Do you need some help figuring out college life as a freshman? Well, as your go-to school counselor, I have the most thought-out, genius list of college tips for freshman.
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When I was going to college, I went in blindly for the most part. I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, I wish I had this list of college tips for freshman to look at. I would have seriously helped so much!!
Since I was a first-generation college student, neither my parents nor my older siblings could give me specific college tips because they simply did not know.
I figured it out on my own and let me tell you, I had the BEST college experience ever! Some of the best years of my life.
I want you to look back on your college years and think, “Those were the best years of my life.” After you see these college tips for freshman, you will be so excited about your college experience.
Ahhh! I am so happy for you.
This post is about college tips for a freshman.
GENIUS COLLEGE TIPS FOR A FRESHMAN:
1. Be Yourself
College is a completely different world. I mean, really! There are so many people to meet, organizations to join, and places to see.
For some people, it can be easy to morph into someone their not. It may sound cheesy but ever heard the saying “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” That quote is so spot on.
The people that vibe with you and match your energy will appear so no need to change into someone that you are not. You are more than enough.
2. Attend The Summer Orientation
My freshman orientation took place in the summer before the fall semester began, and I had a blast. It’s the perfect sneak peek of the experiences you can expect over the next four years.
The length of orientation may differ depending on the college. Orientation at my university lasted three days and two nights. You can take advantage of the opportunity to tour your college, attend various informational sessions, assemblies, learn the official college chants, and more!
Since you sleep in dorms during orientation, you also get a taste of what it’s like to live in one. Additionally, orientation offers you the chance to make lifelong friends.
It’s a great experience that you don’t want to skip or miss out on.
3. Find Your Roommate(s)
You might share a room with more than one person, depending on your college.
Check who you have been roomed with by logging onto your college’s online portal and looking them up on Facebook or Instagram. When you locate them, send them a message to introduce yourself.
Send something like this: “Hey Olivia, my name is Ellie. I wanted to introduce myself since I saw that you will be my roommate.”
Bam! And just like that, you broke the ice.
4. Look Up Your College Professors
Look up your college professor when you receive your schedule. This is a great way to get a general idea of what kind of professor you will be dealing with and to pretty much see what you are getting into.
Using Facebook groups or www.ratemyprofessors.com is a great way to learn about the professors at your college.
5. Communicate With Your Professors
Try to communicate with your professor, regardless of the size of the class—whether it is twenty students or a hundred. Make sure they are aware of who you are!
Now that you’re in college, you should make the most of networking opportunities, especially with your professors. A fantastic method to learn about potential careers is to speak with your professors.
You never know what opportunities they may have or who they may know.
Make yourself stand out.
6. Pack Accordingly
It’s extremely important to know what to pack for college. It is important not to overpack, but it is also important not to underpack. I have the perfect blog post about a super realistic checklist for living in a college dorm.
7. Avoid A Huge Gap In Your Schedule
For your first semester of college, your schedule is usually already set.
Therefore, keep this in mind when you’re making your spring semester schedule. I suggest you schedule your classes close together.
You’ll thank me later.
Yes, attending classes back-to-back can be a little exhausting, but let me tell you, it’s much worse if you have an 11 a.m. class and then the next one at 5 p.m. I’ve been in that predicament before, and it was awful.
You spend the entire day worrying about the one class you have to go to much later in the day. Create your class schedule as close as possible. Tbh just get the classes over with so you can enjoy the rest of your day with whatever else you have planned.
8. Time To Get Organized
Now that you’re a college student, you should really focus on maintaining organization. Not to scare you, but there will probably be times when you feel extremely overwhelmed. Just maintaining organization will help you feel less stressed and overwhelmed.
This college planner was made with college students in mind. This planner is essential for college students.
Another excellent app is the Microsoft to-do.
Choose the planner that best suits your needs—a physical one or an app—to help you stay organized.
9. Visit Your Academic Advisor
A college academic advisor is the equivalent of a school counselor in high school. Please contact and visit your academic advisor with any questions you may have about your major’s curriculum, your classes, your progress toward graduation, etc. Your academic advisor is available to assist you, so ask for guidance if you need it.
If you are having trouble with anything, they can help steer you in the right direction.
In college, it’s great to network and get to know the people around you. Not just your peers but faculty and staff as well.
10. Get Involved
Don’t get stuck in your dorm! Get involved on campus!
There’s so much going on on campus. I wholeheartedly recommend attending school events to learn more about different organizations and determine which one best fits your interests. Gain experience for your future career by getting involved on campus!
I guarantee that if you do this, you’ll have an even more enjoyable time in college!
11. Be On Time For Class
Okay, so it may hurt to hear, but you will more than likely have the dreaded 8 a.m. classes as a freshman in college.
I don’t care how many alarms you have to set (just be mindful of your roommate) as long as you arrive at class on time. Depending on your professor, they might lock you out of the classroom, which would mean you would have missed a full day of class.
I’ve experienced this before, and it’s horrible and embarrassing, so trust me when I say you should get there on time.
12. Don’t Skip
Even though skipping class might seem appealing because your parents aren’t there, you really don’t want to. Though every college has its policies, you risk being dropped from the course if you miss too many classes.
So think twice before deciding not to go to class.
13. Take Your Syllabus Seriously
In high school, you more than likely didn’t pay too much attention to the syllabus besides on the first day of school.
First day of classes, I want you to download the entire course syllabus for each class to your laptop so you can easily access it. If you don’t have a laptop, print the entire syllabus at the library.
