Ah. Freshman year of college. The most exciting and terrifying time of your entire life. New adventure, new purpose, a time of so much opportunity and “newness” that you can hardly stand it! With all that being said, freshman year is hard. It will test you in ways that you’ve never been tested before. But after it’s over, you will have grown tremendously as a person and be better for it. Here are some tips to make freshman year a little less rough.

• Do not let yourself believe that college is remotely anything like what you’ve seen on t.v. shows and in movies.
• Get some school supplies so that you’re prepared for the first day. You’d be surprised how many professors pass out their syllabus and hop straight into lecturing.
• Don’t assume professors will allow laptops. Bring an actual notebook. You remember notes that are handwritten more than if they are typed anyway.
• If you’re worried about missing information by hand-taking notes, record the lecture with your phone.
• If you can use a laptop, Google docs have this awesome feature where you can share the file with classmates and all take notes simultaneously. It helps to read notes other people have taken, and you’re sure to not miss any information if everyone works together. Sharing notes isn’t cheating, it’s working smarter not harder.
• You can never have too many Command Hooks/Strips.
• Do NOT stay in your dorm room and be a hermit, particularly when you first get to college after you get settled in and/or during the first couple of weeks. That's prime friend-making time. Put yourself out there and find some lifelong college friends!
• At the same time it’s okay to be a little nostalgic, you’ve just gone through a huge change in your life. You can be a little homesick until college is home.
• Clean often or commit to doing one small cleaning chore each day of the week. Soon you’ll do it like clockwork with an established routine and you won’t be overwhelmed by a dirty dorm if you pick up a bit each day. Taking out your trash often keeps your room smelling clean and fresh.
  • Also don’t forget to wash your bed sheets/comforter/pillow case (twice a month) and your towels! (after every use)
  • Example Cleaning Schedule:
    • Sunday-Laundry
    • Monday-Surfaces/Febreze
    • Tuesday- Vacuum
    • Wednesday- Laundry
    • Thursday- Dust
    • Friday- Clean Toilet/Shower
    • Saturday- Declutter/Disinfect
• Stay ahead of your dishes! For the love of all that is holy, rinse your dishes before putting them in the sink. If not, they will grow mold which is disgusting and definitely not something you want to deal with.
• Visit the building where all of your classes are at, and maybe stop by the classroom if possible before the first day of classes so you’re not totally lost the first day.
• Learn to outfit plan. They have the forecast for a reason and you will not look like quite as much of a thrown-together mess if you’ve got everything laid out and ready to go.
• Get the app: “MyStudyLife”. It’s life-changing. I seriously don’t know how I survived school without it. It’s FREE and it’s amazing. It keeps all of your school stuff organized and it has a progress bar you get to slide when you’re done which is incredibly satisfying.
• Even if you don’t think Greek life is for you, go through recruitment. You don’t know what Greek life is like unless you at the very least go through recruitment. Some organizations do spring rush which you can still do if you don’t accept a bid in the fall.
• Don’t feel pressure to party. Plenty of people don’t.
• Or go to one and see what it’s like. Just don’t do anything stupid.
• Don’t make assumptions about people based on what organization someone is in. This mainly goes for Greek life, but as a general rule don’t make assumptions about anyone.
• Ask anyone you trust for advice about professors: like who to take from and maybe even more importantly who to avoid taking a class with if possible.
• Get a PayPal/Venmo account.
• If you have a car, make people give you gas money. You are not a personal chauffeur. People will take advantage of you if you're not careful.
• Some of your new college friends won’t stay your friends through your first semester, heck, even your first month. Don’t take it personally, everyone is trying to find a squad.
• Do not try to be someone or something you’re not. People will notice and you’ll look like a fool.
• Who you were in high school doesn’t matter anymore, don’t try to act like it does.
• Be your most authentic self. Embrace who you are, including all your flaws and quirks.
• You will probably break down in tears over some trivial thing because you are stressed out by this huge change of becoming a college student. This is okay.
• Call your Mom, dog, whomever you trust from home when this happens.
• You are not a baby for being homesick. You are not somehow less independent by checking in with the people at home every once in awhile. They are still there for you.
• It’s also okay to transition and be perfectly fine.
• For the love of God, remember to eat, drink water, and take all regular prescribed medications. Your health, especially your mental health, should always be your first priority.
• If there’s free food: GO!
• The dreaded "freshman fifteen" is not something to obsess over. You’re an adult; your body is changing, calm down already. Some people actually gain fifteen pounds. Some gain more than that, some stay exactly the same, and some even lose weight. If it’s not super extreme it’s not a big deal. Everybody’s different. Love yourself exactly as you are. You are YOU: Own It!
• Vitamin C is your best friend if you are sick and can’t afford another absence.
• You’re paying way too much money for classes… GO TO THEM.
• If you do have absences, keep track of them and keep them to a minimum at all costs. If you miss a lecture, you’re responsible for the material. There is no “make-up work” anymore.
• If you join too many clubs and student organizations because oh my gosh it’s the first week and I’m just so excited and there’s so many things that interest me, please trust me when I say that they will understand if you have to back out of some of them/quit some in order to preserve your sanity. Don’t worry about losing the friends you made from being a part of those organizations.
• At the same time, get involved and be a part of SOMETHING. If there’s nothing you fancy, start your own dang club. You can totally do that.
• Pay attention to student government. If there’s something you don’t like about your school, talk to the student government association about it. If you’re passionate about changing your school yourself, go and run for office!
• Develop good study habits. STUDY. FOR. TESTS. Commit to ending the habit of “winging it” if you’ve done that in the past. Cramming is ineffective. (Read this bullet again.)
• Buy a mattress cover. A high quality one.
• Get some freaking sleep. Don't look like a zombie. Sleep is so important. If you have any opportunity, take a nap. Just sleep, your body needs you to take care of it.
• The most important college tip of all: Have the time of your life! It’s college: it should be EPIC!