Your first year in college can seem really intimidating, especially if you’re a worrier like me. This is my first week as a sophomore and I already feel like I’ve learned and grown so much from just last year. If you’re feeling a little unprepared for starting this your own journey in college, here are some tips to remember:
1. Take Care of Yourself
These days, everyone gets caught up with the image of being forever “on the grind.” It may seem cool and conforming to stay up late (even with 8 ams the next day), not eat enough, and survive on coffee. Your first year usually isn’t your most challenging, but the change in academic rigor may make you go into this overdrive mindset. Even if most of the people around you are doing this, it doesn’t make it healthy. This mindset is most encouraged during finals week, which is undoubtedly the worst week to do so. If you have one late night with friends to destress, don’t worry about it. But when you have an exam or paper due, make sure to get enough food, water, and sleep to keep yourself going properly. Also, the coffees will add up, don’t waste extra money on an unhealthy addiction. Self-care in college should be your number 1 priority, your body and mind will thank you for it!
2. Speak Up
College is a fast paced environment where some professors care and some won’t. The same goes for classmates, so it’s important to speak up for yourself. Not many people are going to hold your hand and make sure you’re feeling included (except clubs). In fact, some professors will base part of your grade off participation, so you will have a reason to do so. The faster you get comfortable with speaking in public, the better off you will be. Everyone knows how scary and anxiety-inducing public speaking can be, but sadly a lot of professors will force you to do it anyway. My tips are to pay attention so you can never be caught off guard being called on in class. My advice is to practice your speaking, and fake it ‘til you make it. Most confident-looking people in college will tell you they don’t see themselves that way, because more often than not, everyone’s just trying to pretend their way through. No one will know how nervous you are, unless you make it obvious!
3. Get Familiar With Campus
Whether you’re on the quarter system or semester system, you’ll be getting a new schedule at least once every year. For your first year, especially, make sure to not get too comfortable in just the areas you have to go to for class. Take some time to explore and see what your campus has to offer. This can give you more places to study, relax, and meet new people. It can also prevent you from getting lost when you get a new class or when an extracurricular requires you to go somewhere you aren’t familiar with yet. So make an effort to see where everything is on campus and try not to stay in the dorms all day.
(Photo by Samantha Gades on Unsplash)
4. It’s Not Like the Movies
There is an abundance of American college life movies that are basically just exaggerated high school movies with older actors. The stereotypical scenes are usually getting drunk or high at frat parties, evil sorority girls, sneaking through the dorms every night, etc. College, in real life, may not always be like the movies so don’t base your expectations off of them. Don’t get me wrong, there are some people who will definitely be partying pretty much every single night (and if that’s your thing, go for it).Though, for the rest of us, once in college, it can seem kind of… boring. Especially, if you’re in the dorms away from anyone familiar to you. Socializing is exciting at first, but can be draining when you have homework and extracurriculars to focus on as well. Everyone calls college “the best years of your life,” and they can be, but don’t expect everything to be perfect all the time.
5. Majors Do Not Define You
One of the most exhausting things in college is having assumptions made about you from just your major. People will base their entire perception of you off it and will ask you what you want to do with it all four years. Don’t stress out if you don’t have an answer (again, everyone is faking it ‘til they make it). The positive side is that you’ll feel very unified with the people already in your major, but try to make friends outside of it too. It’s always good to have friends from other majors on campus. It’ll be the best of both worlds. If you switch majors, you aren’t abandoning your major friends. You don’t have to pursue everything you are interested in at once. Majors don’t have to define your passions, and vice versa.
6. Don’t Judge
Going along with tip #4 and #5, try to stay away from encouraging stereotypes. From sorority girls to partiers to english majors, don’t make assumptions. There are going to be a lot of different people in college with a lot of different intentions and backgrounds. All you can do is befriend or stay away from them. Aim to be nice to everyone, since it always helps to be on good terms rather than bad. If you don’t like someone, don’t hang out with them but stay civilized, if you can. Drama is unnecessary in college, so prevent it at all times. If you’re friends are making questionable decisions, offer advice, but you won’t be able to control what they do. Acknowledge judging others only hurts.
(Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash)
7. Use Your Advisors
There are plenty of resources on campus meant to help you. Academic advisors can be some of your best friends. Don’t be afraid to go in and ask for help. Their job is to genuinely advise you in what is best for you. Ask all the questions you can to make sure you’re prepared. Even if you aren’t changing majors or minors, befriend your advisors for the sake of making sure you stay on track with your current plans. Along with academic advisors, there are usually career advisors to help you with your last few years and emotional counselors on campus to help you with personal struggles. Try and establish connections with professors at TA’s as well, especially if you are confused in class or need recommendation letters for grad school. Never be afraid to ask for help from people who can provide.
8. Know Your Choices
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Know that there are an infinite number of possibilities awaiting you in college. Feel free to venture outside your comfort zone. Take an elective class in something you’re interested in, see if you want to switch majors, see if you want to add a minor, join Greek life or get a job etc. Get as much experience in as many areas as possible because it can be useful for jobs later on, and it helps you learn more about yourself as a person. Never feel forced to stay in one box or another. And don’t feel pressured to stay committed to things you’re not interested. It’s okay to back out of most things if you feel overwhelmed or overworked. It’s important you know you can always say no. The more things you say no to, the more things you’ll be able to say yes to.
9. Make Memories
Take pictures! Take polaroids! Post Instagrams and Tweets! You don’t have to be glued to your phone 24/7, bragging about your college life, but you can share stuff here and there for your future self to remember. If you’re shy in front of the camera, college is time to get over that. People are going to be taking photos and videos everywhere to try and keep their memories alive, and if you’re friends with them, you’re going to want to be in them too. So, don’t be afraid to capture moments. Even if you don’t post them, you can always save them for later. Post them for your friends birthdays or other celebrations. It’ll be a treat to look back on when you’re graduating to see how you’ve changed.
(Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels)
10. Believe In Yourself
One thing everyone can agree on is that college is stressful. Trying to pursue academics, a social life, extracurriculars, jobs and more (all while being forced to “find yourself”) is exhausting. You’ll likely relate with so many people over mutual hate for classes or mutual stress over finals. In the midst of all this, though, keep in mind that you can do it. You’re mindset is just as important as the work you put in. If you work hard, but aren’t confident in yourself, no one else will be. You have to want things and go after them. Dreams aren’t enough in college, but believing is. Accept rejection and setbacks as lessons for becoming better. Just don’t get caught up in defeat. Celebrate the little victories and surround yourself with supportive friends, and college will seem a lot easier to survive through.
Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a tired upperclassman, keep these lessons in mind. They can be easy to forget because they’re hard to follow through. Even if they seem simple, maintaining a balance between them all is rough. We all know that. But trying can get you a long way. Stay excited about college and it will continue to excite you.