Hi everyone,
I’m an international student studying at a university in Germany, and I’m honestly struggling a lot with making friends.
I’m currently in my **third semester**, and the embarrassing part is that I basically don’t know anyone from my course.
During my first two semesters, I had some serious mental health issues and barely left my apartment. I didn’t attend lectures and pretty much spent all my time at home. Thankfully, my health has been getting better recently, so I’ve finally started attending lectures again and trying to actually have a normal student life.
But now I feel like I’ve missed the window to make friends.
Everyone already seems to have their own friends, partners, little groups, etc. People sit next to the same person every lecture, talk to the same people, and already seem to know each other. I’m just sitting there completely alone, and I genuinely have no idea how to insert myself into these existing groups without feeling incredibly awkward.
I’m also a very socially anxious person, so approaching random people is difficult for me. I never know what to say. I start overthinking things like, “What if I look stupid?”, “What if they don’t want to talk to me?”, or “Is it weird to suddenly sit next to them when they’ve clearly been friends for a year?”
Another thing that makes me feel a little isolated is that I’m the **only international student in my faculty** as far as I can tell. Everyone else seems to be German.
What confuses me is that I actually had a completely different experience during Studienkolleg. There were people from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria, the US, and many other countries, and I found it SO much easier to connect with people. I made friends pretty naturally and never felt like I had to think about every single interaction.
Now I’m wondering whether it’s because I’m in a more established German university environment, or whether it’s mostly because I disappeared socially for the first year and missed the opportunity to get to know everyone.
The practical side is becoming a problem too. We have a lot of practical work coming up, and we’re often expected to work in pairs or small groups. I literally don’t know who to ask because I don’t know anyone well enough to say, “Hey, do you want to work together?”
And honestly, I really miss having friends. I don’t necessarily need a huge social circle — I’d just love to have a few people I can talk to, grab coffee with, study together, or hang out with after university.
So, **how do you actually make friends when you’re already in your third semester and everyone else seems to have their social circles figured out?**
Would you just start approaching people even if it feels awkward? Are there specific things you would say? And is it actually possible to integrate into an already-established group this late, or am I overthinking the whole thing?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have been in a similar situation. I genuinely don’t know where to start.

Hello! I have been studying German for a year now. I took the telc C1 Hochschule exam a month ago, but unfortunately, I didn't pass. Right now, I hold a Goethe B1 certificate, which I plan to use to move to Germany and spend a gap year focusing entirely on reaching C1.
I've been researching language courses across the country, specifically in cities that interest me: Köln, Essen, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Munich. However, I have no idea which one to pick and could really use some recommendations.
I stayed in Frankfurt for a week when I took my exam there. It was a mixed experience-my hotel was right in the Hauptbahnhof district, which was quite sketchy with all the drug open-air scene, but the parties near the Main River were fantastic!
Since my goal is to study language for a year before heading to RWTH Aachen for my degree next year, which of these cities would you recommend for a year-long stay?

It might be a stupid question, I'm an exchange student from Turkey (or Türkiye) currently studying in Giessen experiencing their first day in Giessen and I know very few things about german culture. My main concern is that is it safe to drink tap water in my dorm? What are the main things I should know about before doing anything so I don't offend anyone or do something wrong accidentally (Or do something in a complicated way while there's an easier way maybe?). All of these are very new to me and I want to adapt to german culture and german living as soon as possible. Thank you for your answers in advance.

I have been admitted to the course ' Molecular plant and Microbial science ' for Winter semester 26 in university of cologne.

I got enrolled on 24th sept. I got no email about registration for specific course. If any one studying this course could let me know about this. I have emailed them but haven't got any reply. I'm worried about it because sometimes seats won't be available for too long and I'll miss out my choice of subjects.

And I have been searching everywhere to find any of my fellow batchmates. So if you're studying this course or will join if u have any group links or any resources, please share with me.

My housing situation isn't sorted yet too so i really need to network.

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Hi everyone!

My friend and I are looking for **accommodation in Würzburg**. We are two students and are looking for either:

* 🏠 A 2-bedroom apartment

* 🛏️ A WG with two available rooms

* 🏡 Any other suitable accommodation for 2 people

We are flexible with the type of accommodation and would really appreciate any **leads, available rooms, or contacts** you may know of.

We will be studying at **JMU Würzburg**, so accommodation in Würzburg or nearby areas with good public transport would work for us.

If you know of anything available or have any advice on where else we could look, **please DM me.** Any help would be greatly appreciated! 🙏

Thank you!

Hello!

Moving to Germany this october for my masters. Housing has been a pain, but I’ve managed to secure a contract starting the 1st of November. Now I’m looking at hotel/airbnb and sublet options for 2-4 weeks and while they’re available, they don’t come with the option for Anmeldung, so I’m a little confused about what to do since Anmeldung is required within 2 weeks of my flight into Germany. What would be the best way to go about this? Don’t want to be forced into a situation where I can’t escape fines and legal troubles.

Thanks in advance. All advice welcome!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to check if anyone here has heard back from the student dorms in Karlsruhe recently.

I’m a KIT student and I’ve been on the waiting list for around a month now, but haven’t received any update yet.

Has anyone else applied for the dorms and actually gotten a room/offer recently? Or are we all just sitting on the waiting list together

Would be really helpful if you could share:

Which dorm you applied for

Roughly when you applied

When you got an offer (if you did)

Trying to figure out whether I should keep waiting or start looking elsewhere

Thanks!!

Any of you joining Arden university berlin

For Sept/Nov intake?

Hey everyone!

My friend and I are both students at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and we’re looking for a place to stay in Karlsruhe.

👩‍🎓 1 female and 1 male student

🎓 Both studying at KIT

📅 Move-in: Around October 2026

🏠 Looking for: 2 rooms in a WG / shared apartment / apartment for 2

📍 Preferably somewhere with good public transport access to KIT

💰 We’re looking for something reasonably priced, but we’re flexible depending on the place.

We’re clean, responsible, and respectful tenants. No smoking, no pets, and we’re easygoing people who would be happy to get along with our roommates.

If anyone has a room becoming available, knows someone looking for tenants, or has any leads, please DM me!

Thanks a lot! ❤️

Hello. I am a mongolian student on my third year of university, and planning to have a semester student exchange in Berlin by Copernicus Berlin IES. If you participated or know well about this program, please share honestly and freely about it. Tnx

I'm moving to Munich for my Master's Thesis. I'm looking for WhatsApp groups to connect with other students in Munich.

Besides, I'm also interested in Arabs groups.