Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Janice M. McCabe, "Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends: How Campuses Shape College Students’ Networks" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Date: November 21, 2025
Host: Michael Johnston
Guest: Dr. Janice M. McCabe (Associate Professor of Sociology, Dartmouth College)

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode features an in-depth discussion with Dr. Janice M. McCabe about her new book, "Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends: How Campuses Shape College Students’ Networks." The conversation explores how campus structures, policies, and social environments influence the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of friendships among college students across various institutional contexts: a large public university, a selective private college, and a community college. The episode also addresses practical implications for students, families, and colleges and opens up avenues for future research.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origin of the Research

• Dr. McCabe’s prior work examined friendship networks at a large public institution, which raised questions about how friendship dynamics might differ in other college settings (02:01).
• Her move to Dartmouth and teaching experience sparked observations about structural differences impacting student friendships.

2. Friendship Markets: Initial and Secondary

• Friendship markets: The concept refers to time-bound windows when students are open to making friends, notably during orientations or the early weeks of college.
• Initial friendship market: The beginning of college—first few weeks—including orientation, where nearly everyone is open to new connections. “It’s both so essential, crucial, and terrifying to have to make friends so quickly.” (04:12, McCabe)
• Afterward, the market "closes," making the formation of new friendships less frequent.
• Secondary markets: Pop-up opportunities later in college life—club fairs, classes, student organizations—where making friends is possible, but not as easy as in the initial phase (06:29).
• Regret and missed opportunities: Students who immediately attached to the first group regret not branching out during the initial period, as it’s harder to connect later (07:26).

3. Mechanisms: Homophily and Propinquity

• Two main drivers of friendship:
  • Homophily: “Similarity.” People befriend others like themselves.
  • Propinquity: “Encountering the same people repeatedly.” (09:07)
• Both are especially relevant in initial and secondary friendship markets.

4. Meaningful Friendships and Funneling

• Over time, students funnel friendships, growing more selective and focusing on deeper connections.
• True friends are those you “can depend on, trust... not always someone you can tell everything to, but someone who knew more than just surface level stuff” (10:07, McCabe).
  • Quote: “The mark of true friendship is not feeling like you have to be ‘on’... you can just relax.” – Melanie (pseudonym, 10:51, paraphrased by McCabe)
• Social network analysis terms: More central friends (nodes with the most links) tended to be the closest (11:50).

5. Losing Friends: Fading Away vs. Breaking Up

• Dr. McCabe distinguishes between “fading away” and “breaking up”:
  • Fading away: Gradual loss of contact, often ambiguous and more painful if not mutual (12:22).
  • Breaking up: Active, clear ending of a relationship, sometimes after a breach of trust.
  • Both types can be difficult; reconnections are possible, especially after fading away (19:43).
• Friendship Network Types (from prior and current research):
  • Tight knitters: Dense networks where most friends know each other (“ball of yarn”).
  • Compartmentalizers: Distinct friend groups, little overlap (“bow tie”).
  • Samplers: Numerous one-on-one connections, few group ties (“daisy flower”).
• Breakups are hardest for tight knitters because tension between two can affect the whole group (17:53).

6. Campus Contexts: Structure Shapes Friendship

• UNH (large public university): Strong initial friendship market, cohort-based structures, first-year dorms favor tight-knit networks (22:25).
• Manchester Community College: Non-residential; students leave campus after class, leading to more fleeting, “sampler” style friendships (25:00). Age diversity also impacts group formation (27:39).
  • Notably, the community college was the only campus where strangers invited Dr. McCabe to join them socially (29:40).
• Dartmouth College: Intense orientation programs (like “TRIPS”), mandatory first-year dorms, and identity-based programs foster robust initial friendship markets (31:12).
  • Students highly value programs like TRIPS for social integration even when friendships don’t last long-term (34:25).
• Physical space, dorm makeup, club activity, and institutional selectivity all influence network structure and friendship outcomes.

7. Identity and Friendship Formation

• Identity is dynamic; students' salient identities (race, class, religion, etc.) shift over college (36:26).
  • Intersectionality is key: “People aren’t just one dimensional. They have multiple identities that vary in importance over time.” (36:26, McCabe)
• Friendships often form around identity (e.g., first-gen, religion), but can also create tension as deeper differences emerge, particularly around race and class (38:00).
  • Example: Black students at Dartmouth find class background differences complicate shared racial identity (36:26).

8. Policy Implications & Practical Advice

• Every chapter ends with concrete takeaways for students, parents, and colleges (40:04).
  • Most actionable intervention: Invest in clubs, organizations, and classes with regular, collaborative interaction (e.g., group projects, campus activities boards).
  • Propinquity—recurring encounters—facilitates deeper friendships (41:20).
  • Spaces and programs should create natural opportunities for repeated contact (44:04).
  • Physical campus design (common paths, shared stairways) can foster these encounters, but must also address accessibility (45:07).

9. Future Research Directions

• Dr. McCabe advocates for combining:
  • Quantitative analysis: Mapping network snapshots and changes across diverse campuses.
  • Qualitative insights: Deep stories about the meaning and evolution of friendships (47:16).
  • Focused research on diverse populations (neurodivergent students, individuals with disabilities) is needed.
  • Dr. McCabe is beginning the next wave of her study—tracing the same cohort every five years to understand post-college friendship evolution (48:10).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the tension of making friends in college:
  • “It’s both so essential, crucial, and terrifying to have to make friends so quickly.” (04:12, McCabe)
• On friendship depth:
  • “The mark of true friendship is not feeling like you have to be ‘on’... you can just relax.” – Melanie (pseudonym, paraphrased by McCabe, 10:51)
• On losing friends:
  • “Do you mean fading away or do you mean breaking up?” – Austin (pseudonym, 12:22)
• On network types:
  • “Tight knitters... look like a ball of yarn; compartmentalizers... a bow tie; samplers... like a daisy flower.” (14:05, McCabe)
• On identity and intersectionality:
  • “It’s not just one thing, it may be one... but later… there are really important ways that we’re different.” (36:26, McCabe)

Timeline of Important Segments

• 01:26–02:01 – Introduction to guest and book’s origin
• 03:25–08:37 – Initial and secondary friendship markets
• 09:07–11:59 – Homophily, propinquity, and meaningful friendships
• 12:22–17:53 – Losing friendships: fading away vs. breaking up and network typologies
• 21:51–31:12 – Institutional comparisons: public university, community college, and private college
• 34:05–36:26 – Orientation programs, dorm setups, and their impact
• 36:26–39:26 – Identity, intersectionality, and tension in friendship formation
• 40:00–46:43 – Practical takeaways, campus design, accessibility considerations
• 47:16–49:46 – Future research directions

Tone & Language

Dr. McCabe and Michael Johnston keep the conversation personal, reflective, and practical, balancing empirical insight with relatable stories and clear sociological concepts. The tone encourages both academic reflection and actionable steps for improving campus life.

Conclusion

Dr. McCabe’s research offers a nuanced look at friendships in college, showing how institutional structures—from physical spaces to orientation practices to club offerings—profoundly shape students’ social landscapes. The book’s findings have wide-reaching implications, urging institutions to thoughtfully design environments that foster both the ease and depth of student friendships. The episode closes with a look toward future research, emphasizing the importance of combining network analysis with lived experiences to better understand how friendships inform academic and personal success throughout—and beyond—college.