Dear College Freshman,
Please. Don't feel bad if your first semester GPA isn't what you, or your parents had hoped. This is what is supposed to happen. All your high school teachers who gave you a chance to hand in a late paper with little repercussions were right when they said again and again, some variation of, "this isn't gonna happen in college, your professors aren't going to be this nice." It hurts to admit, but for the most part they were right. Professors are typically an entirely different species. Not only are they not constantly on your back about getting work in, a lot of them don't care (or know) if you show up to their class and don't care about your success if you're not willing to work for it. In the long run, this will benefit you. You'll learn a better work ethic, and become more independent. But, in your first semester it'll be hard to adjust to.
Everything is new. You'll have classes that are going to be at least three times the size of your high school classes, where your professor won't even be the one grading your papers, let alone know your name. On top of all this, you've just been thrown onto a huge campus that you now have to try and navigate around without being late to class, or worse, walk into the wrong class and then have to awkwardly walk out.
The fact that you're on your own is a blessing and a curse. The fact that you can do almost anything you want and not have to answer to anyone, is a blessing and a curse. In your first semester you'll make a lot of mistakes, and that's OK! You spent your high school years with someone there the entire way, holding your hand and coddling you and now you've been thrown into an abyss of the unknown where the only thing you have to help you along the way is some friends and a syllabus. At first it'll be tough, but by next semester you'll be a pro and realize this is really all you need. (Until finals week comes around again and you're on the verge of a mental break down but that's another story.)
Your first semester is like a trial run. You're willing to push everything to it's limit, to see just how far you can make it with minimal effort. You'll see how many classes you can get away with skipping - because you have the freedom to do so. You'll go out on a Tuesday night before a test - because you have the freedom to do so. Not that you should do these things, but it's better to learn from these now rather than later. You'll learn just how much you can get away with. You'll realize soon enough that this won't fly. And that's good. It's good to have this experience so you work harder in the semesters to come.
So make your mistakes now, so you learn from them and become a better student. Don't worry about your first semester GPA you have plenty more to improve it, and you will.
Sincerely,
Been There Done That