Do Yourself A Favor And Start Off Strong Your Freshman Year

When you start off your college career, the hardest thing will probably be adjusting to college life. On the bright side, if you don’t have a lot of morning classes, you’ll no longer have to get up at 6 a.m. for school! Other factors, though, such as having plenty of reading and classes and meals at all hours of the day and evening, will take some getting used to. But speaking of those classes, while there may be more reading involved than you’re used to, the start of your college career is your chance to start off running. No, not as in running late to class (although you’ll probably find yourself in that scenario at times). It’s your chance to start off strong academically.

The classes you take during your first year will be largely introductory courses that are designed to get you acquainted with a field of study without weighing you down too much. Introductory courses will still require their share or work, but fortunately they take a broader overview of a subject rather than diving deep into one particular aspect. In short, this means that the tests won’t drill you on the details as they will in later, upper-level courses.

As much as your first year at school should be spent exploring different courses and subjects to really discover your academic interests, be sure you keep up on that reading and studying. With introductory-level courses, you’ll be taking a schedule full of not necessarily easy courses, but courses that are not as brain-wracking as some of those senior seminars and other upper-level classes. With a solid effort, most introductory courses are more than passable; you should be able to do well and start stocking up on those As!

Doing well academically your first year of college will definitely make you enjoy college more. You’ll feel confident and successful. Starting college is a challenge for anyone, yet you met that challenge well. Don’t get too carried away, although you can be sure mom and dad will be gleaming too! Good grades during your first year obviously starts your GPA off right, and it also provides reassurance—hey, maybe these next few years won’t be so difficult after all. College also really makes you take accountability for your grades. Bad grades in high school can sometimes be attributed to those long, grueling after-school sports practice sessions or that grudge you knew your teacher held against you. In college however, a poor grade is often a reflection of poor effort or simply not bothering to attend class, study, and read all those required pages.

Not doing well academically your first year isn’t reason to give up hope, although it can make the rest of college that much more stressful. You’re of course better off starting with a cushion for your grades than having to try and play catch up the rest of your college career. And as courses get harder, this can be a trying task. While hopefully you’re involved in some extracurricular activities and clubs your first year, you might be in leadership positions in those clubs later on. Time is precious in college, and having those responsibilities on top of classes leaves only less time to study. So don’t waste the time you have during freshman year!

Experiencing the social and fun aspects of college living are just as important as giving academics your all. That first year of school is your chance to make an impression, not just with professors, but with yourself. Will you be taking classes seriously, or is it four years of partying? As busy as you’ll be, there’s room to have fun while keeping the grades up, and there’s only one chance to start strong. So don’t leave those textbooks collecting dust your first year. Study up, do well, and feel good about the rest of your college career. 

College Classes And High School Courses: How Do They Compare?

You’ll enter college with plenty of preconceived notions as to what college classes are like. You’ve heard what they’re like, no doubt, and chances are you’ve heard plenty of horror stories. From 15-page papers to having your grade determined by only two exams, everyone’s probably told you that you have it easy right now. Well, depending on what type of student you were throughout high school, the academic side of college might be surprisingly difficult or easily negotiable.

First off, the majority of college courses require significant amounts of reading. Fortunately, a lot of high school classes involve plenty of reading, except in college you have to pay for your own textbooks, there’ll be even fewer pictures in the books, and the writing will read that much dryer. Even classes on film or physical education can require reading! At least in college you’re free to highlight and mark up that textbook as needed, and there are so many pockets of time throughout your day that you can read a few pages here and there and finish up quickly. High school textbook reading requires you to sit and read for one long grueling session; after all, you’re in school all day. With college, your day will be broken up nicely, allowing enough time for reading and other work during the day, which is important because chances are you’ll have a lot more energy during the day than at night.

In addition to more reading, college courses require a greater ability to adapt. High school teachers are all about staying on schedule (and frequently get stressed when they fall behind in their lessons, as you’ve probably seen!). College instructors, however, have a tendency to improvise their lessons and proceed at a pace or rate that pleases them best. You, as the student, will have to work around their teaching style. The good news is that you’ll often find teachers who you can easily adapt to, while others will prove more difficult. College instructors and professors come from so many different backgrounds, and they’re not all under the same guidance or rule, as your high school teachers were. Just try and keep an open mind from the beginning, and you’ll quickly get good at figuring out which type of teachers you learn best from. Another nice thing about college? If you don’t think a certain teacher will work out, transfer classes! It’s another one of the important freedoms that college offers.

Speaking of freedom, college classes all offer greater independence. It’ll be your responsibility to go to class, to pay attention, and to actually do your homework and reading after class. If you neglect any of this, chances are you won’t receive a slap on the wrist like you would have in high school. Your teacher won’t question you in the middle of class in front of all the other students as to why you neglected to answer questions one through five on page 47. The real punishment will come when you receive your grade. Perhaps this independence sounds like another of college’s great, newfound freedoms, but it’s in essence making you more accountable and responsible as a student. Without a teacher there to guide you every step and speak up when you’re falling behind, it’ll also be your job to keep track of how well you’re learning and to ask for help when needed. Just remember, appreciate the freedoms college will bring, but don’t neglect to keep yourself in check too.

