Graduated Student

Believe me when I say this – being a college freshman isn’t easy. Whether you prepare for your first year by reading blogs or making friends with seniors, you will always be struck by something new and unfamiliar.

My first college year was difficult for all the wrong reasons, but mainly due to my negligence and the fact that I thought I was smarter than everyone else. Let’s take a look at some of the ups and downs I had to deal with in my freshman year and how you can do better than me when your time comes.

Skipping out on the orientation

Orientation varies from college to college but it all comes down to one thing – socializing with the campus staff and grounds. The sooner you know your way around the campus, important facilities, and labs, the better off you will be. I skipped out on my orientation due to family issues and admittedly I didn’t think much of it.

However, since I barely knew anyone from my future student group, it was very difficult to orient myself for the first several weeks. Don’t skip out on orientation if you want to be up-to-date with the locations and unwritten rules of your college.

Making very few friends

I’m a loner by nature, but so are other people. This is something that I overlooked by a large margin in my first year of college. I was always eagerly waiting to go home, relax and read up on my notes instead of socializing with other students. Once the time came to do group projects and actually cooperate with my colleagues, I barely knew anyone by name.

I had a tough time catching up on everyone’s personalities and preferences, but it all came out well in the end. One thing in which college differentiates from high school is the open-minded nature of everyone on the campus. People embraced me for who I am as soon as I decided to open up – something I will always be grateful for.

Know what you want from the get-go

Listing all the things I did wrong in my freshman year makes me look like an unorganized and uninterested student – that’s not entirely the case, however. I didn’t have anyone around that was older than me and could give me advice as to how to handle college in general.

I always thought of college as an extension of high school where you do the same thing for additional four years. The plethora of extracurricular activities, clubs, and courses took me by surprise so much so that I barely managed to choose what I want to do.

It’s a good idea to set aside some time and take a look at all the activities and side pastimes your college offers. Most colleges offer extra points and incentivize activity outside of regular courses – something I was also unaware off until late into my first year.

Healthy and progressive atmosphere

My favorite thing about college is the way everyone acts with each other – as if you were all colleagues working on a common project. What this means is that you will rarely find a teacher or a staff member that treats you like a child.

Everyone addresses others with respect and in a relaxed, collegial way. No one will ever look at you and judge you for being different or having unorthodox beliefs or habits.

A college is a place where people come to develop professional skills which they can use afterward to get a job and start an adult life. This is the mindset of most people you will come across in college, and finding this out was the coolest moment of my freshman year.

Conclusion

If there is one thing I would advise you to do if you are a future freshman it’s that you should inform yourself properly. Don’t think that you are ready for college just because you passed your entry exam – there is much more to it. Put all of your desired skills and knowledge on a list and find ways in which you can focus on those elements once your semester starts.

Having some sort of guideline to work with from the very beginning can be of great help even though it may not seem that way right now. Use whatever your college provides for you to learn and develop as an individual and a future professional.