Maybe that absolute class clown who made you roll on the floor laughing in the high school cafeteria just popped into your head. Or you’re wondering what ever happened to that pal you were inseparable with on the baseball field throughout your childhood. And who did your first crush end up marrying?
As life gets busier, friends who once felt like family can suddenly fade into distant memories. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. The people you grew up with are still out there, often just one message away from picking up right where you left off. The challenge, of course, is that you probably don’t have their phone number or email anymore, especially if they’ve since gotten married and changed their last name.
The good news? With the power of the internet, reconnecting is easier than ever. Here’s how to find old friends online and rekindle those special relationships.
How to Search for Old Friends Online
| Key Takeaways – Classmates makes reconnecting with old friends simple: Create a free profile, find your high school, and instantly browse alumni from your graduation year. Or even search for friends that went to different high schools! – Search by name to locate past friends: Use Classmates search to look up specific people from your high school or nationwide (even if you only remember a first name or maiden name.) – Send private messages to rekindle friendships: You can message unlimited schoolmates directly and pick up where you left off via Classmates. – Other ways to find friends online: Consider using Google, social media, or mutual connections to track down contact info and stay in touch. |
The Classmates® high school alumni website can make finding friends from your past easy. Here’s how you can setup your account, search for your pals, and rekindle friendships with a quick message:
1. Select Your State from the Classmates Homepage
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
2. Select the First Letter of Your City & Click on Your City’s Name
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
3. Click on The First Letter of Your School & Click on Your School Name
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
4. Register on Classmates for Free
Once you end up on your school’s landing page, you’re almost ready to start reaching out to your friends!
Fill out the following details and hit ‘Submit’
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
5. Look at Your Fellow Alumni
Since you provided your high school and grad year during registration, Classmates will automatically suggest people that graduated from your school in a similar timeframe on your profile. You can check in on these suggestions. If you spot anybody worth reaching out to, go ahead and click yes to let them know you remember them.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
If not, visit your class list under school on the top navigation bar to seek out any particular friends you’re hoping to catch up with.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
6. Reach Out to Specific People with Classmates Search
Not seeing that specific friend you’re looking for in the ‘People you may know’ list? In the upper right-hand corner of your homepage, there is a search bar for you to look up people by name. Simply select your high school under ‘Search Classmates®’ and type in your friend’s name.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
Classmates will then pull up search results featuring all of the alumni with the provided name. Once you locate your friend, click on their name to go to their profile, or click the message bubble icon next to their name to send a message.
Keep in mind, you can also search for people that did not go to your high school by selecting ‘All People & Schools’ and searching your friend’s name.
7. Say Hello! Type Out Your Message and Hit ‘Send’
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
Once you type up your private message (or select a message starter provided by Classmates) and hit send, your fellow alumni will receive a notification of your private message and can respond right from the Classmates app.
Pro Tip: You can send a message to anyone for free. If you want them to receive your message for free, upgrade to Classmates+ to send unlimited private messages to as many people as you’d like, from your high school alumni list or any other high school class from around the country!
8. Bonus Step: Take a Trip Down Memory Lane and Explore Your High School Yearbook for Reminiscing and Finding Other Alumni
Classmates membership comes with free access to high school yearbook search too! Once you register, select ‘Yearbook’ in the navigation menu and access digital copies of yearbooks from around the country, potentially including your own.
View yearbook photos, check out your peers’ senior quotes, and come across nostalgic tidbits that you might use to message old schoolmates and rekindle friendships with.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
More Ways to Look for Old Friends
Classmates might be the easiest way to search for old friends online, but you have other options on and offline as well.
Consider the following options for locating an old connection:
Contact Mutual Friends & Family
Contacting mutual friends or family members can be a straightforward way to learn more about what past friends have been up to and how to get in touch with them.
They can pass over your friend’s contact details like a phone number or email address.
Attend Your High School Reunion
Is your class reunion coming up? Check to see if your high school reunion information is on Classmates to find out more details about when and where it is, and see if there is a list of your fellow alumni that have confirmed that they will be in attendance. Maybe your old friend from the past has already RSVP’d!
Turn to Google
Perform a Google search on your friend’s full name (and/or their nickname if you don’t see results when searching their full name) and look for
- Contact info: some directory websites may have a phone number or email publicly available.
- Social media profiles: you may find their Classmates account directly, or profiles on other platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.
- Personal details: even if you can’t find a way to reach out directly, you could find other personal details like their wedding announcement, career updates, etc. that could point you in the right direction.
Find Your Friend From the Past Today with Classmates
It’s been far too long since you spoke with that old friend. Don’t waste any more time.
Simplify your friend search with Classmates. Once you register for free, a quick search of your high school alumni could make it easier to find your friend and shoot them a message. Get started today!
FAQs on How to Track Down Old Friends
How to find old friends without a last name?
Once you register for Classmates, you can search for high school alumni with a specific first name. Click on the search bar, select your high school name, and type in their name as shown in the following image.
Once you hit ‘Enter’, you will see the full list of alumni with that first name from your high school, and you can use their graduating class year and/or profile picture to find the specific person you’re looking for.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Graduation years, profile pictures, and names have been covered to protect user identities. Individual user experiences may vary.
Looking for someone that didn’t go to your high school? Reach out to mutual friends for more details about them (like their last name) and search for them on Classmates.
Can you search for friends and girlfriends using only their maiden names?
Yes! On Classmates, since your account is linked to your high school, people’s profiles are associated with their maiden name, even if they’ve since been married.
You can find old connections by searching their first name + maiden name into the search bar on Classmates once you’re logged in.
Can you search for old friends on Classmates that didn’t go to your high school?
Yes, once you register for Classmates, you can search for anyone else registered on the Classmates website.
Hover over the search functionality, select ‘All People & Schools’, and type in your friend’s name. A list of people who are registered on the Classmates website with that matching name will be displayed. By looking for personal details like their high school and the year they graduated, you could potentially track down the specific person you’re looking for.
The screenshot above is for demonstration purposes. Individual user experiences may vary.
Can I find friends on Classmates for free?
Yes, it is free to sign-up for Classmates and search for friends from the past. With a free account, you can view other member’s profiles (from your high school AND nationally), photos, and every yearbook on the site. You can also tell people you remember them and send other users messages for free.
By upgrading to Classmates+, you’re able to send private messages that the recipient can view and respond to for free, view who visited your profile, and see who may have sent you an I Remember You.
How to find out if an old friend is still alive?
If you’re trying to locate an old friend but not sure if they’re still with us, perform a Google search on their name and look for obituaries. Most obituaries are digitized these days, so if they have passed away, the details may be available on the Internet.
Classmates is currently working with a new partner to include obituary histories on our school pages. More on this coming soon!
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