Many students entering university experience a mixture of excitement and anxiety during their first week, often referred to as freshers’ week. The reality of this momentous transition for many can be much less celebratory and more painful than the graduation parties seen on all the social media feeds. Students like Robert Medhurst, Alisha Miah, and Christina Aaliyah Davis shared their testimonies. They shed light on the pressure and isolation that can mark this pivotal life stage.
In late September 2024, Robert Medhurst had started his life at Nottingham Trent University. He was driven by a FOMO-type fear and the desire to not back himself into a corner career-wise. During freshers’ week, he found himself scrolling through social media, observing posts from other students who appeared to be enjoying vibrant nights out. He ended up severely depressed and felt incredibly lonely, spending most of his time in bed. He described it as “the loneliest period of my life.”
“I did spend a lot of freshers’ week in my room,” Medhurst admitted. To overcome his isolation, he signed up for the university’s drama club. He started working part-time at a bar, where he enjoyed being around new members of the community. He encourages other first-year students struggling to socialize to “get out of your room” and attend club and society taster events.
Alisha Miah is originally from East London and now lives in Sheffield, where she is studying journalism. During freshers’ week, she was worried by the party culture’s excessive fixation on alcohol. She’s sober, and has never been clubbing in her life. As a result, she finds it difficult to relate to her classmates in the thrilling party scene.
“I also feel I didn’t put myself out there enough,” Miah reflected. Even though these challenges existed, she ended up connecting with friends in her course and through social media channels such as TikTok. There were times when Miah considered dropping out or changing majors. Once there, she chose to remain and immerse herself in a somewhat rigorous curriculum opposed to Manhattan’s vibrant, hectic social scene.
Christina Aaliyah Davis had a very different experience at Newcastle University, where she studied medicine. And though she was thriving in her coursework, she quickly realized that the supportive environment she had expected didn’t actually exist. “It wasn’t the utopia of friendship I thought it would be,” Davis remarked. She struggled to connect with her first-year flatmates and had feelings of loneliness.
“I very much felt like I missed the boat a little bit,” she said. But after her first year, she was forced to move in with friends. That shift after her move has resulted in greater joy and friendship in her life.
The stories of these students represent an increasingly urgent crisis on college and university campuses. An illustrative survey taken in 2025 showed that 29% of currently enrolled undergrads have seriously contemplated leaving campus life for good at some point during schooling. Experts like Mrs. Howard from the University of Bradford emphasize that feelings of anxiety and isolation among new students are common.
“Anxiety about all of these different things is massively common, and normal,” Mrs. Howard stated. She continued to explain that lots of students are intimidated by the experience once they leave set friendship circles in a school or sixth form set up.
Ms. Parfitt deeply understood the obstacles faced by incoming students. While hosting them in January, she said they come often feeling lost and intimidated in a new space — particularly without their local support systems.
