<p>As a ‘recent’ alum, let me add a few points here. </p>
<p>1) Expectations. You’re taking some of the smartest people in the country and putting them in the same environment. Moreover, you’re in an environment that has substantially higher expectations that your average high school. That’s a good thing–it’s why you decided on Princeton (or Harvard, or Yale, or Stanford, or whatever). If you didn’t want to raise the bar a little, this is the wrong place for you. That means that you need to set expectations on yourself appropriately. If you’re put yourself in a room with 1300 people just like you, it’s a tall order to expect to be the best of them. Frankly, the odds of you being the best in the room are quite small–set your bar low and beat it. Namely, if you don’t think that you’re smarter than everyone else in the room when you walk in, you won’t be shocked when you don’t get all A’s. </p>
<p>2) Trajectory. Princeton (like any new environment) is an adjustment. It’s not 13th grade; it’s a new school, a new system, and new processes. It takes some getting used to–you have to figure out how it all works. That takes time. Almost everyone’s freshman year grades are their lowest (mine were almost .4 lower than my senior year grades). I went from what I think was 2nd or 3rd quintile (we didn’t have them when I was an underclassman) to 1st by the time I was a senior. Let that transition happen–as you learn the system and get into classes that you enjoy, your grades will improve. Will you be guaranteed all A’s? No. Will your GPA improve? Almost definitely.</p>
<p>3) Reflect. After your first semester (or year), reflect. What went well, what didn’t? What did you like? Not like? Where did you do the best and not the best? Make smart decisions, or at least understand what you’re setting yourself up for (“I.e., I know that I don’t always get my best grades in math classes, but I like them the most, want to do something post-grad that requires math but not straight As in math, and I’m willing to take the GPA hit.”). Freshman year is only 25% of your college experience–there are three years in front of you–reflect on how to enjoy the time as best as you can and make the most of what’s in front of you. Lots of people have rough Freshman years, it’s the folks who thought about what was going wrong and did something about it that came away happiest. </p>
<p>4) Help. The single most important part of this. One through Three is macro-level stuff for folks unsure of what to expect going in. This is for the OP and the many like him/her who are already there. THERE IS HELP AVAILABLE–ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS RAISE YOUR HAND. I’m going to try to scream it from the rooftops–THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO GET HELP IF YOU’RE NOT FEELING 100%. There should be no personal stigma against getting help. You’re not the only person with anxiety, but that doesn’t mean that you should suck it up and deal on your own. McCosh’s counseling and psychological services are there to help you. They don’t just exist for people about to jump off of buildings (though they’re there for that too), they exist mainly for folks not feeling their best, not able to do their best work, and people who are “struggling through it”. </p>
<p>Lots of resources are available, but you have to take the first step and raise your hand. If you want it to stay a secret, they have to respect your wishes by law. Your friends will never know, your faculty will never know, and in most cases, your parents will never know. There is no reason other than the stupidity of personal shame not to accept the help that’s on offer. Please, please, please. If you’re feeling anxious or angry at yourself or disappointed to the point where you’re not working productively or doing your best work, you’re thinking of throwing in the towel (in any way, whatever that might mean), or anything even remotely akin to that, go talk to a professional–that’s what they’re there for. It’s 30 minutes (or more) well spent. </p>
<p>Seriously.</p>