You’re now at University. Amazing. It’s an opportunity to have a good time for 3, 4, 5 years. You will come across lots of great people with similar mindsets and interests, develop lifelong friendships, and some of you will meet the love of your life, and even marry each other. Dating at University can be exciting and daunting but fun and enriching at the same time. This, is a topic that many of you would take interest in but fear to request (and for once I’m finally talking something unrelated to medicine – Woohoo!).

Before I get started, let me list some of my credentials:

Gender: Male

Years at University: x4

Past relationships at Uni: Classified

Current relationship status: Non-existence

As you can see I am no expert in the dating, therefore this blog is not a place for relationship advice or ‘game’ (because I have none ;(.) However, having spent 4 years at University, I do have a few tips to share through my own experience.

1. Be sociable and openminded: There are lots of events hosted by faculties and student associations. For instance, the law school has their law stein and cocktail party, engineering has their stein and events, and most of our FMHS programmes such as nursing, pharmacy, optometry, medicine – all have our own (and mixed) events regularly. Other things include joining clubs or even participating in the faculty revue/ musical. These are all great ways to connect with like-minded people who share a same life trajectory and goals.
2. Don’t let dating distract you from your studies: While dating can be a lot of fun, you shouldn’t let it distract you from your studies. Remember that you’re at University to learn and grow, network, and build your future career. That should be your main focus. Make sure that you don’t abandon your academic responsibilities and career in pursue of a dating life.
3. Be yourself: It’s important to be true to who you are, and to communicate your authentic self to the people you admire. Be down to earth. Don’t try to be someone you’re not in order to impress someone else. You want to be comfortable with yourself and attract someone who likes you, for you.
4. GO FOR IT: If you meet someone you fancy, ask them out. If someone holds eye contact with you, smile at you and shows signs of interest, go up and introduce yourself! Do not hesitate. Rejection is an answer, but regret is an eternal question you will never have the answer to. This comes from personal experience and I wish I could turn back time and act on it when I had those moments (probably won’t be having such a non-existence relationship status now).

Finally, understand that for a lot of you coming to University, it will be the first time in your lives starting to date, so don’t be so hard on yourselves if it doesn’t work out. A British dating site did a survey of a random pool of 1000 married people and it was found that only 25% are still with their first love. I met someone who ‘clicked’ with me in my 1^st year of University. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and we eventually parted ways. We had different values and priorities in life and it just wasn’t meant to be. But that’s okay. People come and go and we will all find the right one. Remember, while a date that doesn’t work out can be difficult, it is a great opportunity for growth and self-discovery. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and date! Let your hair down, have some fun. Enjoy every single moment of your young Uni years.

All is fair in love and war.