The Sims 3: University Life social influence guide

• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• PAGE 1: GENERAL TIPS
• PAGE 2: SOCIAL GROUPS

So your Sims are off to college, but where will they fit in? The Sims 3: University Life adds three social groups to the game, each with its own benefits—if you can gain enough influence. This guide will help you max out your social influence with the Nerds, Jocks, and Rebels, through which you’ll gain social interactions, new skills, and even the career of your dreams.

GENERAL TIPS

Socialize with like-minded Sims. No matter which group you’re trying to master, hanging out with Sims of the same group will help build influence. There are specific social interactions that come with each social group (outlined below), but it doesn’t hurt to chat with, tell jokes to, and get to know other Nerds, Jocks, or Rebels.

Once you’re living in the university sub-city, you’ll be surrounded with members of these groups, so they won’t be hard to find; simply hover the cursor over any Sim to find his or her social influence levels. With the ability to dismiss your assigned roommates and get new ones, it will make the process easier to have some live-in buddies of your preferred group.

Check your social status often. One of the upgraded smartphone’s abilities is to let you see where you are with each group at any time. Go into your personal inventory, click on the phone, and you’ll see the option to bring up the social influence screen. This gives an overview of how close you are to your next unlockable reward and how to continue gaining influence in each group—it even gives you suggestions of people to hang out with.

One at a time. You can gain influence in multiple groups, but your time at university is limited. Focus on reaching the top of one group at a time before moving on to a second; though levels are gained easily at first, near the top it takes hours and hours of Sim time to advance.

Continue building influence after graduation. Your hometown won’t be crawling with Nerds, Jocks, and Rebels like university city is, but you can continue to gain influence after you’re done with college, whether you’re just on a break between semesters or you’ve gotten your degree. Continue the activities below and you’ll eventually get an offer for your dream job, as well as spreading influence around town.

Once you have completed your degree and maxed out a social group, a job offer for your dream career will come automatically. This is the only way to become a game developer, sports agent, or art appraiser, so it’s well worth it to spend some time on your social skills in between streaking and sleeping through lectures.