Starting college can be a daunting and intimidating experience for a lot of people. For many of us, it’s the first time we’ve flown the nest and lived away from home for any length of time. There is a lot to think about when it comes to college life, and you need to make sure it doesn’t get too much for you. The best way of doing that is to make sure you learn a few things in your first few weeks at college.
This will be the transitional phase as you try to acclimate to the college lifestyle, and you are going to learn a lot about yourself in the process. So that you don’t become overwhelmed and find things too difficult we’re going to share some tips with you that will help you get used to the college lifestyle. These are some of the things we’re confident you’re going to learn about yourself in your first few weeks at college.
Study your class schedule
Right, let’s get the boring one out of the way as soon as possible. Studying your class schedule is hugely important because it will help you to understand and familiarize yourself with the study schedule for the year. You’ll want to know what days of the week you have class, what time, and which buildings/rooms you’ll need to find. This information should all be included in your syllabus, so make sure you study it carefully. It will likely also have a reading list too, and this is something you need to refer to when stocking up on textbooks.
Making friends is easy
A lot of people worry that they won’t fit in, or that they’ll have trouble making friends when they start college, but you needn’t worry about this. It’s actually much easier to make friends than you might think. People are all in the same boat as you, and they will be looking to make friends as well. You can also look at joining teams, clubs, and societies in order to help you make friends, and make sure you strap your social hat on. The first few weeks you’re going to be meeting a fair few people, and some of them will go on to become lifelong friends – it’s going to be an exciting time for you!
College is hard
There’s no sense in going to college if you’re expecting to be in for an easy ride. The bottom line is that college is hard, and that’s the way it should be. You’re going to have to do a lot of work and a lot of studying to achieve the degree you want. You’ll need to work harder than you did in high school – there are no free rides here. This is not meant to scare you, but it’s important to prepare for the fact that college is going to be challenging, so you can prepare yourself mentally for it.
There are tons of resources
Colleges and universities have always excelled as higher institutes for learning, and one of the reasons behind this is the fact that they have so many resources you can use. And not just the library and IT departments – modern universities and colleges have cutting-edge resources, providing everything you could possibly need or want to study at college. Spend the first week or so familiarizing yourself with these resources, and finding out exactly where they are and how to use them.
As you can see, starting college is akin to taking your first steps into a brave new world. It might all seem daunting to begin with, but there is plenty to think about and a lot to help you through. Don’t forget that most people are going to be in the same boat, you’re not alone, so don’t worry or panic about that. There is a lot to learn in your first few weeks of college, and it’s essential that you learn them as soon as you can.
