I didn’t do well at this in college (/university in my case, UK). I didn’t really know much about myself which I think made it harder to connect with people. I learned more about myself in my mid-twenties which made it easier. I threw myself into that and made a wonderful group of friends and found an amazingly supportive community.

Now there is a fair chance this will not help you at all, but I’ll share here anyway. The thing that really turned it around for me was finding a minority that I was part of, in my case the LGBTQ+ community. Being in a minority community where everyone shared similar experiences gave so many more chances to make friends. I.e. more chances to be vulnerable around each other, and more changes to support others when they are in need. That’s how I made friendships that I think will last a lifetime.

This will not be the experience of everyone in such a position, but it was mine. The other comments here also have some good advice.

From my point of view I think it must be really hard for strait/cis/mono etc people. I still inevitably socialise in those circles and it seems hard to make connections.