Silvia's Freshman Time Capsule Reflection Essay

No high school can match a research university’s academic breadth and scope. Not counting your Scholars colloquium, which course or courses came as the greatest revelation or surprise to you? How did you discover them, and what strategies might incoming students pursue to experience similar surprises?

One very exciting and fulfilling surprise was when I signed up for ENGL134 for three different GenEd credits. I mainly did it because it got rid of so many requirements so fast, but the class itself seemed pretty interesting. It is called The Rites of Discovery: Science, Law, and Literature, and it explores the impacts that discovering the Americas had on science, law, and literature. It was really surprising because the topic was actually extremely fascinating, and I had a lot of fun telling all of my friends a bunch of fun history facts! The other surprising thing about it in another way was that it was extremely reading-heavy, like around 100-200 pages of old writing weekly. I am a person who does not appreciate reading a lot and reads very slowly, so at first, this was really daunting. But I started using text-to-speech and was able to listen to it in the background while doing other work. I was able to adapt and really learn from that experience. Overall, I was always really excited to go into class and learn about this world that is so separate from the world of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and I was really lucky that I could take it. I would recommend taking a class that seems in any way interesting. I will definitely be doing that when I schedule frees up because those are the classes that you will remember for the rest of your life. Not only finding cool classes, but also challenging yourself in a way you aren’t used to, it is really valuable to expand what your brain can do.

I will admit that this has been one of the things that I haven’t yet been able to really put a great conscious effort into. I am very sociable and love talking to professors and other students, but I have yet to really make a strong connection with any of my professors, mainly because of how busy and stressed I am. I need to try to go to their office hours more. It might be very helpful for my work, but my schedule never aligns, and I don’t have the mental capacity to go for any reason other than absolute desperation. I think if I were to say I have created a relationship with a professor, it would be my Comms professor because he is really approachable and always fun to talk to, so I come to class early and chat with him a bit. I think my approach, which I will hopefully be trying next year, is to go to the office hours anyway and either just chat or sit there. I have genuinely not gone to any STEM professor’s office hours, so I don’t know how busy it would be, but I think finding that time will be really useful, especially in the future.

I am very lucky to go to UMD with a lot of my high school friends and also with my brother. This transition has been just about the hardest thing in my entire life, and I don’t think I would be making it as much as I am without them. I can always ask for a hug if I need one and have a shoulder to cry on when the stress is too overwhelming. In the first semester, I used to study with my high school friends every night, and that was really great, but near the start of this semester, I started to bring some friends I made from orientation and from my floor, and we expanded the study sessions. Slowly, my high school friends found it easier to study alone, but I now have a 3-6 person study group that works together until the latest hours of the night (very often 4:00 am ToT), and it is amazing. We have recently decided our group name is “The Late Night Early Birds” because of how late we stay up. Without them, I don’t know if I would be able to get all my work done and keep on pushing myself. I would definitely recommend finding someone with the same or a similar major to you with whom you will be taking a lot of the same classes, so that you can study together and help each other when you get stuck. Make sure to have a balance of fun and work, though. We have gone too much in both directions, both leading to insanity, so make sure you have your fun, but don’t goof off too much. Snacks are necessary.

I was absolutely not prepared for the amount of work and how much it is in your hands to do. I have always struggled with procrastination, and college is the final boss. You have to make sure you organize what you have to do every week, try to keep a general weekly schedule that's structured but flexible, and never put anything off. I put off doing Calc 3 homework in the first semester, and I got so overwhelmed and behind that I gave up and failed the class. I am doing it this semester, and although I did end up putting them off, I was lucky and had a professor who gave a bunch of exams, so I was forced to do the homework somewhat consistently. I will continue to work on my self-discipline. I think that, overall, the main thing that all students need to work on is self-discipline. It’s not like having discipline will solve everything, but it makes everything so much easier. Make sure you have friends to keep you accountable and make as many schedules and planners as possible.

Last modified: 7 May 2026