FINALLY! You made it. You’ve graduated high school. Your parents no longer rule your curfew and you are now responsible for your own decisions, as well as the consequences that accompany them, whether they are positive or negative. As you embark on the new journey of college, you’ll find that it is ENTIRELY different than high school. You are awakening a new beast, and you will not know how to feel about it. As I am going into my second year of college, I have some advice to shed light on for you new incoming college freshmen.
1. Go to the New Student Orientation activities
You’re not too cool to go to the New Student Orientation activities and welcomes. The activities may seem extremely dumb, you may be super shy and like to avoid anything to do with people, or you may be on the other end of the spectrum and already have some friendships established; go to the activities anyway. I know they’re awkward, and I know they’re cheesy, but everyone else knows it too, and it’s definitely a good way to engage in some icebreakers and meet a couple new people so you have some friendly faces in your new classes. On the first day of school, I recognized one girl that I had met during an activity and it makes your dreaded decision of where to sit on the first day of class that much easier. You probably won’t necessarily meet your new best friends at these, but interacting and meeting new people is what the college experience is all about! And, if it goes absolutely terrible and you end up thinking the activities were a complete waste of time, at least you got free food.
2. Let your parents help you
Let your parents help you move in. Let your dad try to be funny and pester your new roommate with a million questions. Let your mom unpack your stuff and give you tons of kisses. Let your parents walk around and see the campus with you before they leave. Let your mom shed a tear when you’re walking her out and let your dad give you a long hug. After all, you’re their baby and they’re adjusting to this new lifestyle just as much as you are. I promise, no matter how much you think you won’t (cause I didn’t), you WILL have the thought cross your mind at least once of how much simpler it used to be and how much easier it would be to just go home in the instances of having 3 tests to study for, 5 chapters to read, 2 forum posts, and 6 quizzes to get done all in one night.
3. If you can, live in the campus residence halls for your first year
Living in the residence halls definitely adds a whole new aspect to the college experience and it is entirely more social than apartments or houses. It is a lot easier to attend the fun events on campus when you don’t have to drive and find a parking spot or when some girls on your floor are already heading over there. Often times you can also get a meal plan as well, then you save yourself from grocery lists and making dinners (or eating cold pizza every day).
4. Go to involvement fairs and get involved as soon as possible
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE! Joining a new club is a way to do that. There are usually involvement fairs during the first week of school and there are such a wide variety of things you can take part in. This not only builds your resume but you obviously get to meet cool people that you maybe wouldn’t have otherwise!
5. You actually do need to study though
Don’t lose sight of why you’re there in the first place. If you’re anything like I was and never really had to study for exams or quizzes and still got straight A’s, I promise this praiseworthy skill set will not follow you to college. Even after hours upon hours of studying for tests, I still managed to get my first B ever (still a little salty). Don’t think you are invincible and can make it by without putting in serious effort, especially just to “have fun” your freshman year. It’s hard to get out of a slumped cumulative GPA.
6. But, your GPA doesn't define you
You will get a bad grade. Like I said, my prideful self couldn’t handle getting my first B, and then my next semester I was practically in tears I was able to manage even earning a B in one of my classes I thought I was for sure going to fail. College is nothing like high school. Realizing that a bad grade does not necessarily define who you are or what you will become is important. You are so much more than a bad grade, and it does not make you a failure.
7. Work really hard, but don't forget to play hard
Take a fun class! My first semester I didn’t think I had time to take a fun class like volleyball or yoga, but my second semester I decided to give it a try and have since then made it a new goal of mine to take at least one fun class a semester! In doing this, you kind of force yourself to hang loose and relax for an hour or two out of your entire week, which is something you may learn that you forget to do when you feel like your to do list is endless. This could even be an exercise class; then you take away some time you would be spending the gym and get a nice easy GPA inflation from earning you’re A+ just for showing up.
8. Get to know your professors and don't be afraid to ask for help
Your professors aren’t as scary as you think they are. More often than not, they are more than willing to meet outside of class with you to help you understand the material better or help you review. Students that come in advance are much more appreciated and treated better than students who come trying to get help 3 days before the test. If your professor can’t seem to meet with you or maybe they’re just not your most favorite person on the planet, getting a tutor does not make you look dumb either. What is dumb is paying a ridiculous amount of money to let yourself fail a class and have to pay to retake it someday anyway. Several campuses have on campus tutoring that is more often than not completely free to students. TAKE ADVANTAGE!
9. Get a planner and CHECK the planner
I don’t care if you can remember everything from what you had to breakfast a week ago to how many milligrams are in a Tylenol capsule: get a planner. Write down the school events that are going on so you can plan your time wisely if you want to participate, write down your assignments the second they are announced in class, write down club meeting times; keep everything organized and compiled in the same area. There will be days that are just a daze where you absolutely cannot recall which assignment you were supposed to do or what chapter you were supposed to read. Get a planner and reference it daily to make your life easier.
10. Network, network, network
Don’t be a bum that sits inside your room all day with no intent to ever socialize. Just going through the motions of attending class, doing homework, eating, and sleeping are not what college is all about. Put yourself out there to create opportunities to meet and network with different people. The skills that you learn in a college environment are invaluable and there is such a wide range of different types of people that you will find yourself interacting with if you give yourself the chance to. Maybe you will meet someone who can hook you up with an awesome job, maybe you meet someone who can write a killer reference letter for you, or maybe you meet someone that invites you to a party and it ends up being one of the trashiest nights of your life, but hey you learn new lessons from every experience.
11. Know the rules of laundry
Bring enough clothes to go two weeks without washes. I have absolutely no doubt that time will get the best of you and you will put off doing laundry for weeks on end. If you live in a residence hall, don’t leave your laundry in the washer after the cycle is over either. Keep track of the time and make sure to be there when it’s almost up. Leaving your laundry is rude and inconvenient for the person that is coming after you and chances are they’ll move or misplace your clothes for you.
As said in Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility”. College is a new and exciting, but terrifying experience for young adults as they suddenly enter a new type of life style where they can be their own person and make their own decisions without permission from others. Hopefully some of these words will open your mind to this new journey!
