College Prep: 7 Tips For an Incoming College Freshman
Making the transition from high school to college is super exciting, terrifying, unknown, and emotional. It’s a transition that you’ve been planning for for years. You’ve worked hard on your high school GPA for 4 years, you’ve conquered pesky college admissions exams like the ACT and SAT, you’ve created a high-quality college application that got you accepted to the school, and now it’s time to go and actually be there. Maybe it seemed like this day would never come. But it’s here! Soon you’ll be navigating your new campus home independently, making new friends, and learning TONS. It’s going to be awesome, and yet that doesn’t make it any less scary right off the bat. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the things that incoming college freshmen should keep in mind to help make the transition to college a little more stress-free.
The day is finally almost here: you’ll soon move to your new college home and officially become a college student. You’ve bought all your textbooks and supplies, coordinated dorm room decor, ordered a mini fridge and new clothes, and you think you’re totally ready to go and rock it. And you probably are — for the most part.
There are going to be a TON of new things to get used to and figure out how to navigate when you’re first starting out on your college venture. But don’t worry — you aren’t expected to have it all figured out as soon as you step on campus (despite what anyone may have told you).
We could probably compile a list of over 1,000 tips that could help an incoming college freshman, but what fun is that? We don’t want to spoil what college is going to be like. It’s your path; you get to choose what it looks like! But we put together a small list of things that we think any incoming college freshman will be smart to keep in mind as they dive into the exciting new world of being a college student. Here is what we think you should know…
8 tips for an incoming college frashmen
You’re going to be overwhelmed and nervous.
It’s totally and completely normal to be nervous about a change. As human beings, we don’t like change. Something as minor as changing our routines or diets can be incredibly stressful for us. And starting college is no minor change — this is a major life change. So some degree of nervousness is totally normal, but don’t be nervous in a terrified sort of way. You’re not going to encounter anything that you can’t handle or won’t be able to figure out. Mom and Dad will always be just a phone call (or maybe even a short drive) away. Nothing catastrophic is bound to happen, so make sure not to let your nervousness hold you back from becoming immersed in the college culture and activities and meeting new people. Remember that this is new for everyone else, too. You’re not the only one that’s nervous.
You don’t have to have a plan
Despite what you’ve heard from that one friend who has her whole entire life mapped out, it’s definitely and totally alright (and maybe even smart) not to have your life plan predetermined when you arrive at your new school. Most students will have at least a vague idea of what they’re interested in and some areas that they might want to explore, and that’s a good thing. Know what you like and what you don’t like, and start from there. If you know exactly what you’re passionate about and what degree you want to get and what type of job you want to have for the next 50 years, then that’s totally awesome. Good for you. But if you don’t, don’t try and come up with a plan just for the sake of having a plan. Everything will fall into place how it’s supposed to.
Take courses in many different departments
This point ties in nicely to the last point. If you don’t have a plan, you can open your mind up to endless possibilities of what you could choose to study and specialize in, what departments you could explore, and what classes you could experiment with. Who knows, you might just fall in love with something that you didn’t even know existed. That’s what happened to me. I knew I liked taking French in high school. I thought I’d end up studying French or English, but then I discovered linguistics — a whole entire department and degree that is focused on learning and understanding languages and how they work. I don’t know where I would be now if I had made myself take the path of an English or French major, but, luckily for me, I didn’t have a plan going into my first year of college. I took introductory level courses in psychology, sociology, religious studies, linguistics, and computer science. After that first year and those intro courses, I had a MUCH better picture of what a good path might be for me. I still wasn’t positive about what I wanted to major in (which I wouldn’t have to decide officially for 3 more semesters), but I was able to narrow it down to some things I liked, as well as eliminate some things that it turned out I wasn’t actually very interested in at all.
Make sure to actually study
Even if you were the high schooler that could slack off on homework and skip studying and still ace the exams, please do not take that mindset with you on to college. College is a completely different beast compared to high school. Your grades will be made up of scores from exams, essays, homework assignments, class participation, and more. Each class is different, and as the classes get more difficult you can expect that you need to spend more time studying and working on them. A major difference between high school and college is the sheer amount of time that you spend with your teacher or professor. In high school, you spend five days a week trapped in the school all day long with your teachers. In college, you’ll probably see your professor about 3 hours per week. The rest of the learning and schoolwork is up to you to manage outside of class. While there may be students that can somehow slack off and get great grades in college, we wouldn’t recommend it. Remember that you get to choose what you study (for the most part) in college, so make sure it’s something that you enjoy and are passionate about and actually WANT to learn. Learning shouldn’t be a chore in college - it should be something that you look forward to. Know that studying will suck up a lot of your time, but it’s the reason that you’re there in the first place, so you need to prioritize it. Find yourself a perfect study nook in the library, and carve out time from your socializing to prioritize your learning.
