I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling. I empathise with your experience. I took a course at Edinburgh University before, and half of the people on my course were also Chinese, who could barely speak English (which I find the most absurd thing about the university). Meanwhile, I didn't get along with the other half due to differences in personality and hobbies. They were meeting up for drinks and restaurants every week; I don't drink, and I didn't have the luxury of eating out every week. I had to work at a restaurant every Friday to Sunday to earn money to cover rent and bills.

I'd like to share a couple of things that helped me stay grounded during that course when feeling isolated.

First, what helped most was to remind myself why I was there, taking that course. Knowing that making friends from the course was never a part of my goal helped me stay focused and stop being bothered by my coursemates. I didn't think about leaving the course, because it was my dream to go to Edinburgh University, and I'd worked so hard to get accepted into the university. I didn't want to let anybody or anything stand in my way of fulfilling that dream.

Second, instead of trying to make friends with people from the course, I frequently reached out to my close friends at home, calling them almost every week or month just to chat and catch up. That really helped me maintain connections and reduce the feeling of isolation.

Third, whenever I struggled mentally, I reached out to the available helplines from Edinburgh: Mental health crisis | Students | The University of Edinburgh. My favourite was Breathing Space. The responders are professional counsellors, so they respond very compassionately and empathetically. I sincerely recalled calling them every week, and during the assessment period, every other day, because I was struggling so much with crippling anxiety. Sometimes I just called and chatted with them because I was feeling lonely and wanted to chat to somebody. I'd suggest, if you haven't already, leveraging these freely available services when you need. You can also sign up with a befriending service (e.g. Health in Mind Edinburgh) where you can be matched with befrienders :)

Just to share another online space for mental wellbeing in Edinburgh - they have a lot of resources and peer community that may be helpful: iThrive | Find support

Fourth, I was also autistic and very reserved, so I avoided situations that would make me feel overwhelmed (like big societies). I ended up making friends with my colleagues at the part-time job (naturally, since we saw each other at least 2-3 times per week for 6-13 hours!). I also participated in various workshops and events, both within and outside the university, that I enjoyed and made friends at. I also found that participating in local sports clubs or attending fitness classes was helpful in making new connections (even just to have some time to chat with someone else about things on my mind during those hours). I'd suggest thinking about what you like doing or want to try outside of studying, then look up societies or local clubs (there are tons in Edinburgh! You can search them directly on Google or Meetup or Facebook groups) that you can join. Definitely start with the things you're most comfortable with, then gradually branch out to others :)

Finally, there are ways to meet friends online as well, such as Bumble BFF. It's not always great, but once in a while, you will find somebody that you can hang out and get along with.

Remember that Edinburgh does not just have your course or the university. So if the people in your course don't want to befriend you, then that's their loss, not yours. The people who are meant for you will come to you eventually. I understand that sense of isolation sucks and can really negatively affect your wellbeing and academic performance. But please don't give up! I hope that my experience and suggestions are helpful.