One university attendee passed the majority of his first week at university looking at digital networks, viewing updates about other students' fun nights out.
"I stayed indoors," Robert explains, describing the week as the most solitary phase of his life.
The people he lived with seldom socialized, and his studies didn't appear very sociable.
Even though he made efforts by going to taster sessions for multiple organizations, he didn't discover people he connected with.
"I gradually lost my self-assurance," he says. "It seemed that others weren't interested to become my friends, or they weren't fond of me."
Originally, Robert had no intention of going to university and had a job offer for after sixth form.
But then he watched his acquaintances having great fun as students on Instagram.
"When you must rise for work on Thursday at 9:00 and you observe peers partied on the previous evening, you start feeling situations appear superior," Robert says.
Media content and online platforms can idealize the notion of university living.
Many individuals arrive at college with great anticipations for what they imagine could be the best years of their lives.
Some students begin their studies with "idealistic views," explains a support services coordinator.
Another student's social media content was full of videos of students enjoying themselves while cohabitating in student houses.
However when she relocated from her hometown to university to learn reporting, she found orientation period "intense" because of the drinking culture it involved.
She abstains from alcohol and had avoided party scenes before.
"I actually passed much of orientation within my living space," she says. "I just felt a bit alienated."
According to recent research of more than 10,000 university attendees, nearly one-third reported they had considered dropping out.
The primary factor was emotional state, followed by financial concerns.
"Anxiety about all of these different things is very widespread, and normal," explains a mental health professional.
With time, Robert, Alisha and Christina gradually adjusted and developed friendships.
She formed relationships during classes and via social media, while Christina felt happier when she could to relocate with companions.
In his case, currently in his mid-twenties and in his concluding studies, it was participating in theater activities and getting a part-time job that assisted in relationship building.
Robert's advice to new attendees finding social interaction difficult is to just "get out of your room" and go to club and society taster events.
"After a few weeks of continuous participation, people recognise your face," Robert says, "you become familiar with them, and relationships start developing."
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
