College comes with all sorts of freedoms. There’s no one to push you to complete your assignments on time, eat a healthy diet, or stick to a bedtime. If you want, you can pull all-nighters before tests, live off junk food, and stay out every night. However, poor decisions can have a big impact on your success at college. To make sure you have a great college experience, here are a few freshman mistakes you should try to avoid.
- Forgetting About Life Back Home
There’s a huge amount going on when you start college. You’ll be figuring out your classes, making new friends, attending events on campus, and keeping up with homework. However, you’ll still want to keep in touch with friends and family back home. Check in with your parents and close friends by sending texts and occasionally scheduling video chats. It’s important to let the people you care about most know that you’re thinking of them. - Allocating Too Much Time to Fun and Not Enough to Academics
You’ll have no shortage of opportunities to socialize at college. As well as clubs and other activities on campus, you may receive many invitations from the people you meet. Balancing fun with academics can be difficult, but it’s crucial. Sometimes, you’ll need to turn down invitations to avoid getting behind with your readings, assignments, and test prep. - Having Too Many Commitments
It’s not just social events that will take up your time — if you try to belong to too many clubs, sports teams, and study groups on top of a full schedule of classes and perhaps a part-time job, you’ll find you burn out. Whereas it’s a great idea to try many new things when you start college, you should only stick with commitments you actually enjoy or benefit from. In addition, be reasonable when deciding how many classes to take each semester, especially if you want to work while attending college. - Keeping the Same Study Habits from High School
College is a big step up from high school. For many students, high school was a breeze — they barely needed to study to gain good grades. However, you’re expected to go the extra mile at college. Instead of remembering facts from your materials, you need to be analytical and do your own research. You may also receive credit for participating, meaning you need to think about how you can add to class discussions. - Lacking Time for Yourself
College is a time to discover who you are. However, this will be impossible if you’re always putting other people first, such as if you’re a people pleaser or you tend to follow what other people want to do. As well as regularly dedicating time to self-care, don’t be afraid to try activities on your own.
One final mistake many freshmen make is thinking they need to live on campus. Actually, you’ll be much more comfortable in student rentals. Peterborough students can move into Severn Court. Rather than sharing a cramped dorm, you’ll have your own room in a six-bedroom suite. There’s no need to know anyone in advance, as we’ll match you with roommates — both traditional housing and gender-neutral suites are available. Apply now for an all-inclusive full-year lease.
