The college years are a time full of new experiences. Naturally, you will have to go through plenty of trial and failure before you can figure out a pattern that you will be able to rely on all the way to graduation. Every student’s path is very personal. Each experiences their own trials and tribulations. But there are some problems that are more or less universal to the vast majority of college students.
A minor slip-up is pretty normal; you shouldn’t feel discouraged if something doesn’t go the way it’s supposed to. But you should tackle these problems one by one. Attempting to take on them all at once can prove too much to handle for you. So, take this opportunity to learn the wisdom of all the freshmen that came before you. Hopefully, this will help you avoid most of the common problems you are likely to face throughout your first year.
Getting Behind on Your Deadlines
One of the very first difficulties you are going to run into is the sheer amount of workload dumped onto you. You may have been doing just fine in high school. But college is on a whole new level. Just when you think you have gotten used to this new pace, it will get faster. One unhandled slip-up and the assignments will pile on faster than you can say ‘missed deadline.’
Whatever you do – don’t leave assignments hanging. One of the easiest methods to take care of it is to have a reliable essay writing service as a backup. Whenever you feel like you are about to get overwhelmed, you can divert some of your workload to it until you get your stuff back on track. Don’t lean on it too hard though; it’s an emergency failsafe, not a primary writing tool.
Another shortcut you can take to avoid overworking is building your reputation. Your professors’ grading is rarely objective. It is heavily influenced by how they perceive you. If they think you are a smart and hardworking person – they will be more willing to close their eyes on some of your mishaps. And vice versa – if you initially came off as lazy, you are way more likely to get the bad kind of attention from them.
So if you want to work less to get more – spend your first year building a rep with your professors. Go the extra mile, put in two hundred percent. Once you’ve reeled them in, you can let yourself relax a bit. You’d be surprised how much you can get away with using this approach. And it works way better than trying to cut corners from the get-go.
Homesickness
A lot of students leave their home to get an education elsewhere. It is a great learning experience that will help you a lot down the line. But all the freedom and independence you get do have certain setbacks. You’ve spent many years being constantly supported by your family. Going out on your own can become more of a mental challenge than you might have thought.
The severity of homesickness varies greatly depending on the myriad of factors. And ways of dealing with it are highly individual. Despite that, there are several things you can try to take your mind off of home and focus on the present:
- Decorate your dorm room;
- Find new friends and socialize;
- Look for familiar hobbies and activities.
Your new place of residence is most likely a temporary solution. But chances are you are going to be staying there for a few years. Treating it as your new home will help you come to terms with the change of scenery way quicker. Take care of it, make it as comfortable as can be, bring some stuff from your old room. With some effort, it will feel like you never left your house.
Making new connections can be pretty difficult. The friends you’ve left behind have been with you for years. Starting from scratch can get tough. But unless you want to feel alienated, you should actively go out of your comfort zone and try to strike new friendships. There are plenty of places in college that can help you with that.
Another helpful thing is renewing your old hobbies once you settle in your new place. Spend some time researching the opportunities that are available to you in this new setting. Did you use to hit the gym every week? There should be plenty of nice options around the campus. Your D&D party used to get together on weekends? Poke around, chances are there are some enthusiasts among your classmates. Picking up some familiar activities will help you with your transition.
Falling Out With Your Roommate
One of the most central people in your new life is your roommate. Regardless of what your first impression of them might have been, you should always do your best to get along. You’ll be seeing each other every day for a very long time. So you might as well use this time to learn to accept each other’s imperfections and appreciate each other’s qualities.
You don’t have to be besties. Some people are just not meant for each other. But it is very important to establish at least some sort of respectful relationship. Lay some ground rules, communicate, be patient, be understanding of their concerns. As long as you don’t want to strangle each other (which happens more often than you might think), you should be good.
Final Words
Throughout your college years, you will experience a lot of change. And upsetting the status quo oftentimes causes a lot of stress even if we don’t want to admit it. Your first year will be especially difficult. Most problems you’ll face will be the first of their kind in your life. Don’t panic. Deal with them one at a time. You’ll get used to the hectic pace of college life pretty quickly. All you have to do is not to get overwhelmed from the get-go.
