Adjusting to College Life: The first few days

The alarm went off at 6:30 am one last time. This marked the beginning of one of the biggest days of my life, the day I would leave home and go to college. It is every high school senior's dream to suddenly wake up one morning and go to college. I was no exception. My entire senior year of high school was filled with thoughts and emotions about moving on. I thought it would never happen. So when the big day finally arrived, it felt more like a dream than reality. Still in dream mode, I took what would be my last shower in a private bathroom for months. After this, I ate my last breakfast at home. I crammed the last few boxes into an already over-packed sport utility vehicle and, along with my father and younger brother, began the journey to Penn State.
Questions about what it would be like and thoughts of denial filled my head during the entire trip. It couldn't actually be time to start college already! What would it be like? Would I get along with my roommate? After an infinite three-hour trip, I arrived on campus. Although it was difficult to find a parking spot, there were carts that I could use to move my boxes in once we did. I arrived at the door of my new room, boxes and bins in my arms. Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. I turned the key and opened the door. I scanned the room, and was very relieved to find it was relatively large. No bunk beds. My roommate had apparently already moved in. This made it easier for me to unpack. Moving in was a little tricky. Everything was confusing with so many boxes to unpack and places to put things. As I unpacked, I pondered where the proper place was for everything. Finally, I had the furniture rearranged, the computer set up, and the boxes unpacked. I was in business. Just as I was finishing, my roommate Dave arrived. We had been planning what to bring to the room beforehand. That made it easier for both of us to know what to bring, and also to get to know each other a little better. After we finished unpacking, my father, brother and I went to the dining hall across the street for lunch. The abundance of food choices amazed me. The dining hall reminded me of a restaurant buffet. With so many choices, I overate during my first on-campus meal. I had to remind myself to take it easy, and that there was no need to eat so much since I would have the same choices every day. After lunch, I prepared to say goodbye. As I walked back to the car to see my father and brother off, I realized that this signified the end of a part of my life. It also served as a beginning.
I knew that once I arrived in college, I would face new experiences and challenges. It would be a time to learn and grow; a time to experiment, to make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes. The first time in my life where I had total freedom. As I waved goodbye, I promised myself that I would take that freedom seriously and not abuse it. For the first time, I was alone on campus. A Saturday night and no classwork yet. With the large number of activities offered the first few nights, it became apparent that the university was aware of the problem of freshman drinking. I spent the first night watching a movie and playing laser tag with an old friend.
My second day of college included orientation activities. I became acquainted with university policies, rules and procedures during information sessions. For the most part, however, I had free time. I visited every building where I would have classes, to make sure I wouldn't be late on the first day. Although it seemed like a large campus at first, it became easy to navigate through after a few days.
Up until Tuesday, I mostly relaxed and settled in. Then, something changed. The dreaded thought of classes. Once school started on Tuesday, my free time vanished. Each professor gave a syllabus to the students on the first day. The syllabi outlined what to read before each class, when tests would be given, what was expected of the students, and when office hours were. This proved helpful, and also provided an additional challenge. It was now up to me to manage my own schedule. The professors would not check to see if I did the reading, or even if I came to class. I was truly on my own. I learned very early on that one way to get on a professor's good side was to visit him or her during office hours. This is a set time during the day when professors are available to answer any questions that students might have. By seeing a professor during office hours, the student is showing that professor they have genuine dedication and interest in the course. I found that professors can be useful in looking over essays, explaining assignments, or just engaging in lively discussion.
What are some of the differences between high school and college besides office hours and harder class work? Classes do not meet every day. Every student has his or her own individual schedule. If a student misses a class, most professors will not notice. It is up to the students to attend classes, and to make up the work when they don't. I also learned that there is much more to college than classes. One of the largest adjustments that I had to make was to the communal atmosphere. Everything at college is shared and privacy does not exist. Students share the bathroom, the bedroom, the dining area, study rooms, and everything else imaginable. Sharing definitely isn't a bad thing, it is just something new and different for most students. I expected and prepared for difficult classes. I did not, however, expect some classes to be as difficult as they were. I scheduled Calculus and attended the first class. By looking at the syllabus, and judging by the material to be covered, I determined the class would be too difficult for me. I immediately dropped it. Before I arrived on campus, I did not expect to drop courses. But the challenge of honors calculus was too much for me to handle. I switched out of the class using the school's Web site. I changed my schedule frequently during the first week of classes, which I would not recommend to other students. If I had changed a course and decided to change back, it might already be full. Also, bookstores will not accept book returns or exchanges for full refunds after the first week. I noticed during the first week that class participation is very important in some classes. It can make up to as much as 25% of the overall class grade.
This is often the case when the class size is small. Students may feel more inclined to skip the larger, lecture classes where test grades are all that count for the final grade. This does not make it right. If a student does miss one of these classes, it is his or her responsibility to get the material. Some professors post their material on the Internet. Most do not. Even if they do, there are important in-class examples that should not be missed.
How much studying is there for classes? According to advisers and professors, for every credit a student earns, that student should study for at least three hours a week. Therefore, with my schedule of 17.5 credits, I should study 52.5 hours per week. That's over two days of studying. Who has that much time to study? And participate in other activities as well? Adjusting to this large amount of work was a huge challenge at first. There's only so much time. It was overwhelming, but I decided to keep up with the coursework. Although this takes more time, I would be better prepared when it came time to study for tests.
Still, even with all the studying, it is important to get involved in different activities in college. Most colleges have a student involvement fair sometime during the first few weeks. There, students involved in all types of activities discuss what their clubs do and try to recruit new members. I enjoyed the involvement fair, and would highly recommend it to all new students.
The most important thing is to remember that college is the last time in your life when you are surrounded by people your own age. Take advantage of it. Join some student organizations that match your interests. Make new friends. Try new things. But most of all, have an open mind. Be tolerant of the views and differences of others and enjoy yourself. Good luck; I hope your experiences will be as good as mine have been so far.

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