The transition from high school to freshman year can seem terrifying, particularly if you're moving across the country from sunny California to snowy upstate New York. But have no fear, being a freshman again is awesome. Here are some tips to get you through the first year.
1. Introduce yourself to your neighbors.
Orientation and the first few weeks of college have a lot of programming and it's always good to have familiar faces to sit with at these events. Often times you will find that you have things in common with your dorm halls and even if you don't, meeting new people is just another part of the college experience.
2. Befriend upperclassmen.
Upperclassmen have a lot of experience and will give you advice and answer questions you didn't know you had. They can help you with choosing classes to figure out which snow boots to buy to finding the quietest spot in the library to study. How do you meet upperclassmen? Simply introduce yourself to people around campus. Especially during orientation, people are there to help freshman and will go out of their way to try to help you. Go to extracurricular recruitment events, you will find upperclassmen with the same interests who can often answer all of your questions or introduce you to someone who can.
3. You will miss your parents, so figure out a way to be involved in each others' lives.
Whether you're moving 30 minutes away or across states, you will not be seeing your parents as often as in high school. While the ability to make your own decisions is exciting, when you're stressed out, you can often feel distanced from your family. If you call your parents every weekend or text them about your day every day from the beginning, both of you will have a routine that will be helpful when you are feeling stressed out due to prelims and papers.
4. Get involved but don't overload yourself.
Balance is key. There are a lot of exciting classes to take and organizations to get involved in on campus but make sure to not overload yourself. The first semester is a transitional period where you have to get used to living by yourself at school 24/7 and making a lot of your own decisions. Feel free to sit in on classes before you add them and don't be afraid to drop a class if it seems like you can't handle it on top of the other classes you are taking. After all, you do have 4 years of college.
5. Go to office hours/study group for each of your classes at least once.
Try utilizing the resources your classes provide at least once. You never know, you might find them useful. You might get to know your professors and learn about their research. You might make a lot of new friends that go to office hours or study group every week.