How Many Roommates Should You Have Next Year?

Whether you live with one roommate, five roommates or no roommate during your first year at school, you’ll be faced with a critical decision midway through: how many people should you live with next year, and who should they be? Of course, you’ll want to live with a friend, or even a few friends. But living with one person compared to a group of people creates a very different environment.

So what’s the magic number for you? Well, that depends. As you’d guess, a dorm suite or apartment full of people means there’ll be a lot more activity at all times. Friends will be coming and going, staying up late or eating who knows what at all hours of the day. If you’re someone who’s always on the go and hates the very concept of boredom, a suite full of friends is the way to go. If you have only one roommate, and that roommate happens to be studying, he probably won’t want to go the gym with you. But if you have five roommates, someone’s bound to be looking for a study break.

Living with a big group also gives you greater potential to meet new people. College itself is one big opportunity to meet new faces and friends, but it’s easier to strike up a conversation with someone when he or she is standing right in your living room. As is also often the case during college, people seem more open to meeting new people. Perhaps you stuck to your same group of friends in high school; you’ll see this is much less common in college.

Conversely, living with only one or two roommates has its own advantages. Since school work comes first (right?), what type of studier are you? If you prefer to study in your dorm room and you need that quiet, peaceful setting, a house full of roommates just won’t be ideal. Sure, maybe they will all be your friends, but it would be asking a lot of them to have to live around your schedule. With just one roommate, you guys can each go about your schedules without much interference. Plus, it’s that much easier to ask only one roommate to turn down his music rather than asking five.

With only one roommate, you’ll assuredly choose someone who you trust. Students can be apt to want to live with a bunch of other students, believing in the old saying, the more the merrier. But you might find yourself living with a few friends, and then some friends’ friends, other students you might hardly know. Living with people involves trust, or even just the reassurance that a fellow roommate won’t eat your stash of Oreos! With just one roommate, trust really shouldn’t be an issue—you’re definitely good friends if you’re living together.

Alas, as any reality show reveals, there’s bound to be some drama with a whole house or dorm suite full of people. And with a large group, people are bound to start taking sides. While it would be senseless not to live with friends because of issues that haven’t even happened, it’s smart to take a moment to think how you and your potential roommates will interact as a group. Are there any grudges or conflicts already present? You’ll see your roommates every day, so make sure they’re people you can not only live with, but people whose company you thoroughly enjoy.

Your Roommate: Neither Friends Nor Enemies

It’s a common situation: you’ve just moved into your dorm and you were looking forward to meeting your roommate. Hopefully you’ll have someone agreeable to live with for the next year, hopefully you’ll even become friends. But then after a few weeks … you’re done hoping. No, your roommate’s no so bad, but nothing clicks. He or she becomes someone with whom you share a room—and not much else. This arrangement isn’t necessarily bad or negatively reflecting your social skills. It just means that, hey, you’re two new college students who have just that, and only that, in common. Of course, there are a variety of other reasons you and the roommate don’t exactly match, but a peaceful and all-around enjoyable living situation can still be easily shared.

First off, if you’re not friends with your roommate and you don’t think your roommate is interested in being friends, don’t force it. There will be so many people you’ll meet and friends that you’ll make in college that whether or not your first-year roommate was a friend will be, frankly, trivial. No matter how nice or cool you are, some people just won’t be interested in being friends—one of college’s non-academic yet still important lessons. Still, she probably won’t think of you as an enemy right from the start (and if she does, she’s being awfully judgemental!).

You actually have it easy, in a sense. Once it’s established that your roommate is neither friend nor foe, all you have to do is … nothing. Well, almost nothing. Start developing your daily routine (or lack thereof)  and getting into the swing of college. Just keep an eye on your roommate and his reactions. If you guys don’t talk much, just be observant; it’s pretty easy to tell when you’re disturbing someone in a 150-square foot room. Or, just briefly discuss a few living guidelines and call it settled.

If you’re an early riser and your roommate sleeps in, keep it down. If your roommate often  studies in the dorm room, consider going to a friend’s to hangout. It doesn’t take upper-level neuroscience to figure out how each of you can live in peace. It does take some acceptance, though: perhaps you envisioned your roommate becoming your best friend, or, heck, at least your friend. As mentioned, it’s not a big deal and is very common for this not to be the case.

Be careful, though, not to let the we’re-not-friends mentality take too strong a hold. Just because you’re “not friends” doesn’t mean you can’t be friendly and, yes, even talk sometimes. If you and some other friends are playing cards or video games, it shouldn’t mean you can’t ask your non-friend roommate to see if he’s interested. Being friends and being friendly are too different things. The latter will keep the non-friend relationship at ease and allow you to both be civil, which is important when you still don’t know each other very well after months of living together—it sounds strange, but it could the case.

Finally, don’t let a decent relationship grow bitter. It’s already established that you’re not friends—that’s fine. Dorms have a tendency to brew gossip quickly, however, so keep any negative comments about your roommate to yourself. You don’t have to be friends, you don’t even have to like each other very much, but you do have to live together. Keep in mind that a lot of other students live on your floor too. So take a trip down the hall; there will be plenty of future friends just waiting to be met.