College is a time of exploration and personal growth. A year ago, I was super nervous to begin this new chapter and now I can say I have loved my first year at the University of Connecticut and I cannot wait to begin my sophomore year. It is crazy to think that there are only a couple of weeks left of my freshman year. It feels like just yesterday that I was packing up my room and moving into my dorm. As I wrap up my first year, I am so grateful for everything I learned. For the incoming freshmen, I hope this article gives you some advice to make your first year of college go smoothly. Here is everything that I learned from my freshman year at UConn.
1) get involved
In college, you don’t have classes for six hours every day, so you will have a lot more free time. Obviously, you will spend time studying and doing homework, but it is important to have an outlet and do something that you enjoy. This will not only allow you to meet new people, it will enhance your resume, learn new things, and create meaningful ways to spend your free time. I have met the majority of my friends through the activities that I got involved in. UConn’s Involvement Fair occurs a couple of weeks into the semester, which is a great way to sign up for a bunch of clubs and organizations. I signed up for way too many, but it allowed me to see which ones I would be interested in. The only downside is that you get lots and lots of emails. Schools have a wide variety of clubs and organizations to get involved in which will allow you to create a smaller community and sense of belonging on a big campus.
2) balance is key
There is a lot to balance in college. Since I got pretty involved from the start, it was challenging to balance my academics, social life, and other commitments. It is very easy to choose to hang out with your friends for hours every night since you don’t have your parents telling you what to do, and all your friends are a quick few-minute walk away. There are more distractions in college, so it is important to be self-disciplined to get your work done and prioritize time for school and time for friends. I often tried doing my work before hanging out with my friends, which motivated me to get my schoolwork done. You are at college to learn, so academics should be your first priority but it is important to schedule in time to have fun too!
3) It’s okay to spend some time alone
College is not like high school: a lot of people eat alone, walk alone, and study alone. At first, I was scared of occasionally eating at the dining hall alone until I realized that a lot of people were doing the same thing. Everyone has their own schedules and their own priorities. I love hanging out with my friends and seeing them every day, but sometimes you need time to yourself. I realized that I needed to start spending more time with myself, so I began scheduling alone time in between my classes, extracurriculars, and social life, which helped me re-focus and get a lot of work done.
4) It’s easy to skip class, but don’t start doing it
On my first college lecture, I was sitting in a completely full lecture, thinking that I would have to show up early just to find a seat every day. By the third week of class, the lecture was about three-quarters full and by the end of the semester, I would say less than half were still left. Some students decide which lectures they can get away with not attending, my politics class being one of them. I don’t think I missed that class all semester since I knew that if I didn’t go, I would not be motivated to learn the material on my own. It was definitely tempting to skip, but I think it is important to discipline yourself to go to class, that way you are able to learn the material during the scheduled period, instead of having to review the notes on your own time.
5) Tests and exams make up most of your grade
In high school, I felt as if half the assignments I completed were just assigned to give me something to do. In college, this is not the case. You are only given assignments that allow you to comprehend the material — no busy work. In most classes, there are fewer assignments that make up larger portions of your grade, which can also be stressful. I am taking a class semester that is based on two extensive essays, a final and participation, with no additional assignments. Most classes weigh tests and exams heavily, which can be challenging, but if you plan ahead, you should have plenty of time to study. Although this can be stressful since you have fewer assignments, you will not find yourself doing random work that is wasting your time.
6) Stay organized
In college, there is a lot going on and it can be challenging to keep track of everything. I have always been an organized person, but I have found myself scheduling every hour of my day to ensure that I have time to do everything. At the beginning of each semester, I found it essential to create a Google spreadsheet with all of my assignments so I wouldn’t miss a deadline. I also used my calendar app to schedule my classes, extracurricular activities, and social plans. In addition, I often created weekly to-do lists to prioritize what I had to do each day. Unlike high school, professors are not reminding you or giving you time to do work they assign in class, so it is your responsibility to complete assignments on time. I suggest finding a good calendar app or planner to keep track of your assignments and other commitments.
7) Try to make friends early on
During the first few weeks of college, everyone is open to making friends since no one has formed their social circles yet. Fortunately, I was able to meet my close group of friends on my first day at college, and I spent the entire year with them. Obviously, I made friends throughout the year, but I think it is important to put yourself out there at the beginning. I made friends from the different extracurricular activities, my classes, and my dorm building. In the beginning, you will be asked multiple times “What’s your major?” or “Where are you from?” as a lot of people try to make friends, so be prepared to answer those questions. Use the beginning of the year and orientation as an opportunity to reach out and talk to others, you never know when you might meet your new college best friend!
8) Be prepared to walk
If you are attending a big university like UConn, be prepared to walk over 10,000 steps a day. I knew the campus was big, but I didn’t realize how many calories I would burn from walking around campus to my classes and up the five flights of stairs to my dorm room. Also, always have an umbrella with you, because you never know when you might be caught in a rainstorm.
9) It’s okay to not know what your future career will be
I thought that going into college I needed to know exactly what I wanted to do with my career, but in reality, I didn’t. Even as I wrap up my freshman year, I know I want to pursue a career in journalism, but I still have no idea what I want that to look like, and that is okay! You have four years to figure out what you want your career to be and your classes will allow you to learn about different concentrations within your major, and direct you in a path toward your life after college. Some majors have more career options than others which provides additional flexibility. For example, majors like political science, journalism, business, health sciences, and communications have an abundance of different concentrations and avenues. Most students don’t know what they want to do either, so you are not alone. It is also okay to go in undecided as well! I know a lot of people who are undecided, and schools like UConn have excellent programs to direct you toward different majors depending on your interests.
10) You will feel like you live two separate lives: your home life and your college life
I remember going home for winter break and realizing how different my life is at college. I met up with my hometown friends and told them stories about my college experiences and about people they haven’t met. There is my home life where my mom does my laundry and I can drive my car to see my friends I have known since middle school. In contrast, there is my college life, where I am trekking down flights of stairs and across the dorm complex to fight for a laundry machine to do my laundry, walking and taking buses around campus, and spending almost every second of my time with people I have only known a few short months. In college, you can eat three meals a day with your friends and I found that there is always someone around to hang out with, but at home, it is challenging to just see your friends as everyone has different schedules that make it almost impossible to find a time when everyone is free. Before I moved into college, I was sad that I would lose touch with the friends I spent all of high school with, but when everyone came back for winter break, it felt like college didn’t even happen in a way. It is scary leaving your hometown and all the people you know, but just know that everyone will be back and you are not leaving forever.
Conclusion
College is a surreal experience. I finally understand why people told me college is “the best four years of your life.” Nowhere else will you be thrown into a space with thousands of other people your age. No other time in your life will you swipe your card and enter a dining hall with unlimited access to food placed on large trays, or a magical conveyor belt that takes away your dishes. All your friends are a five-minute walk away and you can spend time with them until 3:00 a.m. every day and no one is stopping you. These things don’t happen in the real world, so make the most of your time in college. It is okay to be nervous at first because everyone is nervous when they start college, but hopefully, some of this advice will help you as you begin your college journey.