Hey dude,
I am pretty similar, nearly 22 years old, from UK, had trouble coming to grips with mother natures wrath!!
I did the same as your planning, buzzed it down to a 1, then no gaurd, then a beard trimmer (got it a little shorter) but I knew I was only going to end up one way and one way only.....razored!!!
Losing your hair young does suck and it seems to be much less common for a young guy to be shaved in the UK, but is that a bad thing??
I got loads of confidence back since shaving my head!! Once graduation is done, try it, whats the worst that can happen!
