Back to school time is upon us whether we like it or not. College students are finalizing their schedules, tearing up while purchasing books, moving back to their respective college towns and mentally preparing themselves for the year ahead. Each start of the school year brings opportunities for new and exciting adventures, classes and friends. It also brings freshmen who are just starting their college journey. To all you freshmen out there, here are a couple of pointers from a college senior who struggled through her freshman year and wishes she had a note of encouragement and tips and tricks.
1. Screenshot your schedule.
Don't let the upperclassmen fool you. Everyone looks at their schedule the first couple of weeks of classes because they have no idea where they are going. It is extremely rare for students to actually walk their classes the days before school starts so their noses are in their schedules. This would be an extremely obvious act, except the difference between the upperclassmen and the lowerclassmen is that they have discovered if you screenshot your schedule on your phone and set it as your screensaver, you look like you are just answering a menagerie of texts in between class. Just be sure you watch where you are going.
2. Wear a lanyard.
Lots of universities nowadays are moving towards using student IDs as keys, tickets, and passes into various aspects of the university. If you are given an ID or even a basic key for your Residence hall or dormitory, I definitely suggest putting it on a lanyard. If you lose your ID or your key it can be pretty stressful trying to find it and can also be embarrassing depending on the situation. I forgot my key to get into the restrooms on my floor freshman year as I was headed to the showers. My roommate was gone so I had to go downstairs in my towel to the Resident Assistant desk and get a temp key while students were coming to and from classes. I didn't want to wear the lanyard because I thought it looked nerdy, but it would have saved me from loads of embarrassment.
3. Go to the free food events.
The first couple of weeks are wonderful because there is free food everywhere. Go to all the events you can to get free food. Welcome back BBQs, club and organization fairs and freshmen programming usually offer up some free food and the best food is free food -- especially when you are a broke college student.
4. Get involved.
At my university, there are over 250 clubs and organizations that students can join. I know my first year, I was worried I would not meet anyone so I went out of my comfort zone and joined a couple of organizations. I met some wonderful people who have really helped me get through some tough college years. The best thing about going to college is that there are lots of different organizations so you can really join something that you are genuinely interested in.
5. Breathe. It will be OK.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it. College is tough, but the fact that you are even coming to college and trying is wonderful. Give it your all and do not give up. Sometimes classes can seem impossible to pass, stress levels are astronomically high and you cry to your teacher, but that does not mean you are not capable of success. It's ok to ask your teachers, campus counseling centers, or friends for help -- and it is OK to take a nap every now and then.
So, for all of you college freshmen out there, I wish you the best of luck. Keep an open mind, try new things and rock this year.
