I have two older siblings. Both of them went to university, and one actually went to UMD, so I thought I had a good idea of what college life would be like here. Honestly, before I came to the University of Maryland, I was pretty worried about course load, social life, dorm living, and just generally adjusting to college. Thankfully, my worries were quickly put to rest.
I currently live in Centreville. Dorm life is pretty much what I expected for the most part. For a while, I grew up living in the same room as my brother, and it’s very similar to that. The biggest adjustment was the communal bathrooms and the limited number of laundry machines. I heard many stories of dorm floors being friends and hanging out. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for ours. I don’t really mind, but it was something I was expecting. Thankfully, one of my closest friends ended up getting the room two doors down from us, so making friends was never an issue from the start. All in all, transitioning into living in a dorm wasn’t a big deal for me.
Classes were my biggest fear coming into college. You hear endless remarks from teachers about how hard college courses are and how slacking off won’t fly in college. Frankly, it isn’t as terrible as they make it out to be. Yes, the courses are harder, but they aren’t unbearable. There’s a lot less busy work compared to high school, which I appreciate. I knew finals and midterms were an important part of classes; however, I did not expect them to be such a large dictator of your grade. I also was not aware of discussions where only the teaching assistant is present, and you discuss lecture material. After almost a semester of college, I am incredibly thankful for the discussion period. They have saved me from complicated course material more times than I can count.
As for CPSG100 specifically, it was not at all what I expected. I imagined we would strictly be learning about humanity’s contribution and fight against climate change. I was very surprised that we opened with learning about the history of science as a whole. I was even more surprised when it turned out that the majority of the course would be spent on the topic of science, and climate was the minority. That’s not to say I was disappointed. I enjoyed learning about the inner workings of science, how science came to be what it is today, and calling out pseudoscience. Additionally, when we were talking about the climate, I appreciated how in-depth the lectures went. I was not worn out by all the intricacies that make up our climate. As I said before, I was expecting more lectures on climate change and its relation to humanity, but I now know we will go into more detail in future scholar courses. Most of all, I was not expecting any out-of-classroom activities. That being said, those activities are my fondest memories of CPSG100. I enjoyed CPSG100, and I’m very excited to continue my journey in the Science and Global Change program.
If I were to give advice to future SGC students to ease into college life, I would say time management is the most important skill you should hone. I know everyone and their mother tells you this, but it's for a good reason. In college, you are given an absurd amount of freedom and free time compared to back home. My parents were far from strict, and even this was true for me. There are so many things to try and explore. Whether it’s a club, a sport, or a new hobby, there is something out there you're going to want to try. This is an amazing feature of college, but it’s a double-edged sword. While there isn’t as much busy work in college, assignments still sneak up on you and can be very time-consuming. It’s important you manage your time properly so you can enjoy the fun opportunities college has to offer and succeed in your classes. My second piece of advice is, don’t let your grades define you. This is genuinely for advice for anyone in any schooling system. I struggled with this and still do today. If you bomb a test or do poorly in a class, it is not the end of the world. These four short years of college are such a small part of your life. Yes, your performance in college does have real-life consequences, but it’s never that straightforward. I know this doesn’t make much sense or hold any weight coming from a freshman; however, I know how easy it is to spiral out of control over poor grades.
So far, college has been great. I’ve been academically challenged like never before. I’m learning about topics I genuinely find interesting. I have tried things I have never tried before. I have a new network of amazing friends. At the end of the day, college is what you make it.