Also 'What do you study' is a great conversation starter, especially at uni! If someone says they study history you can ask them about their favourite eras, if they've been to any local museums, that's a potential activity together if you get on well. Literature, you can talk about books. Science, ask about any lab experience they've had. There's a million things to ask people and you can take it in a million and one directions if you want to. You need an easy starter like that to get to the deep stuff. If you go straight into it going 'So, tell me about how it felt when your grandparents died' you're just going to make people feel weird.