The courses that were the biggest surprise to me my freshman year were ENES140 ("Discovering New Ventures") and ENES210 ("Entrepreneurial Opportunity Analysis and Decision-Making in 21st Century Technology Ventures"). These courses build on each other and discuss entrepreneurship and how to make a new business. I took these courses to satisfy Gen Ed requirements, but I found them to be very interesting, especially ENES210. The whole course relied around planning a startup with a group. My group chose to do an app that is similar to Yelp but for mental health, where users can review mental health apps, therapists, and other resources. Each week we applied what we learned in class to our startup, whether that be deciding how we would advertise or planning our minimum viable product. My advice to future freshmen trying to find surprising courses is to go outside of your comfort zone. Also, if a course seems interesting, check out past syllabi to see more specifics about what you will learn. College is an opportunity to expand your knowledge, not just in your major, so make the most of it.
I have made the best relationships with faculty in my smaller classes. I built these relationships through talking during class or attending office hours. However, since most of my classes as a computer science major are large lectures, I have found it difficult to connect with faculty. Some professors don’t hold office hours, and when they do, they are crowded. Students are encouraged to go to TA office hours instead. While this is a struggle, I have been able to develop relationships with my TAs. To future freshmen, I suggest going to office hours, even if you don’t have a question, as building up relationships with faculty is very important.
The relationships I have built with fellow students has by far been the most important to my freshman experience. College can be scary, having friends to guide you or who are in the same boat as you is invaluable. I made most of my friends through clubs. These people have similar interests to me, so it was easy to get along with them. This allowed me to get to know some upperclassmen who were able to answer any questions I had about college, whether that be where my classes are or what classes and professors to take. My biggest challenge in making friends was that I am not a very talkative person, so I struggled making friends in class. For future freshmen, the best way to make use of connections with your peers is to just be social. Ask them questions, eat dinner together, set up a blanket at McKeldin, or just spend time with them. This can be a much-needed break from the stress that university life can bring.
The aspect of academic life that I was least prepared for was that for many classes, attendance is not taken or mandatory. I ended up skipping certain classes somewhat regularly. However, there really is no benefit to this. I ended up having to teach myself entire units in preparation for an exam, and this added a lot of unnecessary stress to my life. My advice to future freshmen is simply don’t skip class if you can avoid it. Hold yourself accountable. Do your best to attend every class because once you start skipping, it is hard to stop. Going to a one hour class is much better than playing catch up.
Freshman year is an entirely different from anything I've ever experienced. My overall piece of advice: make the most of it. Join clubs, meet new people, and step outside your comfort zone. College is what you make of it, so enjoy it.