With the end of my first semester as a UMD undergraduate student I have come to realize just how much I have learned this semester. As a freshman walking onto campus for the first time this September I was excited for all the new people and prospects I would come to meet and explore as I started the next chapter of my life, time in college. Especially as we were coming back to a fully in-person environment following the pandemic I was extremely excited for the start of the new year and for my time in college.
Adjusting to college took me much longer than I expected as I had to get myself back into a routine that matched my responsibilities as a student, given that it had been months since I had done any “real” work. This semester I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot from them and was able to really think about and change myself for the better. The most challenging part of adjusting to college was simply managing my time as I was given full freedom to spend my time how I wanted, which I often found that I wasted. Adjusting back to my classes was quite challenging as well due to the rigorous classes I was taking and the timing of my classes with my schedule this year. As a student I tend to respond better to learning environments which are smaller and more specialized which I didn't experience in any of my major classes, which were normally classes with hundreds of students and in large lecture halls. Grades have been very stressful for me this semester but I have learned to work efficiently and section off my studying time well, which I feel good about as this semester ends and the next is on the horizon. I was not used to the heavy impact that exams had on my overall class grades but I have learned from my mistakes and have been able to improve my test-taking skills closer to the tail-end of the semester.
Apart from academics I did my best to get involved with the campus community joining the UMD cybersecurity club, club flag football, club tennis, and getting involved in intramural sports. Joining and being active in clubs helped me deal with the stress of adjusting to college life and dealing with class, while doubling as a way for me to meet many of my close friends and make numerous connections. Another group which was great for my adjustment was my scholars peer mentor group. I initially saw the peer mentor group as another time commitment but grew close with my groupmates and have made some of my closest friends from the group.
Scholars Colloquium was an enlightening experience for me this year as I was exposed to many topics and knowledge that I would never have learned if I were not in this class. Based upon the name of the class I expected the class to exclusively be about climate change, a topic I was already interested in, but I am glad I was exposed to knowledge about the way people think and facets of science. Discussions about logical fallacies and pseudoscience were extremely interesting to me and are quite relevant given the current socio-political climate of the US. Non-classroom activities such as service day and the scavenger hunt were very fun and allowed me to get to know my classmates better. I found the scavenger hunt to be a very fun experience as I had a great group and we were able to explore DC and the various museums. The scavenger hunt trip made me appreciate the proximity that College Park holds to DC.
The biggest change from high school for me was definitely living away from home. After moving out of home I realized how dependent I was on my family while living at home. I currently live in Centreville Hall and have enjoyed my experience so far, apart from the occasional hiccup. Having such a big adjustment, especially after quarantine, took a bit to get used to but I was able to ease into it given that my roommate was a close friend of mine and we had established rules for our room. I observed that many of the issues that others had with their living situation stemmed from their relationship with their roommate, which makes me glad that my rooming situation worked out so well. My time living away from home did not completely match my expectations but I was able to become more independent.
My advice to future students is to come into college with a plan and understand the expectations they will need to meet. As an incoming student I didn't research much regarding my classes and treated my classes very lightly, which I have come to regret. Having a general plan/set of goals to meet helps focus your time which only simplifies the adjustment to college. All in all, college is very different from any other experience but I am glad that I am at UMD and am extremely excited for the rest of my time here!