This year has been quite a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs. I’ve experienced both the social and academic aspects of college in both extremes. My first semester I took twelve credits, so I was able to enjoy a fulfilling social life and made many close friends. I’m a mechanical engineering major, which is notorious for its hard classes. However, I decided to take it easy my first semester to get acclimated to college life, which I suggest you do as well. Don’t feel pressure to join every club or load up on a ton of classes because odds are it won't be manageable or at the very least extremely stressful. The most important thing to do in your first semester is to get your bearings and learn your way around campus while making as many meaningful personal connections as you can. One thing I regret from my first year is not making deep connections with faculty or professors. They can be your greatest resource when it comes to resume-worthy extracurriculars, research opportunities, and letters of recommendation. In my experience though, it wasn’t absolutely necessary to make connections with faculty in order to do well in classes. My peers were my greatest resource, especially in classes where the professor wasn’t the most helpful. Collaborating, asking my friends questions about class content, and teaching them concepts I was familiar with was the only way I was able to clarify it for myself and keep a near perfect GPA at the end of the year. Another thing I want to stress is not to expect college classes to be like high school classes in any way. Some might be, but it's important to note that the curriculum and syllabus for any given class will change semester by semester. The math class your friend took in the first semester might look completely different for you in the second semester, even with the same professor. Different rules apply, the professor might have been more lenient in the first semester, etc. The best way to make sure your schedule works for you semester by semester is to look at planet terp and rate my professor, and don’t take registering for classes lightly or do it as an afterthought just because you're busy at the moment. Really take time to sit down, think about what times classes would work for you, and for the love of god research your professors on planet terp or rate my professor before choosing a class. There’s a reason one professor has 40 open spots in their class and the other has 5. It's an objective statement if you care about academic performance, that the quality of your professors matters infinitely more than the time your classes are at. If you’re not a morning person but the class with the most highly rated professor is at 8am, register for 8am immediately. If you go the whole semester trying to decode confusing lectures from lazy professors, your life will be a living hell. Most importantly, time management is the key skill your freshman year. If you have it, it’s served you well before college, but now it will be really put to the test. If you want to hit the gym on friday, but also have friends who want you to go out with them as well as an essay and project due the same night, maybe consider sacrificing what means less to you.
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