Seek out advice from professors and your advisor
Most college freshmen will have a designated professor that acts as their advisor. For many schools, students can later switch this advisor to a faculty member that is in line with their major or specialization, but at first this could be a seemingly random professor. I remember thinking it was odd that my advisor never reached out to me to check in or set up meetings to see how my first semester was going. This is important to know: many professors won’t go out of their way to guide you, but if you take the time to ask them, they’ll be more than happy to offer their advice. This is totally what was happening with my advisor. She was a super smart, sweet lady, and she was happy to guide me and chit-chat when I sought her out, but she was treating me like an adult (because I was an adult!) and believed that if I wasn’t coming to her for guidance then I must be doing just fine. This is one that I had a hard time getting used to. In high school you’re constantly receiving feedback from teachers, who guide you every step of the way to graduation. That doesn’t always carry over to college. Most professors will treat you like a responsible adult and won’t think they need to hold your hand along the journey. Go out of your way to get some words of wisdom from your advisor and other professors. They have a wealth of knowledge to share outside of just what you’re learning from them in the classroom.
Take advantage of college-wide events
You’ll quickly find out that there is always a TON of stuff happening on any college campus. Whether it’s a department dinner, a poetry slam, a basketball game, or a kickball tournament, get involved! Most schools send students either a daily or weekly newsletter via email. Make sure to read it and stay up-to-date on what’s going on on your campus, and join in on the fun. You never know where you might meet a new, great friend. An added positive is that there’s always free food at these events. You’ll learn quickly how precious free food is during college.
Be careful with your spending
And this is why you’ll learn to cherish free food…College is expensive. And I don’t just mean student loans and tuition are expensive. They absolutely are, but there’s more to it than that. Most students will be full-time students and live on campus and have very little time to take on even a part-time job. In fact, many students don’t have an income at all during the school year; some choose to forego it because they’re so swamped with schoolwork, and others will go the route of unpaid internship or volunteer work to pad their resumes. Regardless of your specific situation, you can pretty much expect not to be making a huge income as a college student. As a college student, you need to be aware of how much money you spend because you’re not going to be making much, even if Mom and Dad are helping a little bit from back home. It’s fun to live with and around people that are all the same age as you. You’re going to have a blast. But that also means you’re constantly going to want to go out to eat, order food, go to a movie, go shopping, go to some expensive event, and so on and so forth. Chill with your spending. Make the most of dinners in the cafeteria, movie nights in the dorm, and hanging out around campus. If you get creative, you’ll find that there’s so much to do that doesn’t cost a fortune.
Put down the social media
It’s no secret that social media has effectively taken over so many aspects of our lives. With so many platforms to choose from, we’re all guilty of getting a little too attached to our phones and scrolling through Instagram and sending Snapchats. Try and make a conscious effort to make your social media time as minimal as possible — at least in the early stages of your transition to college. There will be many welcoming events and activities when you first get to campus, including freshman orientation. Force yourself to leave your comfort zone, and go meet new people and join in. It’s a sad picture when students get so attached to their phones and the virtual world of social media that they don’t make new friends or become members of their campus communities. New studies are showing that college students today are socializing less than ever before — and social media is to blame. You didn’t come to college so that you could creep on and keep up with your high school classmates on Instagram and make sure you’re not missing any second of their lives. Put your phone down, meet new people, and join in.
There are many, many, many other things I wish I had known going into my freshman year of college. Alas, life is about learning and adapting, and I can’t give you all the answers. You’ll learn many things very quickly during your time away at college. You’ll confront problems you’ve never had to before, test your brain to its studying limit, create a plan to put you on a path of success in career and life, and you’ll have an absolute and total blast with some amazing people. First and foremost, make sure you remember that you are at college to get a degree, so take the time to study and make academics a priority, but also make sure to become a member of your campus community. Keep these 8 things in mind, and you’ll be putting yourself on a good track of college success!