There are several reasons a person might want to reconnect with a former school or college friend.
It might be a wish to rekindle an old relationship. A recent discovery of an item that once belonged to the person may have occurred. Natural curiosity about their life is another reason.
The internet has made it straightforward to go about finding this person. There are countless ways to go about it, from the obvious to others that require a little more out-of-the-box action.
Search Engines and Social Media
The first and easiest place to start is Google. You and your friends must have used Google for your study when you are at college, like using the “do my homework” keywords in your search. Doing this can help narrow down your results and make it easier to find websites like https://domyessay.me/do-my-homework/ that assist with school projects. Now, it is the same. Just type their name in and see what comes up. This action will instantly find any business or social media accounts in their name.
Creativity is required here to avoid too many results coming up. Add the name of the school or college to narrow the search.
If the person has a very common name, use their nickname if they have one. Many social media accounts are created using an alias instead of their actual name.
A direct search from a logged-in social media account may also yield positive results, especially in the friends of a friend aspect.
School Friend Search Sites
There are loads of people finder sites out there. To look for school or college friends, try ones that are academia specific.
Most schools and colleges have their own websites. Some have an alum section with contact details. This is a great place to start.
Failing that, see if the school has its own Facebook site. It’s also possible former alums may have created such a site. Look for pages linked to reunions, past, and future to see if the person has attended or plans to attend.
There are other options if the school doesn’t have its own page.
Classmates.com has the largest database of colleges in America. Alumni.net is more focused on job searching but also has links to colleges for networking purposes.
Alternate Search Options
If there have been no results from Google, social media, or school sites, the person may not want to be found. That’s not the end of the search, though.
There are other ways to find people online. It’s helpful if there is access to something related to them, like an old phone number, expired email address, or photograph.
Reverse searches can be done with phone numbers and email addresses. They could provide links to current details for the former owner.
Photographs can be put through a reverse-image search; if the same picture is somewhere on the internet, it can be matched. There could be contact information available wherever the search result lands.
The People Close to Them
When all the above have been tried and brought no results, expand the net wider. If the person has siblings or other school friends whose information is available, begin the process again.
Think about favorite teachers, sports team friends, and anybody else who connected with this person.
Any of these people may have photos or posts that include the person you’re looking for. Consider contacting them directly to see if they can provide further details. They might still be in touch with them.
Ask For Help
The six degrees of separation concept suggests that everyone on the planet is connected to every other person by only six other people. A neighbor’s, best friend’s, sister’s cousin may have shared the same babysitter. It’s that tenuous but also that straightforward.
Asking other friends and colleagues if they know this person, their friends or relatives, could provide results.
Another idea is to create a social media post asking if anyone knows the person. This idea needs careful management. To avoid looking stalkerish, be sure to present why this person needs to be contacted.
Follow up on any leads that come through; sometimes, the most unlikely link turns out to be the correct one.
Long Lost College Friends Can Be Found
Long-lost friends don’t need to remain that way. The internet makes finding people, even those who don’t want to be found, straightforward.
Those with public profiles can be easily discovered via search engines and social media. Making the task a rapid one.
If a more in-depth search is required, begin with the official school site. Failing that, alums and college finder sites are the next go-to places.
Apply the six degrees of separation concept and find them through other connections.
Utilizing these suggestions, a long-lost school friend could become a happily reunited one.