College. A time where you are finally an adult, but once again, back at the bottom of the totem pole. And yes, It can be VERY intimidating. Especially, If you're going away for college and you end up knowing no body.
Luckily for me, I'm going to SIUE- Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville, which is only like 25 minutes away from my house. So I actually go to school with a few people I was in High School with. So I am not completely out of it.
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But I know some people that are going to schools hours, or even states away. And as far as i've heard, it can be very hard.
So here are the things i've learned during my first week of my freshmen year of college!
1: READ THE SYLLABUS!!
AHHHH! You can ask ANY college student. Sophmore-senior, if you do not read the syllabus, you are failing yourself. Some professors don't care if you read it or not. They will expect you to walk in on the day of class, on time, with the materials ready, and homework done, etc. And if you don't, oops. Odds are you won't get a grade for that at all. Automatic zero. I would be completely lost without my syllabus. I was so used to teachers just going, do this for tomorrow and that for the day after. But in college, odds are you don't have the same class every single day. So it's up to you if you wanna fail or not. So just read the syllabus and it'll be A-OK.
2: Find your classes PRIOR to the first day.
I don't know about other schools, but my college gave us SEVERAL opportunities during move-in week and the events that were going on around the campus for a solid 4 days straight. And lets just say, I did not take advantage of the opportunity. As i should have. So on my first day, not only did I have to find the building, I also had to find the class and I was about 30 minutes early. Which isn't bad but still, I had to sit around to go into my class, because of early morning classes. So if i had already known, I wouldn't have left my house so early to get there.
3: Commuters. Give yourself enough time in the morning!
You'll thank me later. Because I live 25 minutes away. and either Im 30 minutes early or 10 minutes late. And being late IS NOT a good reputation to have in college. It annoys the professors, and sometimes effects your grade, and performance in the class itself. So just set the extra alarms, and DON'T SPEED. Don't need to be getting in an accident before school. So be safe, not late.
4: If you don't understand something, Ask.
I can't tell you how many times I almost had a panic attack due to my Accouting class in the last 2 class periods of that class. Oh boy! I am awful at math, and accounting isn't really math, but there are numbers, and it freaked me out. I sat in a lecture with my professor for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and when I left I couldn't remember a single thing he said. So i called my mom, and started freaking out. A couple days later and now, I know exactly what he was talking about. Thank mom and dad!
5: Last but not least... DO THE EVENTS ON CAMPUS.
Whether it's a random for fun game of volleyball, or its the yearly freshmen volunteering day. Just do it. You will thank me later. It's OK if you dont know anyone. Or even if you don't know a lot of people. Universities put these events together to make the transition better for us. To make new friends, find the people that your meant to be with for the rest of your lives. So just do it. It helps a lot. You meet other freshmen and it just feels good. It may be tiring, but it is well worth it!
Overall, College is supposed to be the best four years of our lives. So why not make the best of it. Study hard, but still have fun. All I know is that I feel a lot better going into my second week of college now that I knew all these things.
GOOD LUCK!
