Well, its that time again were we are all headed back to college, high school or even elementary school. Your first week of college will probably be a whirlwind of emotions, experiences, and names. Although freshman orientation is pretty well planned out at most schools, there are bound to be moments of awkwardness where you’re really just not sure what to do.
Here are some great tips that will help get you through your first week of college.
Tip # 1: Accept that you will( or may) forget the names of a lot of the people you meet during the first week. It’s OK. People will forget your name, too. The key is to be honest about it the next time you see a familiar face around in the hall or on campus. Instead of being afraid please just say “Hey, I know we met that first week, but I’m terrible with names. What’s your name again?“
Make new friends, but remember to keep your friends from high school
Out of all those people you’ll meet your first week, there’s a very real possibility that you won’t become and stay friends with all of them. Your high school friends will alway before you even if your new college friends won't. All freshmen will be looking to make friends and will probably be very friendly.
Tip # 2: Don’t worry if everybody you meet isn’t your BFF. You just need to find those two or three people you can go to the dining hall with and hang out with on weekends. Unlike high school, college isn’t a popularity contest.
Class materials are not definitely not cheap!
You probably have already heard about how expensive textbooks can get. What you probably don’t hear about are the additional items you need to purchase.
Tip #3: Once you know what classes you are taking, which books and materials are required, start looking around for cheaper alternatives. Start with past students, rent the books at your bookstore instead of buying, or check online sellers like Amazon.com, Textbooks.com, or Chegg.com.
No two classes are exactly the same
Be prepared to experience some very different requirements for each of the classes you take. Textbooks can cost up to 300 dollars or more to buy from your school bookstore.
Tip #4: No matter what the requirements, I would advise getting a planner and writing down all the important due dates as soon as you get them so you can stay organized and don’t overlook or forget anything. You can even put alerts on your phone to beep as an extra measure so you can keep track of when assignments are due.
There’s no place like home
Of course this won’t necessarily happen to everyone, but don’t be surprised if you get hit with a sudden wave of homesickness sometime during your first week.
Tip #5: When you are packing for college, don’t forget to pack some pictures from home to stick on your wall or put on your desk. And, make sure you have all the emails and phone numbers of your family and friends loaded in your phone in case you feel the sudden urge to text, email, or heaven forbid...a phone call.
Find your quiet place
Most of the time you’ll be surrounded by other people. There’s your roommate(s), people next door, or people on other floors, and there will almost always be other people in the campus center or dining halls. With lots of people usually comes lots of noise. Not a good thing, if you need your space.
Tip #6: Take some time that first week to seek out a quiet place you can escape to to clear your head, unwind, or just breathe. Maybe it’s a single study room in the library, a park near campus, or just going for a walk. And if all else fails, invest in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones to block out the distractions.
Exploration should be a college requirement
It’s crazy how much more free time you have in college compared to high school. The problem is, a lot of college kids don’t know what to do with it. They waste it sitting around playing video games or watching Netflix all day.
Tip #7: Don’t just sit around when you have free time. Use it wisely. And by wisely, I mean...go exploring. Explore the campus, checkout the surrounding area, join a club, go to a sporting event, try a new restaurant. Walking to wawa with a couple of friends is always a great treat to spend time with friends and see the area around where you are staying for school. These next four years are going to go fast. Make them count.
Can’t get there from here
No matter what size your campus is, it can be super easy to get lost when you’re trying to find your classes for the first time (or second or third, if you're like me).
Tip #8: Do a “dry run” before your classes start. Make sure you know where all of the rooms are and how long it will take for you to get between classes. So when classes actually start, you will know where you are going and won’t look like a lost freshman! But also if you are an upperclass man just know that it is okay to still not where your classes are if you havent been to that part of the school.
If you have anymore tips that I may have forgot to add please feel free to let me know.
