During my freshman year, a lot of classes surprised me in the way they were taught or how grades were determined or weighed. In my first semester, I felt caught off guard by CHEM 131 (general chemistry). I knew from high school that chemistry was not my strong suit, but general chemistry really made me nervous for all the STEM classes ahead. The most frustrating part of the class for me was that the tests were on an online platform that showed your grade dropping as you took it. For someone with test anxiety, this is just about the worst thing to have on a test. Nevertheless, incoming freshmen should not have to deal with this issue since classes will be in-person. For the second semester, I was extremely surprised by my enjoyment of organic chemistry. At the beginning of the semester, I was biting my nails in anticipation of failing the course, but I actually began to grasp the concepts and enjoy the class. Looking between my organic chemistry class and my organismal biology class this semester, I realized how big of a difference good, organized professors make. For biology, which is my major, I felt thrown off by the disorganization of the class and did not enjoy this class very much, which is odd because biology is usually my favorite subject.
Because of online classes, it was extremely difficult to connect with faculty since I could never have face to face interactions with them. The best way I connected was going to office hours and meeting one on one with professors when I needed help. This showed initiative, and that I wanted to improve. I often met with my English professor to review my organization and ideas for upcoming essays to make sure I was on the right track, and he was extremely helpful. It is also much easier in small classes to make connections with your professors. For incoming freshmen, I would recommend going to office hours and study sessions teachers may have to build connections with them. Honestly, making yourself known to the professor is one of the best ways to build a relationship with them.
Adjusting to college life was definitely a difficult task, again especially during a pandemic. Although I realize incoming freshmen will not have the same issues I did, I personally struggled a bit with getting acclimated and building relationships. I was able to make some good friends(which should give students hope that if I can do it in a pandemic, anyone can do it), but it was not as easy or as accessible. I could only meet people through other friends, and I originally found friends solely on my dorm floor. As well, the rigor of college makes it hard to keep up with all of these relationships during the week. As much as I want to meet my friends for lunch or dinner, school comes first and there is a lot of school to work around. For incoming freshmen, I recommend trying to find friends in your classes because I struggled by not having any friends I could work with for certain classes. It is really useful to connect with people of similar interests and goals so you can help each other succeed. Oh, and it is also very important to find friends that want you to succeed!
As for how I was least prepared, I was not prepared for the dining hall food. I thought people were exaggerating about it, but dining hall food is no joke. It might not always taste awful, but it has a tendency to make you feel awful. My advice to incoming freshmen is to have lots of healthy snacks in your room, or you will never get any healthy food. Your body will thank you for giving it something that is not sodium-packed chicken and rice :)