College/University tips + post first-year thoughts
Just a collection of some things I thought I should share somewhere, with someone!
- Know your roommate well in advance of day one. I don’t care if you face time, text, or instagram DM them, but don’t go to sleep with a stranger when you’re already anxious about moving in.
- Your roommate can absolutely be your bestie or go-to person to eat meals with. If this is the case: amazing, but make sure you both are branching out and not becoming dependent on each other. If this is not the case: that’s ok too. your roommate just has to be your roommate. Respect each other, even if you’re not friends. Sign a roommate agreement and don’t break it. You’ll be fine.
-Meet people as early into the experience as you can. For me, I met my first year best friend before even stepping foot on campus because of a pre-freshman abroad program. A lot of campuses will have opportunities prior to welcome week such as this (I’ve heard outdoor programs and camping trips are common). If you can, go to one!! If not, then use your first couple nights in the dorms to meet the people in your hall and anywhere else you go regularly. Say yes to everything! It becomes much harder and scarier to meet people once the semester really gets under way and friend groups solidify (still possible though!)
- You don’t have to have a lot of friends or acquaintances to have what you need in college. A few close friends are more than enough for you to feel fulfilled and have fun. Quality, not quantity.
- Attend the club fair during welcome week. Then, try everything that sounds interesting to you one time. If you don’t like it or can’t be bothered to show up to another meeting, that’s ok, but hopefully as you try different orgs and clubs you’ll find one (or a few) you really click with.
- It’s smart to think about resume building when getting involved with things in college, but you’re not failing if you just do things that are fun and don’t find yourself with a long term/serious position or commitment. You have so much time to build your career, I promise!
- There are so many random and unique events on every college campus- trivia, crafting, lectures, movies… GO TO THEM! You’ll never regret it!
- Know that you can do hard things. You will make it through your classes. Try to keep yourself centered and just focus on learning, not an A.
- USE. YOUR. RESOURCES. Especially if you’re at a big state school like me, there will be a million tutors and advisors available to you. They will help you, all you have to do is go to them!
- Study what you love. Even if your major is more of practical use to you then your one true love, take fun electives that make you excited to learn.
-Get to know your professors and go to office hours! I’ll admit, I didn’t really follow this classic piece of advice this year. I regret it! So many of my professors were perfectly interesting, and I would’ve loved to get to know them. Instead, I lost out on interesting conversation and potential future references. Don’t be like me! Your professors are there for you to learn from, so talk to them often and ask them questions as they come up (even if you do it over email like me, it’s better than nothing).
-Participate whenever you feel comfortable, especially in your smaller classes.
- Going to parties is NOT essential to a good college experience. That’s right, I said it. You can have just as much fun watching a movie in your friend’s dorm.
- If you do like to party, that’s great. Enjoy yourself fully. Be safe and responsible, always stick with the people you arrived with until you’re all home safe, and alternate drinks with water.
- My personal opinion: get yourself to a house or apartment party, not a frat, if possible. Frats are smelly, hot, loud, and sometimes won’t have drinks, because parties are supposed to be officially registered with the greek life board, meaning they can’t serve to under-21s. Apartments/houses are cleaner, usually provide drinks (less money spent on pre gaming!), and give you a more intimate space to talk to people.
- Invest in a good, memory foam mattress topper. Nothing cheaper than 30 bucks is gonna keep you comfy all year. It’s so worth it, I promise.
- Beware of wasting dining dollars/points!! They will go down the drain if you’re not careful to spend them all by the end of the week or term! Adjust your meal plan if necessary.
- You don’t need to spend money on textbooks in most cases. Look for free PDFs online, ask around in class to see if someone will share their link, grab a copy from the library, or buy used books for half the price. Just make sure you have the correct edition.
- Never underestimate how important down time is! It’s ok to rot in your room sometimes and not be constantly on the go. Keep up your hobbies from high school, read fun books, and do what you gotta do to keep yourself healthy and happy. For introverts, it’s a good idea to coordinate with your roommate so you get some alone time in your room to decompress.
- I can’t stress this enough: SEEK SUPPORT. talk to your friends and family from home when you’re feeling homesick. If you don’t already have a therapist, you may want to consider it as you make this very serious transition (your school may even provide free counseling through their student health department!). You are not alone, and you’re gonna do amazing things!
