What is “Conquering COVID-19”? This is a small series designed to help incoming and current college students navigate university life in the era of COVID-19. This series consists of advice, freebies, tips, and tricks to use for the upcoming year from the GPSNeeded Blog, run by a rising sophomore student at Rice University, taking the same journey!
As I am taking the time to prepare for my sophomore year, I realized that I have learned quite a bit about myself and college life that I didn’t realize before. I decided to make this blog a little mix of a freshman year reflection and some advice for the incoming college student! Let’s get to it and DEBUNK some college myths!
You must go to parties/events or you will not make friends. Chances are, you will be introduced to party culture once you get into college. Obviously, events will look different due to COVID-19 but they will probably still happen in some form! Now, I am not saying that you must stay home and make sure you don’t go to any of them. Absolutely not! These events are fun! However, do not feel the need to go to every single event that is happening out of fear of missing out or that you will not make friends. There are so many opportunities to meet people! Whether it be through clubs, classes, or sports games, you will most certainly find people to connect with!
You must be best friends with your roommate. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED my roommate, however, this is not the case with everyone. If you feel like you and your roommate are not fit to be to the best of friends that is OKAY and do not feel bad about it. The most important thing is that you and your roommate respect each other’s spaces. I got along with my roommate but found some of my closest friends in other ways. Don’t feel tied to the friendship you have with your roommate and be communicative with them, so you are on the same page!
The freshman fifteen is unavoidable. I won’t lie, I gained some weight. When you don’t have to make your own food and there are so many dining halls options, it’s hard to not eat more than you did back home! However, I was constantly walking to classes and getting exercise in so many ways. You don’t have to be putting in hours and hours in the gym but weight gain is definitely not something that happens to everyone and if you do gain weight, it most likely won’t be 15 pounds of it! I would definitely find ways to integrate consistent sleeping and exercise habits to keep yourself healthy!
College professors are scary. Your professors are kind and invested in your success. You will mostly see your professors in large lecture classes and not have opportunities to make connections with them in class, but I encourage y’all to make full use of office hours to get friendly with them! Making those connections with professors will make them a lot more approachable when you do need help with something in the future with things like recommendation letters. Keep in mind, not every professor is the same and some are more intimidating than others, but I say make the effort nonetheless!
You must know what you want to do before you start. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. If you are undecided, do not fear. There is plenty of time in your freshman year to explore your interests and figure out just what it is that you want to with your years in college. I recommend taking the time to explore rather than diving right in with a major for the sake of having one. For more on this visit my “How Do I Decide What I Want To Do” blog!
Textbooks are EXPENSIVE. Have no fear! Textbooks can rack up and get pricey, but they don’t have to! You can always find cheaper options for the textbooks that your professor wants you to use and if you befriend some upperclassmen they are almost always more than willing to sell their textbooks to you for low prices if they took that class before. Pro-tip: DO NOT buy textbooks from your school bookstore unless you ABSOLUTELY must or have a discount. Prices at your student store are most likely to be way higher than alternative sources! My lovely friend Diana wrote a post about securing affordable textbooks! Such a great resource!
You should spend as much time as you can studying. College is difficult and your classes will require a lot of time commitment. However, do not feel the need to overwork yourself, you will drive yourself crazy! Take the time to enjoy your friends, go to a sporting event, and go to some campus events. Remember to give yourself breaks and make the most out of the experience you have in college.
College will be the best 4 years of your life. I am not trying to be pessimistic here! There will be so many times in freshman year where your expectations for college are not met. For me, it was the 2nd exam score I got as a freshman. I experienced complete shock at my performances and complete self-doubt. Things are not always going to be smooth sailing! Although the good most often outweighs the bad, there are circumstances where things will not be that easy. There will be periods of homesickness, sadness, and frustrations. My main piece of advice would be to remember that you are where you are for a reason! You are COMPLETELY capable, and you will push on!
Love Always,
Karen <3
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