^_^ I think I will consolidate and just explain my thought process here.
Person who only talks about fandom stuff (and never about real life... and in fact isn't at all interested in my life (or I'm not at all interested in theirs) = fandom friend
Person whose relationship with me started in fandom, but then we branch out into talking about some other things (commiserate about life, work, etc) = remove "fandom", they become a friend
Person who talks with me about stuff we do in real life, discusses non-fandom relationships with me, teaches me about their work, is willing to meet up and hang out whenever I'm in their city or they're in mine = RL friend
The last two categories have a little bit of overlap, admittedly, but the RL thing (actual face-to-face contact, even if only once a few years) is the key factor for me to consider someone RL. So, since we were in college together, you're RL. ^_^
no subject
Person who only talks about fandom stuff (and never about real life... and in fact isn't at all interested in my life (or I'm not at all interested in theirs) = fandom friend
Person whose relationship with me started in fandom, but then we branch out into talking about some other things (commiserate about life, work, etc) = remove "fandom", they become a friend
Person who talks with me about stuff we do in real life, discusses non-fandom relationships with me, teaches me about their work, is willing to meet up and hang out whenever I'm in their city or they're in mine = RL friend
The last two categories have a little bit of overlap, admittedly, but the RL thing (actual face-to-face contact, even if only once a few years) is the key factor for me to consider someone RL. So, since we were in college together, you're RL. ^_^