First time in college - welcome week

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I move into my on-campus housing this Wednesday before beginning classes next Monday. That gives about five days of a "week of welcome" at my school where I'll be beginning with none of the few HS friends I actually had. I was looking at the online brochure my college posted for the welcome week and it consists of a lot of music parties, pool parties, sporting events, movie nights, and other similar social gatherings. I feel obligated to attend these events, since the school encourages students to "get involved" and to start off the year not "sitting in your room with gloom," but I felt flooded with social anxiety at my orientation last month, especially after most of the other freshmen hit it off with each other almost immediately, and predict I'll feel the same way again this week.

So I ask, did any of you have a welcome week of sorts like this at your college/university and how did you go about it? Do you have any advice so that I don't end up as that one weird guy going to everything alone?

I went through something similar 3 years ago. I'm not sure what it would be like at your school but I know that where I went a lot of the activities during the first week were designed to encourage people to interact with each other (such as having games that were done in groups). I found this to be a good way to break the ice and meet new people. My suggestion would be to go for it and go to as many of the events as you can, you never know who you might meet.

i also have good experiences with the college welcome-weeks, you should really go for it.
in my school, there was the added advantage that new students formed groups of about 10 first years to be mentored by two or three second year students, to help you make sense of the parties; perhaps you should ask the councelers office if something like that exists in your college as well

haha i know how you feel being the odd one out.
Due to my emotional delays, I was already on a sh!tty start, but I had actually not gone to school for a year after finishing high school.

So while all the other freshmen were doing fun ,interesting things with their newfound adulthood, I was going alone to the football games, clubs, etc.

I def recommend going to events, and take chances on talking to people, etc.

Going to college is a huge change, the cliques of high school have collapsed, and a lot of people are often away from home, don't know a lot of people, so they tend to be out of their element, which makes them more friendly.

Two of the people I met in the first week of college are still my best friends.

I'm in the same spot, here. I start classes this week, but I already had orientation the other day. THAT was a shock to me. I've been out of high school and in the work force for five years. I expected orientation to be a more formal occasion. When I walked into a room with loud music, pamphlets for school clubs being shoved in my face, and an MC with a microphone pressuring us to come up and join some games, I was tempted to walk right back out the door. Not to mention, they didn't let me sit in the back. I was basically in the middle of the room, nervous as heck. I sat through it, but I really think that was enough for me this week. Some of the events I saw advertised looked like they might be fun, but I'm worried they'll end up as obnoxious as orientation day was...

when I went to college in the past, yes we did have an orientation day where there was a barbecue, games and a movie night. I only went to the barbecue after orientation and then went home. I didn't live on campus though so that's a little bit different.

I suggest that you go to a few of the activities that interest you the most just so you can try and make friends. You don't necessarily have to go to every single activity, that would be sensory overload to me. Try to approach someone you feel comfortable talking to, hopefully someone from your program or dorm because you can't expect others to approach you.

I actually just started college, and had some of the same concerns about orientation. What helped me was to find a buddy to go through all of the stuff with. I was, thankfully, able to meet someone who was pretty similar to me, and we hit it off well. I didn't do all of the orientation events with him, but I did do most of them. Good news - it made things a lot easier!

I lived on campus during my first year, but I did not go to the welcome week/Frosh Week because, frankly, the university library intrigued me more than the activities offered at the Frosh Week, so I took out a few books and spent the week reading them. That being said, my interests are quite narrow and most of the things people my age are into don't interest me. I did not socialize with many classmates aside from people from the ASD support groups on campus. However, I also have a wide circle of friends outside of university, so being a tad isolated on campus didn't bother me as much and forced me to focus on my studies. I met some interesting people in my program's student association, which is a much easier and more focused environment to interact in than Frosh Week. I prefer to meet people in a group that is interest-focused and where there is enough room to accommodate to slow processing speed and sensory processing differences.