Dear Incoming Freshmen,
College is rough, and it just gets worse as the semester goes on. It all starts with the transition from home life to dorm life. The transition is rough as it is. You are transitioning from living with your parents to somebody you have most likely never met before in your life. Then you are getting used to your new course load all over again, and that is when the real stress starts.
Your Peer Assistants help you to succeed in your classes. Utilize the tutoring services your school offers. College school work is much different than what you experienced back in high school. You aren’t always going to get a lot of guidance on your papers, and there will be a lot. Just this past semester, I had a mixture of multiple projects and papers due all in the same week. You will not have much time during class or between your classes to talk to your professors regarding assignment details, so utilize their office hours.
Also, you always want to go to class. You never know what you’ll miss if you don’t show up. I missed my Psychology class one Monday because I did not feel well enough to attend my morning classes. That following Wednesday, I showed up to class, but nobody showed up to the class. I was the only one in the classroom. It turns out that the professor had decided to cancel the Wednesday class for that week. If I had shown up that Monday, I would not have been sitting in that classroom wondering where everyone was for 10 minutes after the class was supposed to start.
Finally, get involved on campus. That probably goes without saying, but getting involved early on in college will truly help you out in the long run. If you’re on a small campus like Brenau, it is really easy to get involved. Your club advisors can be used for recommendations later on in your academic career and even after you graduate. The more you get involved, the more references you will have later on down the road.
So, yes; college is rough, but it’s worth it. Connect with your roommate and suitemates if your dorm hall is set up like that. Talk to your professors. Always attend class. Ge involved. You will not regret it. College is the last time you can make mistakes, so whatever you do, do not forget to have fun. Find yourself in this crazy world called college. Change your major. Change it multiple times if you have to, but find what you love to do and what you can see yourself doing 20, 30 and even 40 years from now.
Sincerely,
A first year college student still trying to find her way