Struggling to have an amazing experience at college? You're not alone.

Robert Medhurst passed the majority of his freshers' week scrolling through social media, reading posts about peers enjoying evenings out.

"I stayed indoors," Robert explains, depicting those days as the loneliest time of his life.

The people he lived with rarely went out, and his course didn't feel particularly social.

Even though he made efforts by going to taster sessions for different clubs, he couldn't find like-minded individuals.

"I began losing my confidence," he says. "I believed individuals didn't desire to form friendships with me, or they weren't fond of me."

Digital Platform Contrasts

Originally, Robert wasn't considering of attending college and received employment offers for following college.

However he saw his friends having great fun as university attendees on social media.

"When you must rise for your job during the week at 9:00 and you notice others went out on the previous evening, you start feeling others have it better," Robert explains.

College Anticipations

Media content and online platforms can idealize the notion of university living.

Lots of people come to university with strong assumptions for what they imagine could be the best years of their lives.

Certain attendees arrive at college with "optimistic perspectives," says a mental health professional.

Survey Findings

• Through surveys of first-year attendees early on, the main anxiety was belonging and being accepted
• Further studies by market research agencies, nearly one-fifth of attendees said they had no friends at university
• 37% said they worried daily or weekly about building relationships

Personal Journeys

Another student's TikTok feed was filled with content of students enjoying themselves while cohabitating in university housing.

However when she relocated from London to Sheffield to learn reporting, she found freshers' week "intense" because of the drinking culture it involved.

She abstains from alcohol and had never been clubbing before.

"I actually passed a lot of freshers' week in my room," she says. "I just felt somewhat isolated."

Emotional Wellbeing Factors

According to recent research of over ten thousand undergraduate students, 29% said they thought about dropping out.

The most common reason was psychological wellbeing, succeeded by economic considerations.

"Worry regarding all of these different things is extremely prevalent, and expected," adds a mental health professional.

Discovering Answers

With time, all three individuals eventually adapted and built connections.

She formed relationships through her course and via social media, while the individual experienced improvement when she could to move in with friends.

Practical Advice

For Robert, presently older and in his final year, it was joining his university's drama society and getting a part-time job that supported social connection.

The suggested approach to first-year students finding social interaction difficult is to just "get out of your room" and go to club and society taster events.

"Following several weeks of continuous participation, individuals become familiar with you," he explains, "you recognise theirs, and relationships start developing."