College is a lot different than high school. I remember the anxiety I had as I tried to picture what my freshman year was going to be like the summer after graduation high school. Although the butterflies are almost inevitable when it comes to starting at a new school, here are a few tips that might help you prepare for a smoother transition.

Making friends during the first few weeks of school becomes natural.

This is a problem many incoming freshman experience but you must remember: you are not alone. Almost everyone going into college is in the same position that you are. Making friends does not have to be as hard as calculus. Just be yourself and smile and you will find people to spend time with.

Your dorm room will become your sanctuary.

Your dorm room is going to become the place you relax, the place you get ready in the morning and before you go out, the place you cry, laugh, cut your toe nails, and call your parents. Make it your own. Cover the white walls with numerous posters and make sure to spend money on getting good bedding -- you will be spending a lot of time there. For posters I suggest allposters.com (especially when they are having sales.)

And if you're lucky, your roommate will become your other half

I couldn't have been luckier to have been randomly put with my roommate. Whether it was waking me up when my alarm wouldn't or buying you exactly what you want for your birthday (without even telling them), the memories the both of you will make are endless. Get ready for silly fights too because you wouldn't be best friends if you didn't.

But if you are unlucky, he or she will be a total psycho.

I had a friend whose roommate freshman year went weeks without showering. Her room also resembled a battlefield. You don't need to worry. The residence life staff at most schools understand roommate troubles and if they cannot resolve conflicts then you are able to get a new room. Be patient.

Don't get too ambitious when it comes to picking classes your first semester, especially 8 a.m. classes

You can tell yourself "I want to take 8 a.m.'s so I can get my day over with early" all summer but you'll soon find out that it was the worst choice you have ever made. Do yourself a favor and go with a 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. because even waking up for those will be a struggle.

Cafeteria food sucks, get over it

Cafeteria food will never be mom or dads cooking. Embrace everything they make now before you have to live off the cafeteria. You will end up eating the same thing every night for dinner until Christmas break, but thats college.. Right? It also doesn't hurt to befriend the cafeteria workers in case you ever have questions or special orders for your food Warning: your digestion will never be the same.

College is a lot harder than high school so you might need to develop better studying habits

Surprisingly, batting your eye lashes and staying for an extra half hour after school to clean the classroom won't earn you any extra points in college like it did in high school. If you don't like failing your exams, you are going to need to come up with a plan. Thankfully a lot of schools have resources that you can use to improve on your studies outside of the classroom. These resources, however, do not show up at your door- you need to go to them.

Fire alarms happen when you least expect it

The fire department doesn't care if it is 3 a.m. or if you are in the shower. When the alarm goes off, you go. Bring a blanket or wear a sweatshirt because you never know how long you'll be standing outside for.

Find yourself some good friends

Some people mistake their good friends for the ones they go out and party with all the time and when there is a time when they actually need them, they are no where to be found. You never know when you are going to need someone to call on so have a supportive group behind you when the time comes. If your like me, you might even find one of your bestfriends a few doors down the hall!

Join clubs, sports and activities

I remember visiting classrooms at my old high school after my freshman year when one student asked me "Are there like clubs you can join when you are in college?" There are tons of clubs for you to join while you are going to school. My school has over 100 different clubs which means there is something for everybody. Joining clubs and sports is also a great way to meet people who have similar interests as yourself.

You will stress during finals week, especially when you are waiting for the final grades to be released

The waiting period is awful. You calculate 10 different grades you could have earned based on how you did on your final. No matter how much you stress, your future is in your professor's hands which at times can be very scary.

Sleeping has become a thing of the past

Whether you have a roommate like me who will talk to you until all hours of the night or the people downstairs won't stop partying, college is not a place for you to sleep, unless it is 2 p.m. on a Monday and it is nap time.

Even though you might be going to college, you still don't have your life together

Some people go into college thinking they are going to be a vetenerian and leave with a sociology and anthropology degree. Understand that your course of action might change and just accept it. So when people ask you "what are you going to do with that major?" Just tell them you have no idea.

And before you even know it, the loans start kicking in

Remember those loans you took out to go to college? I hope you are ready to set up a payment plan. I remember being so flustered when my loan services reached out to me during the first semester of my freshman year. I hardly had gotten settled in to the change, let alone figure out how I was going to start making payments.