College is often thought to be the place where you find “your people.”

But that is not always the case. Despite what college tour guides and freshmen visiting their hometowns say, college is not the big social party it is made to appear.

Greek Life, student organizations, and campus events are advertised as the best ways to meet people. But this is not the reality for everyone.

In June, the Higher Education Policy Institute reported one in four college students felt lonely all or most of the time.

In my experience, I have been fortunate to find a small group of friends who I consider real friends — meaning I anticipate our friendships to last beyond college. While I found a group of close friends in college, I did not meet them through campus activities.

I met most of my close friends working an off-campus part-time job. Some of these people are University of Iowa students, others are not.

This is not to say it is impossible to make real friends in college. In fact, the columnist to my left is my roommate and one of my closest friends. Although we met in college, our friendship was formed through mutual friends.

If you’re a student struggling to form strong friendships, know you are not alone. Plenty of people do not make their lifelong friends in college, and that’s OK. There’s no wrong place or time to make friends.