What worked for me was joining a club where the people were really really friendly and always having socials. I befriended one of them, she's very popular and I ended up having lots of friends as a result even though I'm shy.
Actually, you may be shy but I don't think you're beyond help - its possible to improve your confidence and charm by actively working at it - and by that I don't mean telling yourself - I sucked today, I really have to make more of an effort. Never put yourself down. Instead, make use of all the opportunities available to you - if you join a club/society and they're having a social or a party - go to it, and start introducing yourself to people you'd feel comfortable with and enjoy yourself.
Most people act confident even when they're not feeling it, so don't be intimidated by the super cool, super confident people.
When you get personally invited to hang out or or to a party, never refuse, unless you're ill/have too much work to do. Try to be 'out there' as much as possible, get out of your comfort zone.
And if you haven't already read it, I recommend 'Feel the fear and do it anyway' - its all about self-esteem, comfort zones etc.
And I suggest looking at sites online that specifically give tips on how to be less shy. Half of being confident and chatty is to do with knowing technique, unwritten/unspoken rules of etiquette. The other half is about thinking how great you are (which can be faked - and they say - if you pretend you are something, eventually you begin to believe it and be it). You can do it, I can do it, anyone can do it if they apply themselves to it.
To me, an interesting, cool, charming person is someone who:
is friendly, knows when to laugh, is interested in what I have to say and responds to my comments and initiates other things about himself/herself which are interesting and relevant to what I'm saying. The tone of your voice matters - if you have a monotonic voice, thats boring, and you should ideally smile as you're talking.
And I feel shallow for saying this, but clothes and appearance make a difference too - if you already haven't done so - get a stylish haircut, wear clothes that look good on you and are flattering and on the trendy side of things, look after your skin - this will add to your charm factor.
Its normal, so once you realise that, you'll learn to live with it and get on with your life. If you want college to be an enjoyable experience, then you have to make an effort - join clubs, sign up for sports or activities - that way you can make friends who you can socialise with.
And if you want friends (who by the way, are 10x harder to make in college), they won't just come to you, you have to go to them. You have to constantly take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you - if you're having an interesting conversation with someone, don't end it there, ask for their number, tell them where you live or hang out and give them your number and ask them for a chat and some coffee somewhere.
There are endless possibilities.
Are you a shy person?
Everyone else, though, seems to go home every weekend.
I guess you've just got to make it work. Yeah, you'll be sad, but you can't let it get to you. It has to happen eventually. You can't rely on your family and old friends forever.
Get involved with clubs, go to class reviews, hang out with people from work...
You just really have to make a really big effort.
do you have a job? I would think it would be best to keep yourself busy with school/work/friends (start meeting some new people) that way you can only have time to be homesick when you are sleeping!
hope this helps....good luck