Struggling to have an amazing experience at university? You are not the only one.
A student named Robert spent most of his first week at university looking at social media, reading posts about other students' fun nights out.
"I was just in bed," Robert remembers, describing the week as the most solitary phase of his life.
The people he lived with rarely went out, and his studies didn't appear especially friendly.
Despite putting himself out there by participating in sample activities for different clubs, he couldn't find like-minded individuals.
"I began losing my self-esteem," he says. "It seemed that individuals didn't desire to form friendships with me, or they didn't like me."
Social Media Comparisons
Initially, Robert didn't plan of attending college and had a job offer for following college.
Yet he saw his friends having great fun as students on Instagram.
"When you've got to get up for employment on weekdays at nine in the morning and you notice others went out on the previous evening, you do start thinking situations appear superior," Robert says.
College Anticipations
Media content and online platforms can romanticize the concept of college existence.
Lots of people begin university with high expectations for what they believe could be the best years of their lives.
Various learners arrive at college with "rose-tinted glasses," notes a mental health professional.
Research Results
- Through surveys of freshers in their first week, the primary worry was belonging and finding acceptance
- Additional research conducted by analysts, a significant minority said they lacked friendships at university
- Over one-third reported they experienced concern frequently about forming friendships
Individual Stories
Another student's social media content was full of videos of girls having fun while living together in student houses.
Yet when she transferred from her previous location to campus to study journalism, she found orientation period "overwhelming" because of the drinking culture it involved.
She abstains from alcohol and had avoided party scenes before.
"I did spend much of orientation within my living space," she says. "I simply experienced a bit alienated."
Emotional Wellbeing Factors
In a 2025 survey of over ten thousand college learners, a significant portion mentioned they had considered leaving university.
The most common reason was their mental and emotional health, succeeded by financial concerns.
"Anxiety about these multiple factors is extremely prevalent, and expected," explains a counselling expert.
Identifying Resolutions
Over periods, all three individuals eventually adapted and built connections.
Alisha made friends via her studies and through TikTok, while another student became more content once she was able to share accommodation with peers.
Useful Suggestions
Regarding his experience, currently in his mid-twenties and in his last year, it was joining his university's drama society and employment during studies that assisted in relationship building.
His recommendation to new attendees finding social interaction difficult is to just "get out of your room" and participate in group trial sessions.
"Subsequent to periods of regular attendance, people recognise your face," Robert says, "you recognise theirs, and relationships start developing."
