At the beginning of freshman year in college, I had no clue what to expect from the courses offered. I signed up for what contributed to my major. But in the extra, unused credits I had left in the first semester, I took ARTT110, which came as the biggest surprise to me so far. I had always been interested in art, but the way that this art class was adapted to college was much more useful than I was expecting for my long-term art journey. I actually learned valuable lessons in form and how artists view the world, which I couldn't get from anywhere else other than in a dedicated learning environment. I discovered this class because I was tangentially interested in art and needed to fulfill general education credits in my first semester, but I got so much more out of it than I was expecting (more than just the compositions I made). I recommend incoming students to take classes in things they aren't extremely knowledgeable in a classical sense, but are interested in.
Coming in from out of state and knowing no one, there was a big adjustment for me. Where I thought myself to be somewhat shy in high school, I had to force myself out of my comfort zone and be outgoing throughout the beginning of college when I was meeting new people, because otherwise I might have let hundreds of friendships slip right through my fingers right at the start of my four-year journey. Due to my new outgoing personality, I made tons of new friends in clubs and groups who are my support structure outside of academics. I recommend incoming freshmen to use the opportunity of meeting new people to make tons of friends. Challenge yourself to make as many friends as possible, but don't just sit on these peoples' phone numbers and call it a day. Make an effort to make plans outside of class, consistently, and eventually you'll find yourself in a position where you are surrounded by people who love and care about you when you need them most.
I was least prepared for club/class balance. Throughout high school, I was in lots of clubs, but for the most part my participation was limited to the time actually spent in the club. In contrast, my experience in college is that the clubs I'm in don't meet as often as I feel they should, and I find myself spending more time outside of the club on club-related activities than during its designated time. This led to some problems when schoolwork piled up alongside club activities piling up, and I had trouble deciding which to prioritize. The time that used to go straight to schoolwork was now also a viable time to work on filmmaking, for instance, so it was a struggle for me to maintain academics I'm proud of with filmmaking that I'm proud of. I recommend that incoming freshmen plan out their schedule comprehensively enough that they can distinguish time for schoolwork from time for fun/club activities. Had I set aside time in advance, I likely wouldn't have struggled with priorities nearly as much as I ended up doing.