Although it still feels like I started college a few months ago, my first year as a college student is finally ending. Learning the ways of college as it pertains to my studies, social life, connection, and overall understanding hope to use the resources on campus for me a while to master. Although I am not an expert, the little knowledge I have concerning life as a college student has been of great help.
When it came to studies, a course that came as my greatest revelation was general chemistry and organic chemistry. Taking general chemistry during the first semester was tough. Because I didn’t quite understand the use of campus resources, I didn’t utilize them and thus struggled to keep up with my studies and grades in my general chemistry class. By the time I realized how important and helpful campus resources such as GSS and teacher office hours can be towards one's studies, the first semester ended. As a result, during the second semester, I decided to utilize all the available resources for my Organic Chemistry class, and surprisingly the course materials became easier to understand and my performance on exams became a lot better. So for incoming students, I will suggest the use of campus resources the help and make studies a lot easier. Additionally, as students we pay for these resources so I will strongly suggest utilizing them especially when they bring nothing but a positive impact on your performance as a student.
As it pertains to developing relationships with faculty, the easiest and most accessible way to do so is to attend office hours and get to interact with your professors or faculty members. It is almost impossible to develop a good relationship with your professors just from the lectures. Going to office hours will make it a lot easier to build a connection with professors. As a freshman, even before starting college, I was told to always attend office hours as this will not only build a relationship but will also come in handy when a student needs resources such as a letter of recommendation or research and Lab opportunities. Office hours is the technique I used to build relationships with faculty members. Another technique one could utilize is taking part in club activities. This will broaden your social circle as well as chances to build relationships with faculty members.
Adjusting to college life can be either difficult or swift. Generally, it somewhat depends on the individual and how they usually interact in a new environment. Accessing back to what I stated earlier about campus resources, one significant aspect of using campus resources is that it allows students to interact as well as be in contact with peers in the same class, major, or daily struggles as you which overall is a great way to build relationships, especially for a freshman. Additionally, participating in clubs is a great way to build relationships outside of studies. Finally attending parties is not only fun and stress relieving but it allows students to live their lives while building relationships. Overall, an obstacle that might hinder one's ability to make friends or build relationships is avoiding going out or experimenting with a new environment. The only way to make good use of the university is to try and get out of your comfort zone so you can experience what it has to offer.
Finally, being able to manage individual times as it pertains to studies and personal care is important. Personally speaking, this was an aspect of which I was least prepared for. As incoming freshmen, we are all told responsibilities as a student will increase but we usually do not look past the surface of how this might affect us physically and mentally when in college. Having a balanced schedule is significantly important in college. It reduces stress levels and health risks for students. Overall, I suggest that incoming freshmen not only create time for studies but also time to look after themselves. Create time to dine, time for hobbies, gym, outings, movies, in general, anything that would help accomplish personal care.