Being lonely in college is a common feeling. A bigger number of students have moderately or severely experienced loneliness at some point.
If you have no friends in college or you experience loneliness while in college, the best solution is to be positive and find avenues where you can meet new friends. It may be because you are not used to having many friends or you are not spending time with them.
But if you embrace friendship, you will feel better and start believing in yourself.
How to Deal With Having no Friends
When you have no friends in college, it is no time to despair. As you adjust to the new life, you have to find ways of dealing with loneliness. The following are helpful tips to deal with college loneliness:
1. Learn to be Alone
If you accept being alone as a normal thing in college, you will eventually get used to it. Never be scared of being alone in college.
Being alone can be important to your health and overall wellbeing. If you learn to be alone, it is an important skill that can make the initial rough path of college smooth.
2. Take Advantage of your Loneliness
Do not let loneliness control you but take it as a golden opportunity to focus on your studies.
When you have no friends, you can make books and college professors your best friends. There will be no distractions or opportunities for having fun.
This is a good moment for studying and reading your books to be way ahead of other students in college.
3. Join a Club
College is different from high school because there are many clubs you can join. Today’s colleges have sports, social, scholastic, and religious clubs. It is up to you to find a club that you have an interest in.
You can start by examining things you are passionate about to join a club that befits you. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with people and kill college loneliness.
At the club, show the rest of the students the real you and you will soon have new friends. In addition to this, you can also volunteer and make club contributions. In this way, you will interact with other students who have similar interests.
4. Be in Touch with Family and Friends
The transition period from high school to college is a challenge for many students. If you feel lonely, a frequent phone call with family and former friends can be of great help.
A video call through applications such as Skype can make you feel closer to your parents or old high school friends. It is a good way of dealing with loneliness as you pave way for new friends in college.
Whether you are a freshman or a transfer student, you will notice that everyone around you in college is going through a similar situation.
The majority of the fresh students are eager and looking forward to making new friends. The best approach you can make is to put yourself in an environment where you are likely to meet others.
How to Win Friends in College
1. Talk to New People Every Day
You can establish good friends fast if you take the initiative to talk to new people every day. The classmate you meet in the elevator or the person you meet at the library is the best individual to start talking to.
In everyday college affairs, make sure you talk to a new person. It is clear that the more people you meet, the more you are likely to find good friends.
2. Attend Campus Events
It is not possible to make friends when you are seated in your hostel room. To win new friends, you have to attend college events where you can build a relationship with other students.
Clubs and sports events are the best places where you can win new friends.
If you are not courageous enough, you can improve your dress code to boost your self-esteem.
The campus festivals, sports events, and dance parties are just some of the places where you can get potential friends.
3. Do your Homework in Social Places
Social places such as college halls and libraries are the best places where you can win new friends. When you have homework, choose these venues as the perfect place.
If you do your homework at the coffee shop or a student union location, you have a high chance of making new friends. Take the first step by sitting close to a friendly-looking person and starting the conversation.
4.Do not Ignore Invitations
If you are a freshman in college or you have just transferred, there are a lot of invitations that will come your way. If you are invited for club meetings, parties, or lunch, this is the perfect avenue to get new friends.
Getting out of your comfort zone and stepping out is the best way to start new relationships.
Even more importantly, give everyone a chance and desist from judging fellow students before you get to know them.
However, make sure you do not do anything that will compromise your values. Desperation to meet new friends does not mean you establish friendships with students who will have a bad influence on you.
Causes of Lonely Students in College
The new college environment is not easy to adapt to. You will meet people with different behaviors and visions. If you do not attract new friends as quickly as possible, settling in college will become a challenge.
Your inability to join clubs, fraternities or sororities, can be the cause of your loneliness. These organizations can offer a good sense of community and an avenue for you to meet new friends.
It is equally important to accept that you are no longer in high school. Accepting that you have a new challenge and learning environment is a good way of starting a new life.
Avoiding study groups can also be the cause of your loneliness. Study groups provide a good environment to meet new people who could potentially be good friends.
Being in the comfort zone of your college room is also one major cause of loneliness. It is not possible to make new friends if you do not go out to mingle.
As such, get out of your hostel and step out to a party or group discussion to avoid loneliness. Attending college weekend parties can give you new friends.
Looking unapproachable while in college can also bring you loneliness. Social media can be your company for a while but this will not give you friends in college.
It is also important to go out with the right body language that is approachable. A body language that is lacking confidence and avoiding eye contact cannot help you to get new friends. When you go out, smile and stand up straight to attract new people.
Consequences of Lacking Friends in College
Surviving in college without friends can be challenging. Even though a lack of friends can give you time to concentrate on your studies, loneliness will also affect you negatively.
Students at college are at a teenage age where loneliness can lower their self-esteem. Without a friend to rely on, listen to, and consult when you need advice, college life will be boring.
With friends, you can have mutual understanding and get a good source of compassion.
With no friend, you will have nobody to reach out to for emotional support. The consequences of this will narrow down to your academic performance.
A lonely environment will only bring you nostalgic high school memories. In the end, you will not be able to focus on your studies.
A lack of friends in college and the absence of social contact are not good for a student. The effects of emotional distress caused by loneliness are too dangerous to fathom.
The feeling of sadness and emptiness has ways of affecting your brain functions. Students who do not have friends end up feeling empty and their emotional well-being is affected. In this type of mood, you are likely to be ineffective in your studies.
FAQs
Why do I have no friends in college junior or freshman
Anxiety, being shy and insecurity are the major causes you will lack friends in college. Everything is just starting in college and life is completely new.
If you are nervous and unable to settle fast, the chances of finding friends are few.
Can no friends in college lead to depression?
The answer is a big yes. A lack of friends in a new college environment brings a melancholic feeling of emptiness. The loneliness makes a student experience a feeling of isolation which can erode to depression.
Is it normal to not have friends in college?
It is normal to lack friends when you are in college. If you starting college or you have transferred from another institution, it is hard to make new friends. Building some amazing relationships in a new environment takes time.
How many college students have no friends?
There are a large number of students with no friends especially those who have just joined. Almost all first-year students have no friends because they are fresh from high school.
Why lonely college student?
Lack of social skills and inability to accept the transition from high school is the major reason why you are lonely in college.
Joseph is a freelance journalist and a part-time writer with a particular interest in the gig economy. He writes about schooling, college life, and changing trends in education. When not writing, Joseph is hiking or playing chess.