Is it possible to join in socializing after a long time being outside the group?

My college major is organized so that I have a lot of the same people in my class each semester. Many of them became friends the first semester of freshman year, but I was intimidated by their confidence and intelligence and stayed quiet during class. I feel like I have a lot in common with these people and want to become part of the group, but I worry that in their minds I’m an outsider, and it will be impossible to join in after more than a year of being there and not talking. I failed to do the same thing in the last years of high school. Any advice would be welcome.