And how did you adjust?
- Hopefully you attended admitted students day so you are familar with the campus.
- If not, or even if you did, colleges have freshman orientation. This anywhere from a couple of days to a week where you get to know other students, the campus, and available services and activities on campus.
- You will get to know people in your dorm and will probably eat with them
- If you have any extra time, scope out where your classes are
- Introduce yourself to a few people in your classes so you have someone to ask questions on homework to and you/them can share notes if one of you is out of class
@bopper Sorry, I was trying to ask you guys directly.
Miserable. Same as high school but without my home. Haven’t really “adjusted” yet.
It’s going to be different for each person. If you are fairly independent now and do things on your own then the transition is probably not going to be as hard. If you are dependent upon others, like your parent then its going to be harder. My D was pretty independent, spent summers away at camp, was pretty involved in HS so her transition to college was pretty easy for her. Others on my D’s dorm floor had a harder time but from what we gathered it was the first time being away for some of them.
From what I’ve gathered on CC, many are disappointed with how much longer it takes them to make friends. I didn’t have friends in high school so this wasn’t an issue for me, so I’m not too much more miserable than I was at home.
There’s a degree of uneasiness because everything and unfamiliar. At the same time it’s very exciting. Just remember that everyone is in the same boat. Some will seem more confident than others. That may be real or they may be putting on their best face. Just be your genuine self and you will be fine. You’ll likely get comfortable with a few kids quickly. That will help settle you in. They may or may not be good friends later as you expand your horizons. Just make the effort to meet people without being judgmental .
Orientation events are great way for getting familiar with lots of things quickly (and bonding with plenty of kids). You’ll be fine.
I felt pretty excited about being in a brand new environment. First time being at a large university for me was sort of like the first time going to an amusement park. And I liked the independence and really had high hopes of making a better life for myself at college.
Actually didn’t get homesick much neither, though I love my family I think the excitement for independence and being able to do what I want since I’m an adult (no more parents to tell me I have to go to bed at a certain time,etc.) made it hard for me to feel homesick. And I surprisingly adjusted to living on campus fairly quickly too.
Also because I was a loner in high school, I think it was easier for me to have a satisfactory social life in college. I didn’t miss having a group of friends like in high school like some people do because I had no friends in high school really, and just making good friend was a major success for me. And being at a large college instead of being bunched up with the same group of people everyday in high school made me feel less of an outcast for not having a group of friends.
But by the start of second quarter of freshman year that excitement turned into stress from college classes…
In my above post, “just making good friend” should be “just making one good friend”
Took a couple weeks before I started enjoying myself, but was glad to finally be away from my parents full time.
Just kept putting myself out there. Always introducing myself, keeping the door open, saying hello to people who kept their doors open, going for lunch with people after class, etc.
My daughter struggled until about November. She wasn’t homesick and she loved her classes. She just didn’t find friends right away. She ended freshmen year with two good friends and friendly acquaintances. Now she is at the end of her sophomore year and has had a great year. She has a nice, solid group of friends. This year has been much better for her and me.
Took my first classes through a dual enrollment program whilst a senior in HS. People thought I was some kind of child prodigy.
Certainly a lot different than my high school classes! A lot more responsibility on the student’s end, a lot less on the teacher’s, was a great preparation experience for actual college.
I can still vividly remember crying in my dorm room after my parents dropped me off. But later that day, I met the girl who would become one of my best friends. I was pretty shy, but I was surprised how quickly I made friends. I lived in a private dorm all four years and had a blast.
Classes were harder than I expected. I made the mistake of signing up for engineering honors. What was I thinking?? Physics kicked my butt. Before college, I had made exactly ONE grade lower than an A - a B in 5th grade! I was lucky to pull out a C in that physics class. I ended up graduating with high honors, but the start of college was a shock.
I’m a parent now. But when I first went to college (U Penn) years ago, I was stuck by two things:
- How much more control I had over my time — there are pros and cons to this, and TBH, I think I didn't use my time all that wisely, especially in my first year. I did fine grade wise, but not great. And I procrastinated way too much, a habit that would continue all four years.
- Just how SMART everyone else was. I was used to being at/near the top of my class, and at Penn, pretty much everyone was used to being that. I don't know that I ever adjusted to this...other than accepting that I was a medium fish in a very big pond
I took a summer school program at Harvard called the Harvard Secondary School Program as a 16-year-old high school student and it was an amazing feeling. I was responsible for myself and was an individual when making decisions, gave me too much power though. I did make bad decisions along the way but you learn from your mistakes. The dorms were a nice way to get away from everyone but I did get more work done in libraries. So I suggest finding your place and that would make it easier. Classes are hard and the professors I had didn’t care much about my feelings so you just have to deal with your own problems in a mature way.
Everything was very disorganised. To better put it it was more of a “do it yourself” atmosphere. Coming freshly out of high school I was expecting to go to get my student I.D together with a class, being told where facilities are, etc. Now that I think of it it was mostly me that I was not prepared. Things were just everywhere and got discouraged.
Also another cool thing about college is that you get to “start over”…that is, nobody knows you and nobody had a pre-conceived notion of who you are from 4th grade.
I didn’t feel anything. My parents left and I did what i normally do, but then again even when i was in high school i just sat in my room and chilled by myself so nothing really changed