4 Tips for College Freshmen

4 Tips for First Year College Students

Hundreds if not a few thousand  17 and 18 year olds in Bergen,  Rockland and Orange Counties have just graduated from local high schools.  They are to be congratulated on one of a young adult’s great life transitions.  And, in a matter of weeks many of them will be entering a college or university as first year (freshmen) students – another one of a young person’s transitions.   

Statistics suggest that only half of those 17 and 18 year olds entering college in the next few weeks will graduate.   We know that for many of them, whether they graduate or not will be determined in the first six weeks of their freshmen year – and that success will rest on their ability to answer two questions in the affirmative.

1.       Will I make it academically?

2.       Will I fit in socially?

If they answer “yes” to both of those questions, it is much more likely that they will graduate.  If they can’t answer “yes” to both questions – they may graduate from someplace. But, it will probably not be the school from which they started. 

So, what are four tips that could help a 17 or 18 year old be able to answer “yes” to those two questions?

Tip #1.   First year students must study from the start.  This may seem obvious, but there will be temptations to engage in many activities other then academics early on.  And by starting early they build a foundation of good routine and develop an understanding of the subject matter.  The coursework will only get more difficult and will build on the knowledge acquired during freshmen year.   Expect that a college student will have to spend at least two hours of study time for every hour they spend in a class. (STEM students may need even more)  Warning: the first test grades a first year student gets back are frequently lower, sometimes much lower than what they got as high school seniors. That happens a lot and it can be a shock.  Freshmen need to get over it.   If they know it is because they didn’t study enough –they should take it as a lesson learned and start studying more.  If they can’t figure it out – they should go talk to the instructor (or TA) and find out what it is they missed.  

Tip #2.  First year students should get to know at least one of their professors or a TA well in the first few weeks of their first semester.  One of the great challenges in college is figuring out what it is professors are really asking for. K-12 teachers are frequently explicit in what they ask for, not so in college. That professor or TA that they get to know well can help a freshmen figure out what she/he will need to do to succeed in that class, and learn how to figure out what other professors are asking for.

Tip #3. First year students should get involved.  Yes, freshmen must pay attention to their academics but they should find some activity or organization (even the smallest college will have scores of activities and organizations from the newspaper, to intramurals, to a chemistry club to choose from) and join it.  A first year student will find other students who have similar interests.  Those initial friendships may not be the ones they have over their entire college career, but they will be the ones that can get them connected. 

Tip #4. Freshmen should attend and actively participate in new student orientation.   College life will be very different from a freshman’s previous school experience.  A high school senior had 12 years to prepare for their senior year.  A college freshmen needs to figure college life out a lot faster.  The newness of it can be overwhelming.   Orientation can in a few short days answer questions about where things are, who is there to assist him/her and how to navigate the system at their college or university.  At orientation, freshmen can ask those questions that once the school year starts they may not feel comfortable asking.  The sooner a freshman knows where things are, who can assist him or her and basically how their school works, the better off she or he will be.

Remember – They’ve got six weeks. 

By Jeffrey McDowell, MA,  is the Recruitment Manager at  LIU Hudson at Rockland

Previously:

Assistant Vice President for Student Life and Director of Residence Life, Loyola University Chicago

Director of Residence Life, University of Detroit Mercy

Coordinator of Student Activities, Teachers College Columbia University