by Xypher Pino

Starting the first year of college and entering a new phase in life is certainly an exciting experience – there are so many things to learn, a whole bunch of places to explore and tons of people to befriend. As a freshman, this is the first time in life where you can be truly independent and freely discover who you are as a person. Though it is easy to approach college with an optimistic mindset, feeling overwhelmed and anxious about such a drastic change in life is almost always certain to come. As quickly as you can become excited about college, you can also quickly begin to doubt yourself and start questioning whether or not you have what it takes to succeed. You are not alone in this struggle – countless students have gone through these feelings of uncertainty, and most have gone out and have done great things in life. This article has some college survival tips which I found helpful during my own freshman year. Hopefully, you find these same tips valuable and useful.  

Based on my own experience, getting involved on campus and finding your niche is the best way to get comfortable with college. Now, I know this is a cliché statement to make as almost everyone has heard of this statement before, but there is a reason why everyone keeps saying this. Going into my first year, my number one concern was my grades. At first, I was not worried about joining clubs or meeting new people, I was only thinking about my courses and what to expect from them. Everything that I did to prepare myself for my first semester of college was based off around that fact – I never purposely went out to make friends and I was only worried about my performance in the classroom.  

Once I started to change this mindset and focus more towards becoming involved on campus, that is when I became really immersed in the college experience. I discovered new things about myself, I started to find like-minded people and I started to enjoy GC for what it is. I encourage you to do the same – go out and explore the many clubs that GC has to offer. Clubs such as The Collegian, the Kinesiology Club and the International Students Club are always looking for members. The important thing is to find your niche. Initially, this seems to be a really difficult task, but once you overcome this challenge, everything will fall into place. You will find yourself surrounded by friends who have the same interests and goals as you. College will not seem so daunting, and you will have formed a great support system that you can fall back onto whenever needed.  

Besides finding your place in college, just as important is your time management and organization techniques. As you get adjusted into college, you might be surprised with how much free time you will have on your hands. This is certainly both a positive and a negative: you will have ample amount of time to do your assignments and enjoy yourself but if you take this time for granted, you can see yourself drowning in assignments and deadlines quickly. To prevent this, make sure you are responsible with your time and remain organized.  

Having a schedule is a great way to start with this – research shows that having a schedule improves efficiency, makes decision-making easier and makes you more likely to carry on with tasks. With this in mind, not only should you put your class hours in your schedule, but also dedicate time for de-stressing activities such as reading a book or working out. Also, you should look through your class syllabi and mark down test dates and assignment due dates on your calendar. Doing this will certainly help you remain focused on your classes and further organize your semester. Other things that you can do to remain organized and become better with your time management are keeping up with your tasks through a to-do list or even practicing some mindful journaling. Whatever it is that you are planning on using to keep yourself on track, just make sure to use it intently and remain consistent with it.  

Hopefully after reading through this article, you feel much better about college and are confident in facing college head on. Change is never comfortable and it is always alright to struggle. Think positive, remain optimistic and just remember that you are not alone in this challenge. There are many people around you that are here to help you and even GC offers many resources to assist you. Good luck with your semester and I hope you enjoy your time here in GC!