I hate college...

Realized today that I always rush eating at the dining hall and don't eat very much not because of lack of appetite, but so that hopefully none of the students I work with see me eating alone Thats pathetic. No one in my dorm knows who I am. I'm basically holed up in my dorm room and if I were dead in here no one would even notice. Today's just a great day for some lonely, brutal truth...

I wish I could give you some advice, because I remember how that felt.

I had the same experience. I was very lonely at college because I never really made any friends. I had some bad experiences with roommates who didn't even try to get along (I was out-of-state, which apparently at my college was considered a bad thing), which of course only made it worse. I tried to join some activities, both on and off campus, but never found anything I really enjoyed.

There was one thing that did help a little bit: I really liked going to the gym, because it was the perfect combination of being around other people and sometimes interacting with them a little bit without being rejected or put down. See if your college has a gym that offers free classes. Mine had pilates, yoga, kickboxing, zumba, probably more that I've forgotten. I also liked just running on the treadmill with my ipod plugged in.

What are you studying? Is there a groupactivity/club you could get involved in that would be interactive without being overwhelming? What is available. Any chance you might take the chance of sitting with someone? Bet if you look around you either "know" someone, or someone else is alone and you could ask to join them...scary but hey...
(I like the gym idea)

Move out of the dorms. My mental health got way better after I did.

I agree with henrydavidtherobot. I thought staying at school would be awesome, but hell, that's when I "lost it"! I thought coming home and doing online schooling would work, but no. Soooo, I went back to the other university and commuted. Worked so much better for me mentally. I was able to interact with who I wanted and when I wanted and go home when I needed and wanted!!!
BUT just because that worked for me doesn't mean it'll work for everyone; it's just a suggestion.
I've gotten my head together well enough that I'm working part time and going to graduate school part time now.

Thinking back, getting out of the dorm was good for me also.

I hated being away at college. I didn't fit in at all. My roommates had some weird codependent obsession with each other and always left me out. Leaving and away school and coming back to my home to go to college was one of the best choices I've made.
Maybe going away just isn't for you?

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm seriously thinking about the gym thing, and it am trying to force myself to get more involved in clubs/activities. I'm just terrified of being around other people I guess. It always feels so awkward. I'm generally such an anxious person that I'm pretty sure I make them nervous. Anyway, I agree that going away wasn't for me; however, I am at a top ten university with a huge academic scholarship and a bunch of other grants, which I am really, really, really grateful for, because I couldn't have afforded school otherwise. I basically have no choice but to stay, and academically, I'm really grateful to be here, because it challenges me. I'm studying computer science with a minor in english. It's just really lonely when I isolate myself, and it's worse knowing that my lack of friends is all my fault. I appreciate your help, and I'll definitely keep trying and working on your suggestions.

Hang in there.
I don't know that I have shared this with anyone here but...
When I lived in dorm (small liberal arts college in the early 70's); I was escorted from my room downstairs to a late night meeting in which my dorm mates were deciding if they wanted to "kick her out" of the dorm (not that they had authority to)...
My offense? I stayed in my room and wasn't "friendly"....one person spoke up for me, I said something like I couldn't believe this and went back to my room.
That was shortly after I came undone emotionally --- it was all I could do to get through the day of classes...
The next semester, I was off campus and that was better.
Hey, English minor, any way to get involved in college publishing, acting, other...

I feel for you, I hated college too. Nobody noticed me but nobody noticed me at school either so I guess I should've been able for it. I thought things would change at college. I thought people would except me and want to become friends but all I can say is try to join some clubs or groups, find people with your interests and see if things change. I hope so.

I can totally relate! I'm in my junior year and I can count the number of friends I have on one hand... and I'm not even super close with any of them. When I'm not in class, I'm studying, surfing, or sleeping in my dorm. It's extremely isolating. I'm trying to push myself to be more social but it's so anxiety provoking for me and I don't really know how to make new friends. Are there any on-campus organizations or clubs you can join to get to know more people? I've been telling myself that I was going to look into doing some form of community service this semester-- to meet other students while helping the community-- but of course, I haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe you can try something similar.

So funny you say this! My T has been telling me to get out of the dorms for the last semester or two. I live in a single so there's absolutely no accountability. I can stay in bed all day and no one knows.

I'm lucky in that my parents' house is 30 minutes from campus. I'm trying to push myself to go home when I'm most depressed because my parents will hold me accountable/I will have a harder time staying in bed if I know my parents are watching (plus, there's free + good food!) OP, could you do something similar? When you feel bad about school, could you go home for a weekend?

I have social anxiety and I'm currently in university, so I totally get where you're coming from... especially the feeling awkward being alone in places. I have no friends at uni and people generally avoid me. Even staff members seem to generally dislike me.

I'll post the things that have helped me in case it might help you... Changing how I think about my environment has greatly helped me punch the anxiety monster in the face.

When you're walking around campus, look at the people around you. There are bound to be people who are alone, just like you. Do you think any less of them?

No one is looking at you sitting alone in the cafeteria and likely thinking anything other than, "do I know that person?", or "man I'm hungry that person's food looks great". Honestly? Everyone is really busy and involved in their own affairs, so no one cares. They aren't walking around looking for people they think are losers... in fact them assuming that you're a loser because you happen to be alone is not only false, but a very bad assumption. You could be enjoying a quiet moment of solitude. You could very well have friends that don't have lunch at the same time or are off campus. In other words, anyone who is thinking negatively of you eating alone or going to the gym alone or doing anything alone is not very perceptive and is being completely unreasonable.

Every time I feel awkward in public I remind myself that it's very likely no one gives a flying monkey what I am doing or what I look like.
If someone does happen to care and is judgmental, they are probably not going to say anything anyway. Those people are terrible judgmental people that you wouldn't want to know though, so no loss!

When I feel anxious, I just turn to that reasoning and I feel much more confident. It took a little while but as I got older I have become better at it.

Joining some kind of activity that you enjoy will help you meet people on your own terms (you may be different, but personally I don't like random people approaching me). Activities give people great excuses to talk to other people because you're starting with a common interest. It's low threat.
This has been something that has helped me off campus more than on, because my interests are really limited and most not offered on campus... but that's another story, not important here.

...and living on campus is not for everyone. I never tried because I knew I would hate it, and an acquaintance of mine that tried had to go home because he hated it so much. It's not due to any personal failure, I think a lot of people are just not suited to live in such a stressful, unpredictable environment. In fact I think the people who can handle the social pressure and chaos (and unclean bathrooms) on a daily basis like that while juggling lack of sleep, study, work, etc... are the abnormal ones.