With less than a month until fall semester starts, we’re all getting ready to head back to BloNo, or in some people’s cases heading up to BloNo for the first time. For those of you entering your freshman year of college, you probably have many different expectations for what you’ll be encountering. Whether you’re anxious about entering college alone, excited for the parties or you’re just ready to gain some knowledge, here’s some real life advice from someone that survived (and conquered) her freshman year.
Welcome Week
After you’re all moved into your new dorm room, there will be many activities awaiting you that you should definitely take advantage of during Welcome Week. With a Casino Night on Wednesday night, Summer Bash on the quad, classroom tours and the ISU Block Party on the quad on Thursday, a soccer match Friday night, an outdoor concert Saturday night and a Kickoff ‘Que on Sunday night, you’ll be well fed with free food (don’t forget your student ID) and will leave with lots of free goodies. Along with the food and merch, you could end the day with a few new friends — while you’re waiting in line for a henna tattoo, strike up a conversation with someone! Chances are, they’re just as nervous as you are.
Clubs and activities
ISU is buzzing with things for you to do, you just have to make the effort to find them! With more than 350 RSOs (Registered Student Organizations) on campus, there is going to be something for you. Clubs are great to learn about/do more of what you enjoy and to meet people with the same interests. Along with the RSOs, people are always out on the Quad playing Frisbee, setting up volleyball games and a few nights a week playing Capture the Flag. The Adventure Connection located in the Rec Center is a great place to look for those who love adventure. There’s also lots of clubs to join that go along with your major, like our school newspaper The Vidette, our radio show WZND or business clubs, for example. The Rec is a great place to work off some stress and stay away from that freshman 15, and also a great place to take exercise classes!
Classes
Gen ed courses during your freshman year are, for the most part, fairly easy, as long as you listen in class, take notes, read the assignments and study. I know this sounds like a lot, but getting into this habit from the get-go will save you in the long run when you eventually take your major courses. As intimidating as it may seem, speak up in class if you’re not understanding something, or at least talk with your professor afterwards. My freshman year is when I realized that every class won’t be an easy A; college courses are definitely not anything like high school. As long as you still try your best, it’s perfectly OK to not do so well in an anthropology course, learning about the human origins, especially if you’re an English major (a hypothetical example, of course).
Nightlife
Having some freedom and having a say in what you get to do can be very exciting, just make sure to not go too crazy. At the beginning of the fall semester, BloNo hires more cops to patrol the area during the weekends, so be responsible while making your dumb choices and don’t be stumbling around. If you’re coming back into the dorm buildings after midnight, the night staff will be checking your keys and IDs (nicknamed your “kids”), and they also check on you to see if you smell of anything illegal or can’t walk straight. And finally, not trying to be your mother or anything, but really do always walk in a group, no matter what sex you are. Have fun and make memories, but remember that no party is worth a couple-hundred-dollar drinking ticket, or worse.
Your college experience is what you make of it. Surrounding yourself with good, positive friends always helps your case, and working for what you want to do will ultimately land you in a good place. Follow some of this advice, work hard and enjoy your freshman year!
