Ways to Survive Freshman College Year
Dorm Life
 We all know living with someone is never an easy task; living with
your parents, siblings and other family members is a very difficult task. It
takes a while to adjust to their personalities and actually know how to put up
with them. Most people grow up in a certain environment and it is easier on them
to start from a young age adjusting to certain ways of living and accepting
certain peoples attitude just because they know that they will always be around.
If you think it is difficult living with people you’ve known all your life, just
imagine how difficult it is to move in with a stranger or strangers. You get all
new personalities, backgrounds and attitudes. College life is supposed to be a
fun and exciting experience, but sometimes having horrible roommates not knowing
how to adjust to or deal with their “new” personality can turn out to be a
horrible experience. There are many ways that you can try to avoid being in this
situation.
First and foremost all of the roommates need to learn how to respect each
other, their property and their space. It is never a good thing when a person
doesn’t have respect for their own things let alone somebody else's property.
You should always set your rules and expectations early, when you’re upfront
about things you like and dislike there shouldn’t be any surprises. You should
be able to express your needs and wants together and be able to come to some
type of neutral living agreements. Learn how to communicate, know how to speak
up when you need to, and be quiet when it is time to listen and disagree when
you feel something isn’t right. Agreeing to everything your roommate wants isn’t
going to get you anywhere, it will just make the situation worse in the long
run. Do not let your roommate take advantage of you; don’t let them mistake your
kindness for weakness.
Being neat and organized in your dorm may be one of the biggest debates
you and your roommate will have. Coming from different environments will have a
huge impact on this because what you think is clean, neat and organized someone
else may not. You should set rules about what should always be clean as far as
your neutral space and how you should always clean up after yourself as soon as
the mess is made, it will make it so much simpler. As much as some people enjoy
their dorm and being in their own space you should definitely try to get out of
the dorm and actually enjoy the campus life, being cooped up in the dorm all the
time can get very boring and start to make you homesick. Getting out and doing
things could benefit you and your roommate. Everyone should be able to be
comfortable in their dorm like it is their own home, because it really is.
Setting rules and communicating with your roommate should make your experience
much better and smoother. If you feel like you aren’t ready to give up your
personal space and you like to be alone you can avoid these things by just
getting a dorm by yourself. You could also get an apartment not far away from
campus. 9 times out of 10 you may still live with someone, but you will probably
just have your own bedroom.
Messy Dorm Room
Being Successful In Your Classes
Transitioning from high school work to college work will be as difficult as you
make it. Some things require a little more effort but what it all comes down to
is self-discipline. You have to learn to be independent; no one in college will
really be able to tell you what to do and when you just have to do it on your
own. The professors won’t be mad or tell you to do your homework because they
see that you haven’t been turning anything in. The honest truth is that most of
them really don’t care. You will learn quickly that you’re on your own when it
comes to keeping up with your work. One of the biggest relief freshman students
think they have is that you don’t have to be in school for a set time period.
You may have so many different classes in one day for five days out of the week.
Some students take advantage of that and it becomes their biggest mistake. Yes
you have plenty of freedom but you need to learn how to ground yourself. You
should make it a priority to go to all of your classes and also be on time
because the beginning and the ending of classes is where you receive the most
important information.
 Your teachers are very valuable when you actually use them, not just for
in-class time. Some teachers may seem very intimidating but a lot of them
actually want to help you succeed if they see that you’re willing to put in some
effort. Professors love when students meet with them outside of class, that’s
why they set aside office hours. You should feel very comfortable talking with
your teachers and being able to ask them for help. Talking to your professors
and advisors can turn out to be very useful. Socializing with other students in
the class can also be beneficial to you because some things you may not
understand they could help with, and if you ever miss class for whatever reason
they could be there to help you figure out what you missed. Your campus has
plenty of resources to make college as easy and simple as possible. You have the
librarians, professors, counselors, advisors, and tutors that are all ready and
willing to assist you with as much as they can. You’re paying for them so why
not take advantage of these resources? Hard work always pays off; just learn to
work smarter not harder.
Time Management
One of the biggest challenges during college is learning how to manage your time
wisely. The first thing that you should do is plan your schedule right, make
sure you don’t overload yourself with classes. Take as many classes as you feel
comfortable with. You should get a planner, phone app or some type of organizer
that you will put all of your school information in. Including test dates, quiz
dates, homework, midterms, labs and other things that you may need to know.
Learning how to prioritize is a major thing also, you have to when certain
things are supposed to come first. Make goals at the beginning of each semester
and actually follow them throughout the semester. It will make things run
smoothly. You need to have set times for when you will study and do your
homework, because that is the most important at the time. Time for school is
very important, but also socializing time is a major factor. Focusing on college
is really great but you have to have some time to interact with others and
actually enjoy the college life. Just don’t spend most of your time partying.
Last but not least you need to spend time with yourself which includes sleeping
and meditating, or just getting in touch with yourself making sure you’re on the
right path as far as where you’re going and what you’re doing. The best things
to do for your time is establish a routine and have self-discipline.
Extras
There are many other factors that have a major impact on your college career,
such as if you’re doing extra activities on campus and getting involved, which
you should! When it comes to working and going to school you should try to work
the least as possible because you don’t want to over work yourself and become
stressed out. Yes some people need to make money to survive, just be sure to
make time for other things besides working. Playing sports is also a huge factor
when you’re in school, it requires a lot of your time practicing, eating,
sleeping a good amount and on top of all that school and being successful in
your classes. Your diet is very important in college, this is one of the biggest
things kids have a problem with in school. You should try to stick to your
normal diet that you had at home if that is what was working for you, don’t
overdue on eating just because it’s there. Plan your meals. Try to squeeze in
some exercising time if you have any, even if it is just walking around campus,
but you should really try to take advantage of the recreation center since it’s
there and again you’re paying for it.
 Most freshman students have partied before, and some have probably never
partied in their entire life. College partying all together is a very different
experience than just normal partying. Know you don’t have to have drugs and
alcohol to have a good time but most people who are throwing the parties don’t
think that way. They want to have the most of everything, drugs, alcohol, music
and anything else they can think of to have a good time. The hardest part of
about partying is just trying to be yourself, don’t try to fit in with the
crowd. Try to not give in to the peer pressure if you don’t want to do something
just don’t do it. It won’t make you look any less “cool”. If you do drink know
your limit so you won’t overdue it, and try not to make a habit out of it. Never
leave your drink just sitting anywhere and be cautious of what you drink because
someone could have put anything inside of it.
Final Thoughts
College is supposed to be one of the best experiences of your life, make sure
you enjoy it! At the same time be aware that everything you do as far as grades
count toward your future, so from the beginning do the best you can.
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