College can be really difficult to navigate, but luckily we seniors have been doing it for a while now! I asked my fellow graduating seniors at Bryn Mawr College for their number one piece of advice for underclasspeople and incoming first-years.
- “No assignment or grade is worth sacrificing your well-being.” Julia, English
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Prioritize your mental health! You can always get extensions if you need more time to finish your homework. And if a professor seems unwilling to give you leeway, get your dean involved. It is their job to advocate for you so that you are treated fairly as a student.
- “Time wasted beating yourself up over not doing as well as you would have liked is time spent not working or, better yet, sleeping. I spent so many hours crying over some academic “failure” or another that literally had no impact overall.” Colleen, Economics
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There are always going to be things that come up that you have no control over. Whether those events are academic or social, try not to beat yourself up over them! I know, it’s easier said than done, but it does get better over time. And remember: done is good!
- “There are a lot of things you will procrastinate later, so get applications done sooner rather than later. Also, play hard and work hard! If you don’t take advantage of the fun things happening around you, you will feel unfulfilled just studying.” Mia, Anthropology
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Applications in particular can be very overwhelming when you have to do them all at once. My rule typically is to leave an hour or two free every week to complete at least one application. That way, the task won’t feel so daunting.
- “Word spreads fast on this campus, so think about what you say.” Maeve, Psychology
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It is extremely easy to be overheard on this campus, and equally easy for what you say to be misconstrued or hurtful. It may seem like a juvenile piece of advice that we’ve all been learning since elementary school, but we should all be mindful of how our words hurt others regardless of age.
- “Don’t try to do everything yourself; people are willing to help if you just ask. Take the Praxis courses at the bare minimum because they give you an opportunity to find internships without having to put in all the work by yourself. Professors and administrators have more connections than you do, so use them to your advantage!” Christina, Art History and Fine Arts
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Plus, working with professors beyond the classroom, whether that entails signing on to help with their research or just going to office hours, strengthens your relationships, which can help you get recommendation letters later.
- And finally, for my advice: Changing your mind is okay.
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Whether this means you change your major or minor multiple times, drop a class or even decide that Bryn Mawr is not the place for you, that’s okay! Finding out that certain parts of your college experience haven’t turned out as you imagined is not the end of the world, and it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. We are all trying to figure out what we want and sometimes that takes time. And if you discover that Bryn Mawr College is not the place for you, that is also okay! We will be rooting for you wherever you choose to go next.Â