This weekend at my college, the school of Business, Education and Social Sciences had their open house day. Being a social work major, my major falls under the social sciences part of that title. I was presented with the opportunity to help represent the freshman class during a social work panel, where prospective students could come and ask questions and learn more information about what it is like to be a social work student. Being on the other side of the panel, the side with the all the answers and not on the listening side, reminded me of what I felt like when I was a prospective student. Here are the top 5 things I wish I knew as a prospective college student...
1. College isn't that scary
Everything is a little intimidating at first, don't get me wrong. But, it definitely is not worth all the time you'll spend worrying about it all of senior year and all summer long.
2. Making friends won't be so difficult
It's like being thrown into a pit of sharks, except everyone is a shark, and you are all lonely so you have no choice but to bond and be friends.
3. MLA FORMAT IS NOT RELEVANT IN COLLEGE
I'm actually kind of bitter towards my high school for forcing MLA format upon me. All I've used since I have gotten to college is APA format, so much so that I have a one credit class on it every Wednesday. So, if you are in a humanities major, good luck switching from MLA to APA.
4. Go with your gut when picking your future college
When I began the process of picking a college, I wrote the school that was my "gut instinct" on a piece of paper and put it in a box in my desk drawer. Then, about a month later, when I felt I had made my final decision, I took that paper out of the box and compared it to the college I had decided on to see if they matched. In my case, they did.
5. Forming good habits before college is very important
Forming good time management skills, eating, and exercise habits before getting to college is crucial to your first year success (and not gaining the freshman 15.)
To all you prospective students out there, I hope senior year (or your gap year) is going well. Keep doing what you're doing. Spend time with your family and friends and your dog. Enjoy being able to have a car and drive anywhere you want to. Get excited for the future. College is a whole new ballpark, but it's a good ballpark. I promise.