Jot down and organize all of your semester’s assignment due dates. In college, a syllabus is everything.
Avoid any surprises!
14. Strive For A High GPA
Having a strong GPA in college can lead to academic scholarships. I was so happy to receive an academic scholarship after finishing my first year of undergrad with a 4.0 GPA! I really needed that extra money for my tuition, so keep this tip in mind.
15. Have Some Me Time
You will need to set aside some time to unwind after attending early morning classes, having a full day, attending school events, eating with friends, etc.
Finding a moment to nap in between classes can change the game. You are not “lame” or “boring” if you enjoy taking naps or alone time. Look over your schedule and determine the best time to run to your dorm and unwind—everyone does it.
It really is worth it.
16. Get To Know The Students In Your Classes
This is a great opportunity to make some lifelong friends. Having a good friend or friends will make your college freshman experience that much greater.
I’ve found that, more often than not, freshmen who complain about their lack of enjoyment in college point out their failure to make friends as one of the reasons.
You got this! Just put yourself out there.
Adding some classmate phone numbers to your contact list is a great way to have a homework partner.
17. Do Not Plagiarize Your Papers
Maybe some of you are thinking, WELL DUH! But I’ll tell you, it happens more often than you might imagine. Avoid doing that as it will result in an automatic failing grade since you will get caught for plagiarism.
Your college will have people on campus to assist students with papers. Again, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
18. Don’t Wait To Register For Classes
As soon as registration opens to select classes, I want you to sign up for classes on the same day. You are decreasing the chances of you not being able to get into a class due to the class being filled already.
You can join the waitlist for a class but that is not guaranteed so don’t wait.
19. Check Your Student Emails Daily
When attending college, you should make it a habit to check your email every day. For example, you could receive an email from your professor informing you of a canceled class.
Please monitor your student email as it will provide you with super important information. Missing out on a very important email could be detrimental to you.
20. Take Class Notes
It is up to you whether you decide to take notes on paper or on your laptop but nonetheless, take notes during your professor’s lectures. The scores you receive on tests or assignments will thank you for it.
21. Setup A Google Drive
Google Drive is amazing!!! I swear by Google Drive! You can access your assignment on any computer, including a phone, if you store it on Google Drive.
22. Pick The Perfect Laundry Day
Visit your dorm laundry rooms at different times of the day throughout the week. Select the day and time for your laundry day by finding the time when the least amount of people are usually using all of the machines.
The process goes so much more smoothly when the laundry room isn’t crowded.
23. Apply For Work Study
I would strongly recommend that you look into work study if you are interested in working while you are a student. For a college student, the ability to work at school is so convenient.
To ensure that you can still attend class, you can divide up your work hours throughout the day. For instance, you can work for two hours, leave for class, and then return to work to complete your shift. Ask your college for information about work-study opportunities.
24. Ask For Help
If it’s not necessary, get up from your confused seat. Seek assistance! Speak with your professors, financial aid office, academic advisor, counselor, and your classmates.
Since your first year of college is so unfamiliar, it’s normal to have questions. Continue to ask around until you receive an answer to your question.
25. Shower With Shower Shoes
I’m going to make this short and sweet. Avoid taking a shower with your bare feet. You’ll be protected by wearing shower shoes.
I found the perfect shower shoes for you to wear for your dorm shower!
26. Get Student Parking Information
Typically colleges do not allow freshman to bring their vehicles during their freshman year. I would encourage you to obtain parking information from your university if you are permitted to bring it.
If you are permitted, purchase a parking decal. You and your car are safer off by parking inside the university.
27. Attend School Events
School events are so much fun! You have to go! Honestly, try out everything. You never know how much you might love attending a dance competition, karaoke night, or game night. The list is truly endless!
I had the best time attending all the on-campus events. So many good memories!
28. Attend Sporting Events
Attending sporting events is such a great time! It’s fun to get to yell out all of your university’s chants. I would have the best time ever with my best friend from college, we honestly would make signs and everything!
29. Use Your Talents To Make Money
There are a ton of talented people on campus who use their talents as a way to make money. For example, makeup artists, barbers, hairstylists, and nail technicians are all popular ways to make money as a college student.
They are operating out of their dorm to provide these services. So if you have a talent try to capitalize on it if you see fit.
30. Manage Your Money Wisely
If my family gave me money, I would really find a way to stretch that amount quite far. You will benefit greatly from eating at the cafe instead of spending money on takeout every day.
Create a budget for yourself and be wise about how you spend that money.
31. Ask For Student Discounts
In your college town, the majority of places will give you a student discount. Never be scared of asking about whether a student discount is available.
Saves you so much money.
32. Clean Your Room Once A Week
Naturally, you will clean your room as you go through it each day, but on Sundays you can dedicate yourself to thorough cleaning, wiping, and sanitizing.
Determine the ideal day and time to complete this by speaking with your roommate.
33. Eat In The Cafe
Use those swipes! Swipe your card to get in the cafe or whatever your college does. This allows you to save a ton of money, and using the campus cafeteria to simply grab food is very convenient.
My school hosted events in the cafe as well so it made eating in there that much more fun!
34. Watch What You Eat
Ever heard of freshmen 15??? Enough said. Also, health is wealth.
Eat your fruits and veggies every chance you get so you can have a balanced meal.
35. Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
Last but certainly not least. Be safe! Never let your guard down and always be aware of your surroundings. This includes strangers and people you may consider as friends.
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