<p>First, take a DEEP breath. You are not alone....not on THAT campus or with the 3 million kids heading off to college this August/September.</p>
<p>No, you wont have the conveniences of home, but yes, you will survive, make great friends and all the fun factor stuff GREATLY outweighs the inconveniences. </p>
<p>Dorm drama happens so just brace for that. But it really helps if everyone just calms down and lets stuff roll off their back. Its an experience, that is for sure.</p>
<p>There are funny stories, like the burning popcorn and fire alarm story above....and all sorts of pranksters out there. At my D's dorm last year, there was a "ghost" and he kept clanking on the water heater and taking things, which would magically reappear. I assured her he didnt exist, even at 300am. It was some boys idea of having fun. Sure enough, they got the little rat, and that was solved when her bf rounded up a bunch of his buddies and confronted him one evening. He got the message and the "ghost" disappeared.</p>
<p>You are going to have so much fun and learn so much and grow up so much.....so relax and take a deep breath. Besides, its harder on the parents. Trust me.</p>
<p>I am just about to graduate and i have to say the anxiety starts all over again. The issues i am worried about are different, but there is still an element of fear of the unknown and a tendency to question your choices. Plus i am moving overseas. A whole new kettle of worms. </p>
<p>I am not sure that the anxiety of new things will ever go away. Adults just hide it from children as they do not want to worry the child. Just know you are not alone and it is a normal part of life :) Good luck!</p>
<p>Tiff I gues I would tell you that the things you are most worried about are things you would be going through regardless of where you had chosen to attend. Good Luck you will be fine. Keep your door open and you will meet people. Remember that you will all be in the same boat and this is the perfect time to escape the stereotypes people put on you as a hs student. </p>
<p>A little advice re. using the bathroom, I was initially embarrassed about uhh...you know but as Forrest Gump tells us ...it happens. I would often take care of that particular bathroom function in an out-of-dorm bathroom like in a library or classroom building. I did get over my worries eventually but it helped me to know that I could avoid using the toilets in the dorm.</p>
<p>His Grace I have spent a ton of time on the campus you will be calling home. You have made a fine choice and I know that you will make the most of it. It is beautiful, it is a great school and you will graduate with far less debt, if any, than the average person on these forums. You are one smart cookie and if you ever need a "mom" a little closer to you when you are at school please feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>i am a transfer student, and didnt live in a dorm at my last school. i lived at home...so i know how you feel to be suddenly out on your own. i am moving into my dorm in 8 days, and im counting down, not beucase im excited, but becuase im terrified. i have the same concerns you do, such as privacy issues and the definately the strangers. i do NOT make friends well either, and im going insane worrying about my roomate liking me and not asking for another roomate.</p>
<p>but, i have gotten through these anxieties by focusing on the good aspects, such as that i will have more freedom to do as i wish, i can pretty much be on my own schedule while im there, (save for classes) and dont have to conform to whatever everyone else in the family has planned. also, it will give me a chance to start over. this is the main point that has kept me going. i will have total and utter control over what EVERYONE there thinks about me from the intstant i walk into the door, and that control is comforting. im not sure what kind of schooling you came from, but in my public schooling, pretty much the same people knew you in kindergarten that knew you when you graduated high school, and that made it difficult to turn over a new leaf, beucase everyone that you were concerned with grew up with you, and didnt nessesairly welcome change.</p>
<p>i know ive said a lot, but basically it al boils down to sticking to your guns and toughing it out. and remember that NO ONE there knows you, so you can be yourself, not the odd girl with braces or whatever that doesnt fit in. remember, you are grown now, and can present yourself differently than your 4th grade self.</p>
<p>Everyone is freakishly anxious to start college. Everyone has worries and anxieties of one kind or another. It can be an overwhelming experience, but you will get through it. I remember it well, even though it was some time ago for me and then reinforced by watching my kid go through it.</p>
<p>For me, it helped to just focus on the things I could control, like setting up my room and buying stuff for my room. It takes a while to get acclimated to the whole college experience, but it will happen. Just accept the fact that you will feel anxious for a bit but know that it will lessen with time.</p>
<p>i'm an international student, and have been going to the same school since fourth grade (yeah, for 9 years) so basically i always had the same friends, went to the same campus every day, lived in the same city etc. when i came to united states for college, it, of course, felt overwhelming but it all turned out well. right now, i'm looking forward to coming back!
so don't worry, if i managed fine from another country and from not changing environments really often, you can manage it too. everyone's on the same boat, and that boat is not going to sink!</p>
<p>I'm going to mimic everyone else and say that I feel the same way as well. =[ Regarding people, I didn't even meet anyone at orientation. People were just walking up to each other and telling them their names, talking and such, and while I wasn't in the corner or anything, I didn't really introduce myself to anyone, nor did they to me. I tried, but most people had already found some folks to talk to (s'crazy how quickly they do that) or they were just as apprehensive. </p>
<p>Good luck with overcoming it, tiff. Hopefully we'll all be able to overcome this anxiety.</p>
<p>I'm honestly not just feeling anxiety, I'm actually scared to death. I never thought in a million years this would happen to me. I've always been incredibly independent and counting down the days until I can be on my own off at college.
