Failing to find a fantastic time at uni? You are not the only one.
One university attendee spent most of his freshers' week scrolling through social media, reading posts about other students' fun nights out.
"I stayed indoors," Robert remembers, depicting those days as the most isolated period of his life.
The people he lived with rarely went out, and his studies didn't appear particularly social.
Despite putting himself out there by attending trial events for various societies, he was unable to locate like-minded individuals.
"I started to lose my self-esteem," he says. "I believed individuals didn't desire to be friends with me, or they didn't like me."
Social Media Comparisons
At first, Robert wasn't considering of going to university and was offered positions for following college.
But then he observed his peers having great fun as students on Instagram.
"When you must rise for your job during the week at nine in the morning and you see someone's been out on Wednesday night, you do start thinking others have it better," Robert explains.
Higher Education Assumptions
Television programs and online platforms can glorify the idea of student life.
Many individuals arrive at college with strong assumptions for what they believe could be the most wonderful time of their lives.
Some students begin their studies with "rose-tinted glasses," explains a support services coordinator.
Study Outcomes
- Through surveys of first-year attendees early on, the main anxiety was fitting in and being accepted
- In another survey by market research agencies, 17% of students said they had no friends at university
- A substantial portion mentioned they experienced concern frequently about building relationships
Individual Stories
A different attendee's social media content was full of videos of peers socializing while sharing accommodation in college residences.
Yet when she relocated from London to Sheffield to pursue media studies, she found orientation period "intense" because of the drinking culture it involved.
She avoids drinking and had not experienced nightlife before.
"I actually passed much of orientation in my room," she says. "I merely sensed slightly disconnected."
Psychological Aspects
In a 2025 survey of over ten thousand undergraduate students, nearly one-third reported they contemplated leaving university.
The main cause was their mental and emotional health, accompanied by monetary worries.
"Worry regarding these various aspects is massively common, and expected," explains a mental health professional.
Identifying Resolutions
With time, all three individuals all found their feet and built connections.
She formed relationships via her studies and via social media, while the individual experienced improvement once she was able to relocate with companions.
Practical Advice
Regarding his experience, presently older and in his last year, it was engaging in performance groups and employment during studies that helped him make friends.
Robert's advice to first-year students struggling to socialize is to venture outside your living space and participate in group trial sessions.
"Following several weeks of regular attendance, others notice your presence," Robert says, "you recognise theirs, and friendships begin forming."
