Research has highlighted the importance of social integration and a sense of belonging for facilitating an effective transition into higher education. This paper reports a case study of entrants to two geography-related undergraduate programmes who were given the opportunity to use bespoke social networking sites in the three weeks before formal university induction. The findings highlight the role of social computing in encouraging familiarity with peers, tutors, place of study and the university academic experience. It is shown that social networks can act as an effective transitional space by bringing together aspects of the familiar and unfamiliar. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)