating with other students, so a lot of people knew who these students were.

In addition to being more popular, student leaders are also able to enhance their leadership skills, add to their resume, have special cords at graduation, and even get college stuff for free!

6. Take Initiative

As I mentioned, being popular in college is really about being social and getting to know a lot of different people around campus.

To be more social, you’ll have to take the initiative to meet new people, build relationships, and experience new opportunities.

Here’s some ways you can start taking initiative right now:

Introducing yourself to people you see all the time but have never spoken to on campus
Ask someone to grab coffee or eat lunch on campus one day
Start a study group in one of your classes
Start a new club on campus around something that interests you and recruit new members (be sure to check with your student activities office about certain requirements so you don’t waste your time!)

7. Find Your Community

It is crucial to find your community in college!

College has a lot of students and it can be hard to find your footing without having a community in college. No matter how “popular” you are in college, everyone isn’t going to know who you are.

That’s why it’s important to find YOUR people.

When you’re looking for your community, one of the most important things is to be yourself (there’s that phrase again!)

Don’t look for the “popular people” and try to be their friends unless those are the people you align with.

It’s better to choose an authentic group of people who you share common interests with, than people who you think you need to be friends with to be “popular.”

8. Become the Go-To Person

On every campus, you have someone known for something that they’re good at. (Like the campus DJ, the college expert, the college mascot, etc.)

If you have a skill or talent, use that to our advantage! Tell people about it, use opportunities to show off that skill, and you’ll find that will make people genuinely interested in learning more about you.

Even more, people will start to notice and you’ll end up becoming the go-to person for that thing on campus.

💡Here’s A Gem: If you have a certain talent like DJ’ing or singing, a lot of student clubs need your help for their events (like formals, mixers, banquets,etc.)! Depending on your school, you can even get paid by departments for your service at these events. So if you have a talent, show it off! 💸

9. Build Relationships with College Staff

I’d bet, you never thought this would help you become popular in college but it really can!

College staff know the ends and outs of the university and can be of great help throughout your entire college career.

Be intentional about building relationships with a few members of college staff.

I was close with a few and they helped me get campus jobs, leadership opportunities, enhance my professional skills, and even introduced me to other students who are still my friends to this day!

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It’s up to you to which staff members you want to build a relationship with, but make that a priority for your first and second year on campus!

10. Don’t Be Judgemental

If you’ve ever spent time around an extremely judgy person, it’s not fun. In college everyone is just trying to figure it out, so there’s no need to be a jerk and judge others.

You don’t want to build a reputation for being that person that others start to avoid because they are always judging something they do.

College is the time to meet new people, experience a different point of view, and accept people as they are.

So kick the judgement to the side and enjoy college life with your fellow students.

11. Avoid Stereotyping Others

Stereotypes suck. So don’t give in to stereotyping others if you want to be popular in college.

You’re going to be meeting tons of new people from all different walks of life every day! So, be open-minded and try to learn something new from everyone around you!

Ask questions, explore different perspectives, and respect others. That goes a long way in your daily life!

12. Have Good Energy

I don’t know about you, but I love hanging out with people who love a good laugh and having a good time!

Having good energy is one of the easiest ways to new friends in college.

Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t need to be the resident on-campus comedian or be happy all the time.

Just be positive, bring good energy, and have fun even during the dull times in college.

13. Avoid Doing Too Much

Don’t get sucked into doing too much to be popular. Trying too hard to gain popularity may scare people away from you.

People can sense when someone isn’t being genuine and often it’ll have the opposite effect. If you push it too hard, you may actually lose people instead of making friends.

Let everything happen at a natural pace. You can’t expect to gain popularity in a single day, week, or even a year.

If you’ve found your community, built genuine relationships, and treated people with kindness, the popularity (and even more great experiences and opportunities) will come in time!

Before You Go

I’m so glad that you now know how to be popular in college! Since the key to being popular in college is being more social, I’ve got something to help you out even more.

Do you know how to find the best parties in college? If not, I’ve got an ultimate guide to help you find parties on your college campus.

Check out the post below where I’m spilling all the gems!

Click here to read The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Parties in College

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How to Be Popular in College (13 Real & Practical Tips)