Struggling to have an amazing experience at uni? Many share your feelings.

Robert Medhurst passed the majority of his orientation week scrolling through online platforms, reading posts about peers enjoying evenings out.

"I was just in bed," Robert explains, characterizing that period as the loneliest time of his life.

His housemates rarely went out, and his program didn't seem very sociable.

Despite putting himself out there by attending trial events for multiple organizations, he was unable to locate his people.

"I gradually lost my confidence," he says. "I felt like others weren't interested to be friends with me, or they didn't appreciate me."

Online Network Judgments

Initially, Robert didn't plan of studying at university and was offered positions for after sixth form.

However he saw his friends enjoying themselves as college students online.

"When you must rise for your job during the week at the morning hour and you observe peers partied on Wednesday night, you start feeling the grass is greener," Robert explains.

College Anticipations

Media content and digital networks can romanticize the concept of college existence.

Lots of people begin university with great anticipations for what they believe could be the greatest period of their lives.

Some students come to university with "optimistic perspectives," notes a support services coordinator.

Research Results

• In a poll of freshers in their first week, the primary worry was finding their place and being accepted
• Additional research conducted by analysts, a significant minority said they had no friends at university
• 37% said they felt anxious regularly about making friends

Personal Journeys

A different attendee's TikTok feed was filled with content of students enjoying themselves while cohabitating in college residences.

However when she transferred from London to Sheffield to study journalism, she found orientation period "intense" because of the drinking culture it involved.

She avoids drinking and had avoided party scenes before.

"I did spend considerable time initially within my living space," she says. "I just felt slightly disconnected."

Emotional Wellbeing Factors

In a 2025 survey of over ten thousand undergraduate students, 29% said they contemplated withdrawing from studies.

The main cause was psychological wellbeing, succeeded by financial concerns.

"Anxiety about these multiple factors is massively common, and typical," explains a counselling expert.

Discovering Answers

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

She built connections during classes and through TikTok, while another student became more content when she could to share accommodation with peers.

Helpful Recommendations

Regarding his experience, presently older and in his concluding studies, it was participating in theater activities and employment during studies that assisted in relationship building.

Robert's advice to new attendees struggling to socialize is to just "get out of your room" and go to club and society taster events.

"Following several weeks of consistently showing up, individuals become familiar with you," he mentions, "you recognise theirs, and relationships start developing."