Now I'm freaking out about the fact that I'm not really capable of doing a lot of basic tasks for myself (like laundry). I'm freaking out about my roommates looking weird. And most of all I am so scared that I just realized that I picked the wrong college. I will still be happy at this college, but its scary nonetheless.</p>
<p>wow betthy, your feeling echo mine exactly. The odd thing is I'm not as worried about making friends and doing well in classes as much as FINDING classes or learning the bus systems or remembering to buy personal stuff when it runs out, just a whole bunch of small responsibilities I'm not used to. I keep visualizing waking up some day during the week and not knowing where my welcome week group went or not realizing its a holiday and I should've gone home. I can just see myself getting confused that way... :(.</p>
<p>"remembering to buy personal stuff when it runs out"</p>
<p>one week exactly for my move-out (or move-in, depending on how you look at it). sure glad to keep hearing all these worried/scared crapless ppl!!!! makes me feel better, so keep them coming!!!</p>
<p>Although it's Sunday now and you have already moved in and have probably made dozens of friends, I thought I would offer up some words to you anyway.</p>
<p>I am a transfer student but am leaving for UCSD in a month. I'll be living in an off-campus apartment but will be sharing it with at least one other person at this point. I've had my own room my entire life so this is a very big transition for me, going from having everything to myself to having to share with someone else. This is not easy, but I think that learning to become adapted to new things is part of the acclimation to real life and the real world, which is what college is really for.</p>
<p>As for choosing to be where you're at, remember that you still have time to get everything in order. Try it, and if you don't like it, you can always opt to leave and try something that you think would be a better fit for you. </p>
<p>I am heading off to a red-eye flight in a few hours. I am definitely more freaked out than excited at this point. I sort of have been putting off thinking about actually GOING to college, since I have been working all summer.</p>
<p>When I visited for the pre-freshmen weekend, it was fun and harmless: my return flight was booked, I had no psets due. It just all fun and no worries, and even if things went badly,I'll be home in just a day or two. When I arrived there as I freshman, no more safety net of being able to come home. College will BE my home.
I am pretty used to change, a few at a time though. However, college is definitely not just a few changes, pretty much everything changes. There are no training wheels for an intermediate level.
I am worried about the workload, about whether I'll be able to find people to talk to when I am sad or stressed about school, about cooking food for myself, and taking good care of myself.
I guess I have to take my time adjusting. I should be fine.</p>
<p>Because reading this made me feel ten times better about my situation, I'll post my story too. :]</p>
<p>My senior year, I went to a college prep boarding school three hours from my hometown. The transition was ok. I ended up in a single room by myself at first, but eventually made some good friends and even gained a roommate! My senior year at my new school was the most fun ever and I loved it. I even got admitted into my first choice "dream school." Senior year could not have been better.</p>
<p>So one would think I would not be nervous at all about transitioning into college.</p>
<p>And unfortunately, that is wrong. I am TERRIFIED of it. Do not get me wrong, I am super excited to be going to my top choice school, and I know I will be able to learn what I want and meet many types of people. But I am pretty much going to school in a place where I know nobody, and am truly leaving behind all my friends in my home state (My college is in California and I am from Louisiana.)</p>
<p>It is kind of weird because all my life I have wanted to get out of this state, and now that it is finally close (I leave the 26th), I find myself scared.</p>
<p>However, something inside me tells me that I and everyone else in this thread will come out okay. We'll certainly struggle, but we will most definitely come out alright. And then we can look back on this thread and laugh about how nervous we were :]</p>
<p>I'm just worried about not making friends and not fitting in and being the loner kid who hangs out in his dorm all day. Lol it's strange that I feel like this, but I can't help it =/</p>
<p>Atleast you guys will get to/have attended the university orientation. I will probably miss most of mine due to visa and passport renewal delays, so it's gonna be that much harder for me to get to know people at the beginning.</p>