Are you searching for a long-lost college buddy after many years or even decades of losing touch? If so, we have good news for you! Social media, background check services, and alumni platforms have made people searches online easier than ever. Here are some of the most effective options to help you find your old college friend.
Background Check Companies
When you use a background check company to look for an old college friend, it’s important to have as much information about them as possible. You can start your search with their name and state on the company’s site. Typically, the background check service will generate an online report with their current information, hopefully including their contact information. However, you should handle this information with care. If you decide to call the phone number provided, it is important to be cautious and introduce yourself first. Also, you should be prepared that the number listed might not be theirs anymore.
Google Them
You may find the relevant information about your college friend on Google if they have ever made the news. If their name is unusual, this will increase your chances of finding the right information. If Googling their name has not yielded any useful results, you will need some additional search terms to track them down. You can try searching for their interests, hobbies, job, or the names of their partner or child. Moreover, you can include their college and any company where they worked as search terms. Finally, using keyword variations will improve your chances of success.
On LinkedIn, everyone lists at least some information about their education history and work experience. Since LinkedIn is based on network connections, it will automatically link you to your former classmates. This medium has more options than the majority of alumni networks. Its search options include searching for users by name, college, job title, job location, and more. You can email other users and add more people to your network as you go along, and these connections might help you eventually find your old college friend.
Classmates
Classmates.com is a social medium for alumni with tens of millions of registered users. You can do a free search for your old college friend. Specifically, you can look up the names of the college and high school they went to, as well as their job, or military affiliation (if applicable). What’s more, you don’t need to pay to use this site. Its free membership will let you add your name to any schools you went to and use class lists to find old classmates. In addition, you will be able to create and edit your profile, view and post messages and pictures, and read about events related to your school, including reunions, for free.
However, you will need to upgrade to a paid membership to access other members’ contact information. If you find your friend and upgrade your membership, you’ll get their mailing address and email, among other information.
Reunion
Similar to Classmates, Reunion offers a free search to help people find their old college friends. You can also use it to look for an old coworker, a lost friend or loved one, or an ex. As a non-paying member, you can also post and see photos, create a profile, view other profiles, read and write blog posts, look for news about people you knew in college, and search for other members. However, to contact another user or get their personal information, you will need to upgrade to a paid membership.
With its 2.79 billion users, Facebook is well worth trying to help you find your old friend. Enter their name in the top search bar and scroll down to see if there is a match. Moreover, you should pay special attention to the images in the list of results. You can also try searching for their nickname or alias if your friend’s profile doesn’t appear in the search results. Click on “People” in the top menu to narrow down your search. In addition, it can be customized by location, education, workplace, or mutual friends.
Finally, or perhaps before you start, you should talk to other people you knew in college. Ask them when they last talked to or saw your friend. In addition, you can see whether they have your old friend’s email or a phone number.
