My freshman year of college has been a truly new and unique experience for me. It feels like much longer than a year has gone by, yet it also felt so fast. As I reflect, I am struck by the many lessons and experiences I have had, both inside and outside the classroom. In this reflection essay, I will explore some of the key insights I gained during my first year of college.
No high school can match the academic breadth and scope of a state research university. During my freshman year, I had the opportunity to take many interesting courses. My greatest surprise was how much I enjoyed my genetics course this past semester, BSCI222. The course material was interesting, and I really liked how the professor taught it (St. Leger). Other than that, most of my courses have been moderately interesting to me. I discovered this class because like all of the classes I've taken so far, it was required for my major. For incoming freshmen, I advise that you put some time into researching your classes, so you can take classes that interest you with professors that will teach well.
Developing strong mentoring relations with faculty is an important university opportunity. In all honesty, I haven't developed relationships with any of my professors. The greatest obstacle to achieving this for me is time difficulties, especially because when you're in large classes, many other students also want to develop relationships with professors. However, I have developed relationships through my internship. It was much easier to form mentoring relationships while working with faculty. I'd recommend that if incoming students want to form such relationships early, the best way is through internships.
One of the hardest yet most important parts of adjusting to university life is making new friends and finding your social group. First semester I made some friends, but second semester is when I really found the friend group I want to stick with. These relationships have allowed me to be less stressed and to enjoy myself more, which in turn makes classwork and studying easier. The greatest obstacle in making new friends for me was approaching people. You really have to put yourself out there, especially if you're a naturally quiet person like me. My advice to next year's freshmen is to make sure you make good friends early, because it gets harder and harder the longer you wait.
High school academics do not always fully prepare you for the different aspects of university academic life. In retrospect, I wasn't prepared for the amount of time studying I'd need to put in to prepare for my exams. On the other hand, doing so is a lot easier because you'll be free to manage your own time. I'd advise prospective students and incoming freshmen to plan days ahead of time, and make sure to schedule studying times. In addition, group study sessions have been a lifesaver, so you should try to make a study group for each of your harder classes.
Overall, despite the ups and downs, my freshman year has generally been fun and enjoyable, and I've learned a lot - both academically and personally. For new freshmen - take it one day at a time, and remember that every other freshman is going through the same exact thing as you.