Heres what I reckon...
I've been there. I've graduated now... i first started uni.. everyone was going to pubs, bars clubs.. except for me, it seemed.. i wasn't staying on campus (i lived nearby), and nobody really talked to me except for at lectures. i felt really alone. hang in there is really the best advice...
go to lunch with your peers after lectures, come in early and chat to people before them.. people to go out with to pubs and clubs, and be outgoing with... fuck that... its not friendship. its nothing meaningful.. you just spend your money on fake happiness, and get aload of pictures on facebook... its really meaningless..
people who cant accept you as who you are, including shy... because they dont bother to look... they're not worth pursuing as potential friends. its not worth acting fake, or using alcohol to aid you... we live in a time where people think if your depressed or unconfident or anything out of the norm you should be on drugs to fix you..
i cant really tell you to quit on the vodka... though i don't like vodka, i'd be a bit of a hypocrite. i was a full blown alcoholic in secondary school, and much of my uni time. and people didnt really give a damn. they just found it funny. 'hes such a joker' was a common phrase.
trust me when i say you won't get any lasting fulfillment out of people who only notice you when you've had a double vodka.
hang in there, and get to know people better... talk to lots of people, or at least hang around lots of people. starting uni, im sure alot of people have doubts leaving their comfort zone... everyone tries to go to as many of these parties as possible.. but dont rush it.. it took me till halfway through my second year, but i had 3 good friends who i regularly ate with, we worked together and all that.. we didn't go to parties, we just had beers after lectures, and chatted about anything. it was fun.
and in my 3rd year near the end ,i suddenly noticed some people actually cared about me..
you've got to ask yourself, what are you at uni for? are you learning about something your interested in (if not i think you've got a big problem)... get on with that first... you've already got something in common with people... anyone worth their salt has got to admire somebody with forward intent in something..
i dont think i've ever made friends successfully.. ive tried to and it always results in friendships that are brittle. it just happens... interact with people, and you don't have to talk or crack jokes.. just be there, talk when you want to. maybe it'll seem like people don't notice you, and maybe they don't. but somebody will at some point. nobody really lacks that amount of prescence. if you look at it from an outside perspective, you should know this... suddenly you'll notice that your friends with someone... and you won't have a problem cracking jokes with them and talking more, or you'll have a problem that you can cope with... you just need to feel a bit more comfortable with them, and vodka shortcut won't help you in the long run, because you'll end up needing more vodka for it...
anytime your thinking, vodka gives me confidence, or something like that, it just gives you more to beat yourself up about later. im a musician, and i almost ran into the slippery slope of 'alcohol makes me play better'... it doesn't . it just makes me see it differently. and play differently. theres always a trade off.. we don't get anything for free.
time is always a good thing to exchange for what you want though... you can get anything with sufficient time. and you have at least another year at uni. be patient, be you, and stay focused