Your freshman year of college is such an exciting time. You finally get out of the house, and can be on your own. You make your own rules and you have plenty of freedom. With this freedom comes a lot of responsibility, decisions, and hard work. And by hard work, I mean lots and lots of papers. So if you're not sure what to expect from freshman year, here's a few things you need to know.
1. You don't need everything on the packing lists online.
Yes, the packing lists you found on Pinterest can be helpful. No, you don't need to go out and buy every single item on the list.
2. You're going to cry.
Maybe not the day you move in, maybe not the day after, but at some point it's going to hit you that you grew up and you're on your own now. That can be a tough thing to wrap your head around.
3. It's worth it to get involved on campus.
I can't tell you how important this is. My first semester, I almost rushed but then didn't go through with it and immediately regretted it. I ended up going through with recruitment my second semester, and Greek Life is awesome and I'm so glad I got involved. Even if sororities and fraternities aren't your thing, find some way to get involved.
4. Don't buy all your textbooks before class starts.
This is probably the opposite of what you've been told, and for some colleges and some classes you probably should get textbooks beforehand. However, in my experience, it's a better idea to wait until the first day of class to get your textbook, especially for math classes. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to buy a $200 used math textbook, and then find out that we don't need the book, just the $150 online access code that you can buy separately and didn't come with the used one you already bought.
5. You and your roommates will not always get along.
Whether you live with your high school friends, that girl you went to camp with 3 years ago, or someone you've never met before, you are going to argue. Maybe if you're lucky it will only be a couple of arguments all year, but it will probably be more like a couple of times per week.
6. You're going to meet a lot of people very different from you.
There's people from small towns, big cities, other states, other countries, and from all different backgrounds. There's so many different opinions on politics, religion, etc. and everyone here has one.
7. Try to stay away from the three-hour class.
So you can either take a three-hour class, 4:30 to 7:30 on Tuesday or 11:00-12:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Well, no one likes Friday classes and it will be easier to knock it all out in one day anyway, right? Wrong. So wrong. It's so much easier to focus on something for an hour at a time than to listen to the same thing for three hours straight with no breaks.
8. You should spread out your classes if you can.
Yeah, it would be nice to only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then have Monday, Wednesday and Friday off. But, that makes Tuesdays and Thursdays super stressful and, to me at least, not worth it.
9. You actually have to study.
It's not like high school where all you have to do is pay attention in class and you'll make a good grade. You have to do the reading, you have to make flash cards, and you have to stay up studying all night to make an A.
10. Going out to eat needs to be kept to a minimum.
Freshman Fifteen is very real. Being broke all the time is also very real. The food in the cafeteria might not be the greatest, and sure, you get sick of eating it every day, but it's not worth the money and the extra pounds to go out to eat every night.
11. Freshman year flies by.
I know everyone says this, but it's the truth. Freshman year is confusing, stressful, exciting, wonderful, and it goes by way too fast, so enjoy every minute of it!
