2 answers
Lily
Student
Vancouver, Washington
1
Question
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How to navigate college life as a new freshman in college?
I'm currently a senior in high school and I will attend a university in the fall term. I'm also first-gen in college so I would love to receive advice or suggestion from everybody about how they have spent their college life. Any suggestions on clubs, community services, volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities, or anything are appreciated!
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2 answers
Heather MacDonald
Principal Consultant
21
Answers
Salt Lake City, Utah
Updated
Heather’s Answer
Hi, Lily! Good luck to you in college. As a first-gen student you should check with your university to see if there are programs dedicated to supporting students like you. I volunteer at my local university to support a program that helps first-gen students and they offer support for things like mock interviews and career prep. I'd also say to take advantage of opportunities to start making connections with working professionals so you can start to build your network while you're in school. I like to view networking as building a community of support. People who can give you insights, refer you to jobs, and just be there to support you throughout your college and career journey. We don't know what the job market will look like by the time you graduate but having a strong network of support never hurts.
If it helps, a friend of mine does a podcast for first-gen students. It's geared towards grad school students but she does a bunch of episodes around productivity that I've found useful as someone not looking to go to school. It's The Grad School Femtoring podcast (https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/podcast/) and the stories of some of the folks who are also first-gen may resonate with you and give you more ideas.
Good luck to you and enjoy your college experience!
If it helps, a friend of mine does a podcast for first-gen students. It's geared towards grad school students but she does a bunch of episodes around productivity that I've found useful as someone not looking to go to school. It's The Grad School Femtoring podcast (https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/podcast/) and the stories of some of the folks who are also first-gen may resonate with you and give you more ideas.
Good luck to you and enjoy your college experience!
Jason White
Lead Product Manager- Network Security
150
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Jason’s Answer
Hey Lily,
Great that you are looking forward to college, such an exciting time in your life.
For me a few things come to mind. First is print out your degree plan and keep track of what classes you take each semester. it's rewarding to be able to check them off as you go and in that slump (sophomore or junior year) when the newness wears off it's a good reminder why you're there. extracurriculars will be largely dependent on how big your school is and what they offer but a few things are any clubs associated with topics of interest. Say if you're a CS major that might be computer science or robotics club. You might also want to get involved with student government to try to make a difference on your campus. A good one often with good benefits is becoming an RA it provided me with free room and board and allowed me to meet a lot of people on campus who I'm still friends with to this day. Many of these clubs and organizations will have some type of community service elements to them so that comes with the territory. Lastly I would recommend to try new things something you've never done. For some that might be attending an international student festival, others that might be going greek and joining a fraternity or sorority, or even attending a play on campus. College is a time of growth and being on campus is a unique experience that's unlike essentially anything else you'll experience in your life. So getting out of your comfort zone is my biggest piece of advice.
Great that you are looking forward to college, such an exciting time in your life.
For me a few things come to mind. First is print out your degree plan and keep track of what classes you take each semester. it's rewarding to be able to check them off as you go and in that slump (sophomore or junior year) when the newness wears off it's a good reminder why you're there. extracurriculars will be largely dependent on how big your school is and what they offer but a few things are any clubs associated with topics of interest. Say if you're a CS major that might be computer science or robotics club. You might also want to get involved with student government to try to make a difference on your campus. A good one often with good benefits is becoming an RA it provided me with free room and board and allowed me to meet a lot of people on campus who I'm still friends with to this day. Many of these clubs and organizations will have some type of community service elements to them so that comes with the territory. Lastly I would recommend to try new things something you've never done. For some that might be attending an international student festival, others that might be going greek and joining a fraternity or sorority, or even attending a play on campus. College is a time of growth and being on campus is a unique experience that's unlike essentially anything else you'll experience in your life. So getting out of your comfort zone is my biggest piece of advice.