So I am currently a freshman at a state school in Virginia (not from Virginia originally haha) and I am kinda worried I made the wrong choice for school. When I first visited the school I feel in love and did lots of research and felt like going into the first week that I had absolutely made the right choice for the next four years. Recently however I have started to feel that I didn’t make the right choice. I know it’s very very early in the school year, but I just wanted advice on best how to handle this situation? I feel lonely quite often and despite the fact I am involved in a variety of activities I feel like there isn’t a group of people I feel comfortable with yet. How do I know I made the right choice and what else can I do to find out if I made the right decision? Thanks.
It is very likely that you did make the right choice. Many, many, incoming freshman feel like you do … I did, too, during my first semester in college. Give it time, be patient … It can take longer than you might think to “feel at home.” I am hopeful that by winter break you will see that you were right all along!
It’s early yet. Obviously, pay attention to what’s going on – some schools just aren’t a fit. But if, for instance, you’re more introvert than extrovert, it may also just be a matter of time until you either find your niche, or get to know a few people well enough to feel it.
All over the country, about 1/3 of the freshman are now wondering if they made the right decision after all. It turns out that their ‘dream school’ or ‘the place they chose after lots of research’ has the usual bumps and warts. It’s a school, not Nirvana. By Christmas, the next 1/3 will be wondering the same thing. By spring break, all but a small percent will have found their place and be looking forward to the next 3 years. (And then, there’s the lucky third that just thrive where planted and a glad to be in college period.)
I made up those numbers obviously - but the point is that what you are experiencing is absolutely normal and as long as you are investing yourself in your new school, you’ll find your crowd, your major, and your fit eventually. The ones who don’t are often those who decide that they aren’t going to like where they are and spend the next 6 months convincing themselves that the grass is greener elsewhere. Sometimes they are right but often it’s a self-fulfilling prophesy.