30 Practical Tips for College Freshmen: Thriving and Moving Forward

College is a significant period of transition and change. College life comes with many firsts and is distinctly different from high school. In this blog, I share my experiences and insights to help you navigate this exciting yet challenging journey. For all freshmen, the first few weeks of school are crucial. During this time, you will make some important decisions that will have a lasting impact on your life. Whatever you do, be yourself and try to enjoy your college life. You may feel some pressure and homesickness, but don’t let these issues distract you.

Five Types of Growth in College

1. Mental Growth Mental growth refers to the development of the mind. It can be achieved through journaling, meditation, or any activity that releases and relaxes the mind.
2. Physical Development Physical development means taking care of your body. This can be achieved by going to the gym, running, or eating healthier.
3. Emotional Growth Emotional growth refers to the development of your feelings. Expressing and talking about your emotions can have a significant impact. Bottling things up can lead to distress and potential mental health issues. There’s always someone you can talk to.
4. Academic Growth Everyone's academic progress is different. I always strive to do better than the previous semester.
5. Social Growth Social skills improve significantly during college. We often want to make friends with interesting people. You've heard this countless times, but it's essential to choose your friends wisely. You can find stable relationships during college. Choose friends who encourage, motivate, and push you to do better, who help you when you want to stop or give up, and who tell you the truth rather than belittle you. I have stopped associating with a few people because they tried to mislead or divert me from my path.

