Kaesin
Tips for College?
I'm going to college in less than a year now, and I'm pretty nervous. What advice do you have for an incoming college freshman? #college #college-advice #college-admissions #help #financial-aid
11 answers
Michael Adamski
Michael’s Answer
My biggest piece of advice is to try to get involved early on. Try to attend the "club fair" or similar events to see what opportunities there are and what interests you. It is definitely easier said than done, but try to step outside your comfort zone. I volunteered in multiple things from clubs to intramurals and I cannot recommend it enough!
Just remember that everyone is in the same boat as you and everyone is looking to make friends!
Jacob Schwarber, CPA
Jacob’s Answer
Hi, Kaesin,
One facet of your college tenure is totally unique: the time you spend in college is the only period during which you will be entirely surrounded by people roughly your age with similar goals and aspiration and, yet, come from a variety of different backgrounds. My recommendation is that you try to share at least one moment with a stranger each day. It could be a brief conversation while waiting in line to get coffee or a meal or simply a nod and a smile. Doing so will make it easier to interact and connect with people and the world around you. It's something you can carry with you into post-graduate life.
An open mound is a powerful tool. This exercise will help build that characteristic.
I hope this helps - good luck.
Anna Currin
Anna’s Answer
Attending college is an extremely exciting time! College is one of the few places where you will likely meet people from many different walks of life - my biggest piece of advice is to take advantage of that - meet as many different types of people as possible. The friends you might meet in the dorm freshman year can often becomes friends for life. The second piece of advice I have is to take the opportunity to get to know your professors. I went to a very large school where lecture halls often had up to 300 students, so I never really had relationships with my professors. My friends at smaller schools had the chance to really build relationships with professors and many still keep in contact today, after 10+ years. If you do go to a big school, try attending office hours and taking advantage of other ways you can introduce yourself and build relationships.
Hide Kato
Hide’s Answer
I'd recommend having an open mind and planning to experiment as much as possible early -- socially, academically, professionally, in extracurricular activities. There's no better time in life to test out things and iterate quickly on what clicks for you. One pitfall could be that you try too many things and only get superficially involved. After trying new environments, you can go deep into an area (eg., serve as a leader in a club), but you can think about that after freshman year.
Hide recommends the following next steps:
Shelby Clay
Shelby’s Answer
One of the things college freshman struggle with the most is their newfound freedom and not sticking to a routine. If you can have all of your classes earlier in the day and save extra curriculars for later, you will feel more organized and each day will be easier. I know I personally struggled in semesters when my classes were sporadic thought-out the day. If I had a 4 hours break between classes, I wouldn't want to sit on campus so I would go back to my apartment and then have a hard time convincing myself to come back class later in the day.
Leah Kennedy
Leah’s Answer
Starting college can be a time of tremendous change, so it's natural to feel a little nervous. You might be living away from home, meeting entirely new groups of people, studying new subjects, and trying to figure out What You Want To Do With Your Life. Breathe. Take it one step at a time. There are people that want to help you--they may be college staff, your peers, community members, internet strangers (hi!). This is a time of exploration--personally, academically, professionally. Try new things, push your boundaries, meet new people, and know that you're not getting on a one-way train to your future. This is also a great time to learn some skills that will help for the rest of your life. Learn about personal finance and understand the loans you're taking out, learn about yourself and how you handle conflict and stress. Build yourself for the long haul. You're going to do great.
Musaab Attaras
Musaab’s Answer
Hi Kaesin,
What an exciting time for you! Remember that you got accepted at this school! They wanted you! Also, there are many more people who are just as nervous as you are!
College is a journey and its ok to be nervous and anxious. Just like any journey its going to have a lot of ups and downs, but those who are persistent and continue on despite the odds succeed!
Best of luck!
Musaab
Sandra Gamez
Sandra’s Answer
Hi Kaesin,
Enjoy your time! You'll find that you will have ups and downs but at the end of it all, you will have memories to cherish forever. Search for a mentor early. Find someone who can be your go-to and stick to them. Network! This is your time to begin growing your network and make lots of doors open.
Simeon Snow
Simeon’s Answer
Richard A.
Richard’s Answer
Gloria Ortiz
Gloria’s Answer
I would say that some of my insights will depend on whether or not you are going to school local to your current home or if you are going out of state. Either way, school is challenging because the work gets harder and you have less support than you might have been used to in high school. There are going to be a lot more people in your life, since there are often many more students and of many different ages. I would say that you get started with classes slowly. Avoid diving into hard classes off the bat. All teachers are going to act like they are your ONLY teacher. They are going to assign homework with that in mind. It can be a lot.
Other feedback:
- You should consider if you want to go to school full time or part time. Starting slowly in college can help you get used to the workload.
- If you live in a new city, get to know the city as soon as possible. You want to know where to go to the doctor, restaurants, and other places that are important to you.
- Make sure to ask for help with school subjects as soon as possible. There are resources at all college campuses, including student study groups.
- If you lose interest in your major, you can change it. I would not say that you should do it later in your college career. Decide to change early since it can be expensive to change later in the program.
Gloria