For many, freshman year of college is a year of firsts: the first time being away from home and family for an extended period of time, the first time being solely responsible for several things in your life (classes, laundry, food choices), the first time living in extremely close quarters with one (or two!) other people and the first time having freedom without mom or dad to tell you what you can and can’t do. This can be exciting — and also overwhelming.
To make the transition to college life a little easier, below are some tips to help guide you through your first year.
1. Talk to your future roommates over the summer to get to know what they're like, what each of you are bringing and to set up some ground rules.
Learning your roommates' likes and dislikes and what they are into makes the first meeting much less awkward and will allow the new rooming situation to go a lot smoother. It’s crucial that you discuss what each of you are bringing — you don’t want to end up with two microwaves but no mini fridge. It might also be a good idea to discuss a color or style scheme and send each other pictures of your comforters and dorm accessories, if having a matching theme is important to you. You will also avoid a lot of conflict if you set up some “dorm rules.” How clean or messy can the room be? Can clothes and food be shared or is that a no-no? Are “friends” allowed to sleep over? Does one of you stay up late, but the other goes to sleep early and doesn’t like the lights on? Bucknell gives all students a “roommate contract” when they first move in that goes over some of these questions, but it’s a good idea to discuss them early on.
2. WAIT to buy your textbooks!
And don’t buy them from the bookstore (it’s extremely overpriced). Instead, attend your classes and wait to see if you will actually need the textbook or if lecture notes will suffice. Remember — you could also end up dropping a class that you were originally signed up for. If you do think that having the textbook for a class is essential, look into buying or renting it from Amazon or sites such as Chegg to save money.
3. If you’re a coffee or tea person — buy a mini Keurig.
Trust me, it’s worth it. You will be amazed at how quickly your dining dollars dwindle from buying just one grande chai tea latte a day. The mini Keurigs are great because they only cost about $100 and you can make coffee, tea and hot chocolate with them, and you can even use the hot water to make oatmeal. Plus, they now come in really fun colors like emerald, orchid and Poinciana.
4. Invest in a durable phone case and screen protector (if you haven’t already).
You’re going to bring your phone to a frat party and drop it. To avoid a cracked phone, invest in a good case and screen protector. For girls, it’s also super helpful to have a wristlet to keep your phone and ID in (buy one with a keychain loop so you can attach your dorm key to it too).
5. Buy a good water bottle and double check that it stays SHUT if you put it in a bag or purse.
There are water fountains all over campus. You’ll save money this way, and you’ll help out the environment. Just make sure the water bottle you buy stays securely shut if you plan to keep it in a bag or purse to avoid your books (or worse — your laptop) from becoming soaked.
6. Buy a cheap pair of “going out” shoes (flip-flops for the warmer months and boots for the winter) and a “fracket” (frat jacket) for when it gets cold
Buy them all from Walmart. Your shoes will get ruined anyway, and you’ll probably lose at least three of your frackets.
7. Think twice about lofting your bed to the highest level.
Yes, it will save a lot of space, but you will also have to climb up to it every single night, which can get to be pretty annoying (especially at 3 a.m. on Friday or Saturday). Also, unless you get a bed rail, you could be setting yourself up for fatal injury if one night you roll over a little too far. A friend of mine also woke up one morning on his lofted bed, hit his head on the ceiling (because it was lofted so high), passed out and missed his class. Trying to make your bed will also take at least twenty minutes every day if it’s lofted super high. Take it from someone who had a high lofted bed — the extra space is not worth it.
8. Remember to wash your sheets and pillowcases.
When I’m home, my mom voluntarily washes my sheets about once a week. That’s a bit of a lofty goal for a college student, but try to wash them every couple of weeks (just think of all of the times you climbed into bed after a sweaty frat party, without showering ...) When you do your laundry, set alarms on your phone to pick it up on time or set up the text alerts on your phone so you don’t forget about it. (If you don’t pick your laundry up in time, someone will move it, and it’s very frustrating when this happens.)
9. Take advantage of the school’s shuttle system, or befriend someone older with a car on campus.
You don’t really know how nice it is to be able to transport yourself to places whenever you feel like it until such a convenience is taken away from you. First-year students aren’t allowed cars on campus, but luckily Bucknell has a great shuttle system that makes stops downtown and to Walmart and Weis supermarket. This year Bucknell will launch late-night shuttle service running uphill to the new apartments with hours of operation Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1:55 a.m. There’s even an app downloadable via myBucknell or the University website that uses a GPS to show the shuttle routes and real-time shuttle and student location. Students also have the option of renting a Zipcar for the day if they prefer to have their own car to drive. You can always just become friendly with an upperclassman who has a car as well.
10. Stock your dorm with healthy snacks.
The dining services at Bucknell are pretty amazing (our cafeteria was rated third best in North America by USA Today), and you can’t beat those late-night breakfast sandwiches. Still, the freshman 15 is real thanks to the mandatory unlimited, all-you-can-eat freshmen meal plan (and that dessert table), so it’s a good idea to keep your dorm room stocked with healthy snacks like lite air-popped popcorn, fruit and granola bars when the late night studying hunger pangs hit or as a more nutritious alternative to Domino's on weekend nights.
11. If you have time, explore campus before classes start to familiarize yourself with the layout and different buildings.
There’s nothing worse than arriving to your first class only to realize you went to the wrong room. To avoid this, before classes begin, visit all of your classrooms and determine the fastest walking routes for each.
12. Find a quiet space on campus that you can call your own.
Your freshmen year you’re going to be meeting so many new people at various events and in classes that it can actually get to be tiring at times, especially without your own room to escape to. To make sure you still fulfill your “me” time, find a quiet spot of your own on campus where you can unwind. It can be as simple as a secluded spot in the library, an empty classroom, a booth in Seventh Street café or a shady spot in the grove or by the river.
13. Explore the Lewisburg community.
Your college experience is not confined to the Bucknell campus, although it is easy to forget that there is an entire community separate from the university only a few steps away. Take time to visit some of Lewisburg’s local spots like the farmers market, the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail, Ard’s Farm Market, Street of Shops, and restaurants such as Siam, Cherry Alley Café, and Amami Kitchen & Espresso Bar.
14. Practice time management.
Use extra time in between your classes to get work done, and try as hard as you can to not procrastinate! I know it’s difficult, and naps can be super-tempting (and many times, extremely necessary), but you’ll thank yourself in the long run and enjoy your weekends more if you use your time effectively during the week.
15. Talk to your professors!
In my experience at Bucknell, all of the professors are passionate about their subjects and want their students to do well. They also want students to talk to them about their classes! Not only do your professors serve as great mentors for future academic and career aspirations, but meeting with your professors on a consistent basis to discuss your interest in the class and any concerns you may have can seriously help to move your B+ up to an A-.
16. LAST: Remember to call home every once in a while.
Sometimes, college is so much fun that you might forget to give mom and dad or your brother and sister a call. But remember that being away from home is probably just as much of a change for them as it is for you. And there comes a time for everyone when college becomes just a little too overwhelming, and you become just a little too homesick. A call home will almost always cheer you up.