30 Tips to Help You Get Through Freshman Year Successfully

1. Attend All Orientation Sessions Do you really need to visit the campus again? Yes. The sooner you get familiar with the campus, the more comfortable you'll feel, and the better prepared you'll be when problems arise.
2. Remember, This Is Not High School It’s important to remember that the people around you (I believe they are all very friendly) are not your childhood friends; they are new friends you don’t know much about. Protect yourself and get to know someone before trusting them. In high school, you knew most of the people around you or at least had an idea of what they were like. Again, I say this not to make anyone anxious but to speak the truth. Trust is a privilege; let the people around you earn your respect before you let your guard down.
3. Get Along With Your Roommate You might get along great with your roommate, or you may find that things aren’t as harmonious as you hoped. Either way, try your best to get along with them. You are both in a new environment, trying to adjust to the demands of college life, so try to show each other some tolerance. One good way to avoid conflicts is to discuss things like cleaning schedules, the best ways to work, and how to handle having friends over in your room early in the semester.
4. Manage Your Time Well In high school, teachers often guided you through all your assignments and deadlines. In college, professors will assign work (often for the entire semester) and expect you to be prepared.
5. Find the Best Place for You to Study In high school, you might have had a favorite spot to study and do homework. For me, it was my bedroom. I knew that if I sat at my desk, it was because I had work to do. That desk became synonymous with "do your work"! Once classes start, try out different study locations. Studying in your dorm can be tempting; it’s familiar and your official room. But dorms are often small, and most have roommates. It can be difficult to be productive. The most obvious place to look for study spots is the library. Most schools have multiple libraries, so try the music library or science library. If you don’t like the library, see if your school has any art or science museums. Museums often have quiet, lovely study spaces. Once you find your favorite spot, you’ll be more efficient.
6. Go to Class This seems obvious, right? Maybe, but sometimes it’s tempting to sleep in and skip that 8 AM class. Skipping class can be tempting, but attending is essential. You pay for the courses, so you should make the most of them and attend as many classes as possible. Moreover, if you miss too many, some professors will start deducting points from your grade. Professors also often drop hints in class about what will be on exams or important notes for projects.
7. Explore Your Interests Whether through your major or minor, spend some time during college getting to know your interests better. You can even take electives that intrigue you but are unrelated to your major. Consult your academic advisor about what courses you might want to take.
8. Meet Your Professors Having good relationships with professors can reduce the awkwardness when you need to seek help or extensions later on. Additionally, professors often possess a wealth of knowledge about the course material and other subjects, so you should take full advantage of their expertise!
9. Get Involved on Campus A significant issue many freshmen face is homesickness and a sense of not belonging. What’s the solution? Consider joining a select group (just don’t overdo it) – student organizations, clubs, sororities, fraternities, or sports teams. You will make new friends, learn new skills, and connect more closely with your school.
10. Take “Random” Courses Don’t fill your schedule with too many classes from your most interested department. It’s your freshman year; you’re not used to taking college courses. Save the classes you most want to take for next semester or the following year when you’ll benefit from them the most. In the meantime, you might discover you enjoy geology. Or you might find that you don’t like it at all. Nonetheless, knowing this is a good thing, right?
11. Seek Help If you find yourself struggling academically or personally, it’s best to seek help sooner rather than later. Asking for help can feel daunting, but your professors, advisors, mentors, and RAs want to see you succeed this semester. If you don’t speak up, they won’t know how to help you, so try to advocate for yourself.
12. Seek Balance College life is a mix of social and academic activities. Don’t let the balance tip too far in either direction. Your schedule in college is much more flexible than before. It’s important to establish an organizational system that works for you early on. Be sure to allocate some time for activities that help you unwind and alleviate the pressures of the day or week. Whether it’s yoga, watching your favorite TV show, jogging, or journaling, make sure you’re kind to yourself. Give your mind a break.
13. Strive for Good Grades This is another obvious principle, right? In college, you have to work hard to achieve good grades. This means setting some goals for yourself and making sure you do your best to achieve those goals.
14. Form Study Groups Not everyone excels at group study, but collaborating with others, exchanging information, and sharing memory techniques can be effective ways to learn information.
15. Utilize Campus Resources Most universities have health and counseling centers. If you’re feeling ill or experiencing loneliness or depression, take advantage of the many services these offices offer to students. You don’t have to face these issues alone.
16. Don’t Rush to Decide on a Career or Major Because of Pressure It’s okay if others seem to know what they’re doing; believe me, they don’t. College is the time when you truly discover yourself, what you enjoy doing, what you’re good at, and what kind of person you want to become. This is not a race; take your time and enjoy the fun of exploring various options.
17. Be Your Best Friend Take care of yourself like you would your best friend. If you’re feeling stressed, take yourself out for a coffee, remind yourself to get to bed early, put on some music, and dance. It’s easy to get sick in college. There’s so much to do that even the most serious students miss too much sleep or good nutrition. Be a caring friend to yourself and keep your mind and body in a good place. Since you are your best friend, you can start doing things on your own. Freshman year, I missed many activities and fun parties because I felt I needed to go with friends. Your friends will sometimes be busy; who can guarantee they’ll find a tango class exciting? But if you’re interested, go! I promise no one will care if you’re there alone.
18. Know Your Calendar If you feel bored and can’t find anything to do on campus, it means you’re not looking closely enough. There are plenty of activities around you. Take the initiative to find out where to learn about campus and community lectures, concerts, etc. Your school’s website is the best starting point. Write down all the things that sound interesting to you in your personal calendar, even if they are months away. Finding a note about a dance performance you forgot about can be a delightful surprise for yourself. Sometimes you might be too tired or have too much to do to carve out around an hour for something. That’s okay; there are plenty of other activities in your calendar waiting for you to discover.
19. Take Responsibility for Yourself and Your Actions Don’t blame others for your mistakes; acknowledge them and move forward. Being an adult means taking responsibility for everything that happens to you.
20. Make New Friends College brings together people from all over the world. Through classes, dorms, and social activities, you will meet people you might never have encountered before. Take this opportunity to make new friends; they are also a crucial resource.
21. Stay in Touch with Hometown Friends Even as you make new friends in college, ensure you take time to stay connected with friends from home. They may also be experiencing their own changes, and it’s important to support each other.
22. Find the Career Services Office Whether you are undeclared or have your future planned out, seek help from the excellent professionals at the university's career services office to start planning, preparing, and taking action.
23. Stop Procrastinating In high school, it may have been easy to wait until the last minute to complete an assignment and still get good grades, but this approach does not work in college; the content covered is substantial. It’s best to extend your study time well before exams. If you procrastinate and cram, you may still do well on the exam, but you won’t retain much. Worse yet, don’t cheat on papers or exams.
24. Sync Your Word Documents You don’t want to lose all your hard work due to computer failure. Cloud storage drives like Google Drive and Dropbox allow for easy and automatic syncing of your work, ensuring your files are saved immediately.
25. Take Care of Yourself Many issues faced by freshmen can be traced back to illness, which causes them to miss classes and leads to worsening conditions. Ensure you get enough sleep, take vitamins, and eat well. Taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health is crucial. Your daily life and responsibilities will change a lot, so it’s important to check in on yourself and understand how you’re doing.
26. Don’t Rush to Find Your Significant Other Having a college girlfriend or boyfriend sounds dreamy. We all love love, and relationships can seem especially appealing when we feel a bit lost. However, searching for a significant other during the early days of college is a bad idea for many reasons. Looking for a partner may cause you to overlook all the great people around you whom you would never want to date but who are wonderful in other ways. If you find someone special, delay the relationship. They’re not going anywhere. Enjoy college life as “I” before becoming “we.” Lastly, there’s a reason casual hookups are associated with freshmen; when you’re focused on finding love, it’s easy to confuse desire with genuine connection. Be honest with yourself and ensure your desire for a relationship doesn’t cloud your judgment. When you find the right person, it’s like finding a twenty-dollar bill in your pocket. It’s a delightful surprise that happens when you least expect it.
27. Keep Track of Your Finances If you’ve never made a budget, now is the time to do so. Find ways to save your money and avoid the temptations of all those credit card offers you’re about to receive. The average college student debt is staggering.
28. Use Student Discounts College towns have plenty of student discounts. Keep your student ID handy and be on the lookout for discounts available.
29. Learn to Say “No” You will adapt to a new environment and new studies, but all the new social opportunities in college are exciting and seem unmissable. However, if you overcommit in college, it’s easy to become overwhelmed or miss important things. Learning to say “no” is an important skill to cultivate during college, and it will also be valuable in your life after graduation.
30. Be Prepared to Feel Overwhelmed Right now, you have a lot on your plate. There may be things that make you feel a bit burdensome. Be fully prepared for feeling unprepared. The trick is to know you’re not the only one feeling this way.