You’ve Been Admitted! Now What?
Congratulations! Being accepted to and choosing a college to attend is a tremendous step toward your future. You can now set aside all of the “what ifs” and focus on what lies ahead.
The relief can sometimes make us forget, however, that being admitted isn’t the last or even most important step in the journey. In fact, although the numbers vary widely from college to college, an average of 1 out of every 3 college freshman do not return to their colleges sophomore year. Luckily, there are specific social, emotional, and academic steps you can take to increase the chances that you will have a successful transition.
Social Preparation
Your social network is likely to get a major overhaul your first year away from home. New roommates, new classmates, new professors…. On many of your first days, every face you meet will be new, sometimes causing a real sense of displacement. You can decrease the anxiety this might cause by taking some time now to get to know a few critical people who can be just a little less unfamiliar once you arrive.
Your roommate(s) top the list, as you’ll be living with these folks like siblings, for better or worse. Some colleges provide forums for roommates to get to know each other before moving in; if yours doesn’t, social media makes it much easier to create that first connection. Even in a casual text chat, you can use a list like College Raptor’s Icebreakers for You and Your College Roommate as conversation starters to help you feel like old friends by the time you have to sleep together in the same room.
Beyond your roommates, also invest time in making connections with two or three other people on campus you might want to know better: the president of a club you hope to join, the staff or your advisor in the department for your major, a librarian. Even if the contact you make today is somewhat contrived (“Hi, Libby Librarian, I’ll be a freshman at My U next year. Does your library have access to X book or journal?”), you can use that opening as an excuse to visit the person and put a face to a name once you get onto campus.
Emotional Preparation
Harlan Cohen, author of The Naked Roommate and 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College, emphasizes the importance of becoming “comfortable with the uncomfortable” in your first year away from home. The unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar places can leave even the strongest person feeling unmoored. The loneliness also puts a new college student at a greater risk of depression: in fact, in the 2016–17 school year, 39% of college students had at least one experience of depression that made it difficult for them to function.
To prepare for possible feelings of isolation, Harlan Cohen recommends finding not just people to connect to but places as well. Can you locate three places that you think will give you comfort? (This is a great question to have in your mind during a campus visit, but if you didn’t, think back to what you remember or even search the college’s website for ideas.)
For me, for example, the study room of my dorm, a sitting area in the faculty office building of my major, and a musty old study area in a forgotten corner of the library all provided welcomed opportunities for social interaction, privacy, and a respite from my very loud, not-very studious roommate.
Academic Preparation
College is very different from high school in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. A primary reason is that professors will expect that you find your own support for your learning needs. You can prepare yourself by collecting resources ahead of time so that your toolbox is ready the minute you need it. Here’s a checklist of things you can do even before you get onto campus:
- Collect any paper resources your high school teachers have provided. These might include MLA and APA format sheets, writing guides, periodic table charts, math formula guides, etc. Keep these in one binder and leave the rest at home. Also collect any other favorite study materials like packs of notecards and colored pens. (Many colleges today have study rooms with whiteboards; many of my students like to carry their own whiteboard pens and erasers to use in these shared study spaces.)
- Very few professors will take the time to teach you how to learn the material they present. Research on your college’s website for their recommended note-taking formats. If your school doesn’t have one, or if you haven’t been taught one, consider starting with Cornell Notes. Print a guide sheet and use the format from day one. If you like knowing that what you are doing works, read or listen to Cult of Pedagogy’s Note-taking: A Research Roundup which will give you confidence that all that scribbling will be worth it in the end.
- Create a folder of bookmarks in your browser of key websites, including the college’s tutoring center, writing center, and any support services provided by your major department. (This would be a good time to bookmark the campus’s counseling services as well.) Like a desk prepared with pens, a stapler, and notepad, an organized digital desktop can go a long way in helping you feel ready for the academic challenge that is, after all, the reason you are going to college in the first place.
Mindset
Your college adventure will shape your future and should be a time that you remember fondly. Like any good traveler, by preparing yourself socially, emotionally, and academically, and expecting missteps and surprises, you can set yourself up for a successful college experience.
Best of luck on your journey.
