🔗 Share this article Struggling to have an amazing experience at university? You are not the only one. Robert and Christina talk about their journeys of life at university. Robert Medhurst spent most of his freshers' week scrolling through online platforms, reading posts about fellow students partying. "I stayed indoors," Robert recalls, describing the week as the loneliest time of his life. Robert's flatmates rarely went out, and his course didn't feel especially friendly. Although he tried by going to taster sessions for multiple organizations, he was unable to locate people he connected with. "I began losing my confidence," he says. "It seemed that people didn't want to be friends with me, or they weren't fond of me." Online Network Judgments Initially, Robert had no intention of studying at university and received employment offers for after sixth form. However he saw his friends having great fun as students on Instagram. "When you must rise for work on Thursday at 9:00 and you see someone's been out on Wednesday night, you start feeling the grass is greener," Robert explains. Higher Education Assumptions Media content and online platforms can idealize the notion of student life. Lots of people arrive at college with high expectations for what they believe could be the best years of their lives. Some students begin their studies with "rose-tinted glasses," explains a mental health professional. Survey Findings According to research of freshers in their first week, the primary worry was fitting in and being accepted Further studies conducted by analysts, nearly one-fifth of attendees said they had no friends at university 37% said they worried daily or weekly about building relationships Personal Journeys A different attendee's social media content was populated with clips of girls having fun while cohabitating in student houses. Yet when Alisha moved from her previous location to campus to study journalism, she found orientation period "overwhelming" because of the drinking culture it involved. She avoids drinking and had never been clubbing before. "I utilized a lot of freshers' week in my room," she says. "I simply experienced a bit alienated." Mental Health Considerations In a 2025 survey of numerous undergraduate students, nearly one-third reported they contemplated leaving university. The primary factor was emotional state, accompanied by monetary worries. "Worry regarding all of these different things is massively common, and normal," adds a mental health professional. Finding Solutions With time, the students all found their feet and developed friendships. She formed relationships through her course and through TikTok, while the individual experienced improvement after being able to share accommodation with peers. Practical Advice Regarding his experience, now 24 and in his concluding studies, it was joining his university's drama society and working occasionally that assisted in relationship building. Robert's advice to first-year students finding social interaction difficult is to simply leave your accommodation and attend organization sample activities. "Following several weeks of continuous participation, others notice your presence," he mentions, "you notice their presence, and relationships start developing."