College Freshman Year 101

A Student Survival Tip Guide to Help Navigate Your First Semester

Apr 17, 2007 Naomi Rockler-Gladen

Are you ready for college life? Here are some basic college survival tips to help get you started.

If you feel overwhelmed by your freshman year in college, you're not alone! The first semester away from home is a difficult time for just about every college student. Remember, you're not just learning about psychology, composition, and whatever else is on your schedule. You are learning how to be a college student, and that's a challenge. (Read here how college is more difficult than high school).

To help get you get off to a good start, here are some basic freshman year survival tips.

1. Take responsibility for your own learning. In college, there is little handholding. No one's going to remind you when your papers are due or hold you accountable for doing your homework every night.
2. Come to class. This is the most basic thing you need to do to succeed in college. Come to class every single day unless you have an extremely good reason not to go. Sure, now that you're no longer forced to be in class, it's tempting not to go. But if you don't go, you're not going to do well.
3. Take good class notes. Pay attention in class. No text messaging your friends or playing Sudoku! Here are some tips on effective note taking.
4. Build a good relationship with your roommate. You don't have to be friends, but you do have to live together harmoniously or you're both going to be miserable. Here's some tips on college roommate etiquette.
5. Party in moderation. The freedom of going off to college is as intoxicating as the alcohol! But if you overdo it, your grades will suffer and you can hurt yourself physically and emotionally. Know your limit when it comes to drinking. You have the rest of your life to be independent and free from parental control, so there's no need to go completely wild your first few months away from home.
6. Be careful about sexual relationships. Aside from the risk of pregnancy and STDs, casual sex can have emotional repercussions that you might not be prepared to deal with. Use condoms, always!
7. Be aware of sexual violence. According to the American Association of University Women, 20 to 25% of college women will be sexually assaulted during their time at college. Alcohol is usually a factor. Here's what students should know about college campuses and sexual violence.
8. Don't go home every weekend. If you do, you'll be missing out on opportunities to make friends and build an independent life away from your family. Face your fears and your homesickness and stay on campus.
9. Meet new people. If you have high school friends on campus with you, avoid the temptation to hang out with them all the time. And resist the temptation to only hang out with people in your dorm.
10. Open your mind. You are going to meet lots of people who see the world much differently than you. You're also going to hear a lot of ideas that go contrary to what you learned at the kitchen table growing up. This may be uncomfortable, but it's an important part of the college experience that will teach you quite a bit. Keep an open mind, and try to understand where other people are coming from even when you do not agree with them.
11. Be careful with money. Even if you're lucky enough to have parents who can help you out financially, you need to learn to spend money wisely. Be careful with credit cards.
12. Take care of your health. It's difficult to be 100% healthy, but do the best that you can and you'll feel much better emotionally and physically. Try to eat well (and avoid the Freshman Fifteen), exercise a reasonable amount (walking around campus counts), get medical checkups, and get enough sleep.
13. Seek out help if you need it. Academic and psychological help is available on college campuses, but you need to take the responsibility to get the help you need. Don't be afraid to ask professors for help. If you are feeling depressed or psychological overwhelmed, take advantage of the student health center.
14. Work hard, but don't be too hard on yourself first semester. Yes, you should hold yourself to high standards and do the best you can. But don't expect to get straight As your first semester. Remember, you're learning to be a student on top of everything else, so don't beat yourself up if it doesn't come as easy as high school did for you.

The copyright of the article College Freshman Year 101 in Campus Life is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish College Freshman Year 101 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Aug 12, 2009 7:01 AM

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wow... good job!

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