Socializing before reaching uni

Like I follow instagram pages for parties and stuff and I’m in group chats for students and welcome week but I don’t really have specific people I’ve actually socialized with (I’m an international student so it’s not like people I know are gonna be there yk) while I see other international students doing so.
I only have one acquaintance attending here and I’d like to get more connections.

Also, slightly off topic, but several party pages on insta follow students before students follow them. I was curious about how the hell one gets on that list of students lmao