As my first academic year at the University of Maryland comes to a close, I find myself looking back at the whirlwind of the past two semesters. If you are an incoming freshman reading this, you are probably feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety about what college will actually be like. In some ways, my life here went exactly according to plan, but in other ways, it was full of surprises that completely shifted my perspective. This essay is a "time capsule" of my first year, designed to give you a realistic preview of the academic leaps, the networking challenges, and the personal growth you can expect as you start your own journey in the Science and Global Change (SGC) Scholars program.
No high school can truly match the academic breadth and scope of a research university like UMD. Coming into my freshman year, I expected difficult coursework, but I did not fully grasp how hands-on the learning would be. Not counting our Scholars colloquium, the course that came as the greatest revelation to me was ENES 100. It is a required engineering class, but rather than just sitting in a lecture hall taking notes, the entire course is project-based.
We were tasked with designing, building, and testing an autonomous Over Terrain Vehicle robot to traverse an arena, and we only had three months to do it. Going in, my team of eight peers and I knew practically nothing about how to pull this off. It was intimidating, but by diving headfirst into the challenge, I learned an immense amount about Arduino and embedded systems. To experience similar surprises, my strategy for incoming students is simple: lean into the project-based classes. Do not just try to pass the exams; treat the projects as real-world engineering challenges. The hands-on application is where the actual learning happens.
The chance to develop mentoring relationships with faculty is a unique university opportunity, but I will be honest, it is not easy at first. The greatest obstacle I faced is the sheer size of the foundational classes. When you are sitting in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students, it is incredibly difficult to get close to a professor unless you make a deliberate, active effort to seek them out.
I am honestly still not the best at this myself, but I have learned that professors are not going to track you down. You have to be the one to initiate contact. The good news is that going forward, I know class sizes will get smaller, making it much easier to feel comfortable talking to professors. For incoming freshmen, I highly recommend going to office hours early in the semester, even if you only have a minor question. Just introducing yourself and showing genuine interest in their field makes a huge difference.
Adjusting to a massive university is not easy, but the relationships you build with fellow students are exactly what will help you cope with the transition. Welcome Week is a fantastic time to meet other students, especially if you are in the Scholars program. Service Day, in particular, is a great way to make friends before classes even begin because you are working alongside peers who share your drive.
The greatest obstacle in pursuing these relationships is often your own hesitation. My biggest piece of advice is to just be outgoing. Almost everyone is in the exact same situation as you, they are in a new place, away from home, and highly interested in meeting new people. Beyond Welcome Week, joining organizations that align with your major, like the UMD-LOOP Mars Rover team for me, is the best way to find peers to get advice from or just to study with late at night. Make the best use of these connections by treating your peers as a support system, not just classroom acquaintances.
In retrospect, the aspect of university academic life I was least prepared for was the immense pressure of exams. In high school, your grade is usually buffered by homework, participation, and minor quizzes. Here, exams are incredibly important; they routinely make up 50% to 70% of your final grade. If you are a bad test taker, this can be a brutal adjustment.
To prospective students and incoming freshmen, you must prepare to address this immediately. You simply cannot cram the night before and expect to succeed. You have to start studying much earlier than you think is necessary. Ask questions during class, actively seek help during office hours, and utilize your friends to form study groups. Most importantly, use your first semester to experiment and find a study method that actually works for you, whether that is flashcards, practice exams, or teaching the material to a friend, and then stick with it.
Your first year is going to be a learning curve. There will be late nights, stressful exams, and moments where you feel entirely overwhelmed. But there will also be massive triumphs, incredible projects, and friendships that make the whole campus feel like home. Take a deep breath, be proactive, and embrace the challenges ahead. You are exactly where you are supposed to be.