If your goal is to hike the Appalachian Trail any time in the near future, you need to get started gaining experience. If you truly are unable to locate hiking partners, despite your best efforts (...your college has no outdoor activities club?), then you will need to go solo.

I know this subject has come up before in the past few years, so do some searching on it if you can.

Basically, though, the way to pick up backpacking experience by starting solo is to:

a) read up as much as you can, and

b) start small, with short hikes on relatively popular trails, in order to gain familiarity with your equipment and how things like weather affect your gear and clothing needs.

It is often a good idea to make your first couple of hikes within a few miles of your car, so you can bail out easily, if need be. Also, make sure before you leave that someone knows where you are going, and when you plan to return. When you get back safely, contact them so they know you are safe.

You'll make mistakes at first. Everyone does. You'll take too much and not always the right stuff. You may experience some inconveniences and some discomfort. This is normal. Just do it in such a way it has little chance of escalating into a genuine survival situation. That's not hard to do, even for a relative novice, so long as you put some effort into planning and don't overreach at the beginning.

Edit: Oh, and it is an excellent idea to test your gear before you ever take it to the woods. Set up your stove and light it. Set up your tent - more than once. Wear your rain gear in the rain (or in the shower, if necessary).