Surviving First Semester: Naisha Roy Shares Tips for First Few College Months for Young Women
“As long as you remind yourself to prioritize your well-being and aim to find balance between your workload and fun, you will settle right in.” With college application season in full swing, we are excited to share the third installment of our “College Admissions for Women” series. For this installment, our intern Naisha Roy, a freshman at NYU, reflects on her first semester. She shares key advice on crucial college topics including navigating the workload, picking classes, dorm life, and staying safe on campus. A must read for students (and parents)! Enjoy!
As the first semester of college draws to a close, I’ve learned a lot about the dos and don’ts that come with adjusting to the new environment. College can be a stressful landscape the first time around, and coming from a freshman at NYU, here are some tips to help you deal with it.
The biggest tip I have before the first day of classes is to do a walk-through. Make sure you know where all your classes are, how much time it will take to walk to each of them, and when and where you’ll take lunch breaks. It helps having a set plan for every day, especially during the first few weeks when everything is really new. Once you start getting used to going to class, you can tweak this routine to make it more flexible.
When it comes to your classes themselves, you most likely aren’t going to be talking as many classes as you did in high school. So, registering for classes in a timely manner and giving yourself room to explore different interests is really important. At the same time, make sure you communicate with your advisor respectfully yet frequently to ensure you’re on track for all your different graduation requirements.
“If you can, choose classes that interest you, so you’re more likely to enjoy them. You’ll pay more attention in class which in return is much more valuable than taking a random class that is ‘more practical,’” says freshman Aasia Gabbour. “Even though I would like to improve more in my classes, I feel like I’m learning so much more than I ever did in high school and I'll apply this knowledge in the future.”
When it comes to your dorm, make sure you don’t go overboard with the decorating in the first few weeks. Give yourself time to figure out what you do and don’t need, as well as what your roommates are comfortable with. You’ll find that your dorm setup might not look the same in a month or two as it did when you walked in, and you want to give yourself flexibility to grow into your new space.
Sit your roommate(s) down and have an open discussion about everything you can possibly think of when it comes to dorming. It may seem intimidating or embarrassing to talk about certain issues, but you are going to be living with these people for at least the next few months, and it helps so much when you are all on the same page. Study preferences, cleaning schedules, having guests over, quirky habits: there’s a lot to talk about.
One massive shift from high school to college is time management. Now, you will have all 24 hours of your day under your control, and classes aren’t going to be neatly separated out into seven chunks of time for you. It will be your responsibility to figure out how to manage attending classes, being social, doing your work, and getting time for your own mental and physical health. However, at the same time, you can think of this as a blessing: you now have the freedom of making a schedule that works for you and only you.
“Make sure to manage your time well! You will have a heavier workload than normal, but you will also have more time and resources to complete everything. If you plan out your time well, there will be plenty of time to both study and enjoy your time in a new environment,” advises Trisha Kopparthi, another NYU Freshman.
Speaking of prioritizing yourself, make sure you have some sort of safety measure on you at all times. College campuses aren’t always the safest places, especially for women. It’s disheartening, but I cannot stress the importance of having pepper spray, some sort of alarm, or just a friend on standby with you at all times. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use it, but having them on you just in case will give you a sense of comfort in being by yourself.
Freshman Anyka Chakravarty echoes this, saying, “As a woman, safety is super important. I use apps like Citizen which allow me to stay aware of what's happening around me. I also share my location with my friends and family through Google Maps or Life360 so someone else knows where I am. However, it can be anxiety inducing so be sure to take breaks for your mental health if needed.”
Long story short: the transition from high school to college is really what you make of it. There are so many more responsibilities but equally as many freedoms. As long as you remind yourself to prioritize your well-being and aim to find balance between your workload and fun, you will settle right in.
Thank you Naisha for sharing this essential tips with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network.
Stay tuned for the next installment in the series!
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