This is made worse by the sight of others who seem perfectly at ease, are rapidly making friends and are becoming embedded in groups from which you feel excluded or only tolerated on the margins. Looked at from another angle, however, it is not surprising that loneliness at university is common especially among first year students. Coming to university is a major stage in 'leaving home'. It may indeed be the first time you are away not just from the supportive familiarity of home and family, but away also from friendships that may have been built up over years. The accumulated effects of these can make people feel uncertain of what to do or how to be.
Social insecurities can then creep in, even in people who normally feel quite socially adept.
So, for some, loneliness is a new and disconcerting experience, while for others it is more familiar, but may now be accompanied by disappointment that university has not brought a hoped for change. If you are starting a new job at the University, you will be meeting new people and wanting to prove yourself in your new role. Academic and research work can often feel very isolated. What you can do about loneliness Remember that loneliness is very common. Almost everyone feels it at some time.