I'm the first person in my family who actually went away for college, so the whole idea of college was completely romanticized for me. Every time I thought about college, I thought about what I saw in the movies which were the parties, falling in love, and having amazing friends! Although these are a part of college, there were even more important things that I didn't have a clue about until later. Knowing some of the things that I know now could have made my first-year experience a little easier and a lot less dramatic. Here's a little piece of advice from a sophomore:
1. It's okay to be an Undecided Major.
It's okay to not know what you want out of life right now! Going in as a decided major when you know it's not what you are passionate about makes you end up wasting time and money. Being an undecided major will help you decide what you really want to do by exploring your options.
2. The dining hall food leads to the Freshman 15.
3. Party responsibly and limitedly.
There's going to be a lot of parties and you're going to want to go to them. It's okay to go to the parties! However, make sure you have a buddy and that you're safe. Don't ever feel afraid to call your RA and get help for yourself and your friends. The party scene may want to pull you in but you have to keep in mind that partying every weekend will affect your grades.
4. Make sure that you have a plan to pay back your loans and you learn everything there is to know about the ones you are taking out.
This is a VERY important part about college. If you're taking out more loans than the amount of scholarships you have from the school than this isn't the school for you. Taking out loans is easy but paying them back is hard. The key to paying it back on time is by training yourself in a sense. Give yourself a minimum amount of money you want to pay back each month while you are in college so that after college you don't miss any payments. Missing payments after college can lead to poor credit and will affect you when you're trying to buy a car or a house.
5. Scholarship appeals are a real thing.
Don't sell your soul to the loan demon just yet! If you're not happy with your financial aid package than you can apply for more free money. All you have to do is call the financial aid office of your school and find out who you have to reach out to in order to apply for a scholarship appeal.
6. Stressing out is normal.
People may seem like they're happy and perfectly okay on social media but trust me, they are internally freaking out too. Showing people that they're okay online is a way for them to cope with the amount of stress that they have. Stressing out from time to time is perfectly understandable!
7. Living with a roommate is going to be Hell if you don't communicate.
Communicating with your roommate is an absolute requirement!!! Communicating will help you both set ground rules and understand each other a lot better and it might even lead to a great friendship.
8. Time management is the key to success.
Juggling a lot of responsibilities becomes normal after a while but it's not possible without time management. You really need to be able to map out your time and create an appropriate schedule in order to stay on top of things.
9. Your grades in college might be different from the grades you received in high school.
There is a perfectly good reason why your grades might be lower in college than in high school. It's because college is a lot harder. Your high school teachers may have said that they were preparing you for college but it won't seem that way. The best way for you to bring your grades up are by reaching out to your advisers and professors and by learning some awesome time managements skills.
10. You're going to change as a person and that's okay.
This might seem a little scary but your experiences in college are going to change you. I know that once high school ends everyone seems to know exactly who they are but college is a lot like middle school. That might be weird to imagine because but everyone is growing and turning in to the person they want to be. Try not to be afraid of change because it's only going to morph you in to the beautiful butterfly you deserve to be!
11. You might outgrow your high school friends.
You have changed as a person so it's important to understand that your high school friends may have changed too. This might cause you to drift apart and it might be a little strange because you used to be so close but you just can't force friendship. If it doesn't feel comfortable, then it's best for you to let that person go and immerse yourself in the new chapter of your life that you have just opened.
