A Trellis Strategies survey of more than 43,000 undergraduates found 57% of students report feeling "sometimes" or "always" lonely, with loneliness strongly correlated with anxiety and depression. The report links social isolation to worse academic outcomes, higher stop‑out rates, and diminished campus belonging—factors that threaten retention and completion. Colleges are responding with targeted interventions. New York University launched "NYU IRL," a device‑reduction campaign that includes dedicated device‑free "Nest" rooms and faculty resources for device‑optimized instruction. NYU President Linda Mills and campus mental‑health staff framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to rebuild in‑person connections amid rising student distress. Campus leaders say technical fixes and traditional counseling services are necessary but insufficient; institutions are testing behavioral interventions and learning‑space redesigns to counter loneliness and its downstream effects on persistence and graduation.