Busted Halo Freshman Survival Guide 2009
Great news and a chance to get published for the Guide's fifth anniversary!
It’s official. Busted Halo’s Freshman Survival Guide is five years old and to mark this anniversary we want to thank you, and announce some great news. Thanks to our enthusiastic readers, our Guide has been read by tens of thousands of people online (and many thousands more — college orientation staffs, counseling services and campus ministries — have downloaded and handed out our one-sheet PDF.) Over this past winter, this success caught the attention of a few of the largest commercial publishers and a bidding war ensued for the right to publish the Freshman Survival Guide (FSG) as a book. We won’t bore you with the grimy details, but suffice it to say, the first official Busted Halo Freshman Survival Guide book will be published by the Center Street imprint of Hachette Book Group USA, to be available in stores in April, 2010!
We are taking the print edition of the Guide well beyond anything we’ve been able to do online. For the past few months, FSG’s creators, Nora Bradbury-Haehl and Bill McGarvey, have been researching, interviewing and surveying hundreds of students, administrators, professors, education experts, psychologists and campus ministers. We’ve discovered that while there are many guides for getting into college, choosing a college, paying for college and getting good grades in college, Busted Halo’s Freshman Survival Guide Book will be the first to offer a holistic look into the lives of college students. The Busted Halo guide will be unique in combining practical advice on student life — like academics, relationships and lifestyle — with guidance on coping with 
the emotional and spiritual issues college students face.
A Small Preview
Here’s an idea of what’s in store. We’ve surveyed hundreds of students and recent grads from small private colleges and huge public universities and in every region of the United States to get a more complete picture of what they’re encountering. We’ve interviewed professors, administrators and health professionals to get a sense of what students should expect when they get to college. And, perhaps what will be most distinctive about our book: in addition to the many Catholic chaplains who have contributed enormously to the guide in the past, we’ve also spoken to campus ministers from the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Protestant, Jain and Buddhist faith traditions. The God on Campus feature we ran in conjunction with last year’s guide inspired us to reach out to these “men and women of the cloth” who are spending their careers ministering to college students. Their insights into the spiritual/religious life on campus have been revealing, to say the least, and are among the book’s most compelling passages.
Of course, we’d love to share them with you here… but we can’t. :-(
Sorry about that. But the fact is, the book isn’t quite finished yet — which is where you come in, again. Are you a current student? Recent graduate? RA or Residence life employee? College administrator, staff member or professor? Campus minister? We want your input: What parts of our Freshman Survival Guide have been most helpful to you? If your memories have been blurred over time, what suggestions do you have for incoming freshman as they’re starting their first year in college?
- Tell us your horror stories — as long as they have a moral and aren’t too, too gross!
- Tell us your successes. We like to hear about the good things you all accomplish!
- Share your Wisdom. We all learned lots of things in college. What are your best pearls that can save someone else a difficult learning experience?
Get Published!
In order to make this year’s Guide as interactive as possible we will post as many of your stories/tips as we can for others to learn from and react to. But here’s the best part: The best story or tip we get will be included in our book with your name listed as a freshman tipster or story teller extraordinaire, and we’ll send you a free selection of Busted Halo gear from our new Busted Halo merchandise store. (Anything but the flip video cameras — those you have to buy yourself.) So post your suggestions in comments at the bottom of this page or send them to freshmansurvivalguide@bustedhalo.com by 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26. Help out a freshman, become a chronicled BH contributor and published writer, and win a great prize on top of it!
In addition to the Guide, in the coming days, look for an article on transferring colleges, and “God on Campus,” our great conversation with a rabbi, priest, Protestant minister and Muslim professor who share their experiences and offer advice on the struggles with religion and spirituality that students face on campus. Check out the Busted Halo fan page on Facebook to see more tips, ask questions and add your own suggestions. As always, we also encourage people to print out and distribute a condensed, one-page PDF version of the 2009 Freshman Survival Guide, or go to the next page to read it online.
And plan on picking up a copy of the Freshman Survival Guide book next spring for you or a college student you know.
The 2009 Freshman Survival Guide is on the NEXT PAGE (please click on Page 2 below)
Pages: 1 2
Understand that you will change and enbrace it. College begins the journey of finding out who you are as a person and what you want out of life. If there is a Newman Center or strong Catholic community on campus take advantage of it.
Get involved. Don’t be afraid to get involved in some new activities. Nowadays it is easy to just sit in your room surrounded by everything you need – tv, stereo, computer, ipod, etc….but get out and meet new people and try new things. Most campuses will have a whole lot of welcome week events with organizational fairs and everything. If you still are not sure – talk to your RA’s they really are there to help or if there is a Newman Center/Campus Community talk to the Campus Ministry staff as well. They are all there to serve you – so utilize them to the best of your ability!
There is not much that can prepare you for your first few days at college, particularly if you are away from home. I saw many people who lost their minds by having too much freedom (there is a lot of temptation when no one is around to police your actions and where over-doing it is part of the culture). My advice is to get involved with clubs early and not go the easy way out by binge drinking, hooking up, etc. My first few days of school were lonely, but I quickly found someone I could go running with regularly. Also, my second day of school I met the woman who would eventually become my wife (we dated throughout college). Nothing could ever prepare you for that!
The other advice I have is to check out the Greek System. While there is a lot of bad press out there about Greek systems, some are very helpful for networking (and even spiritual development). My advice there though is to wait until the Spring semester if you decide you want to pledge. That way, you will have one semester of college under your belt and be more familiar with the schedule. You can also spend more time investigating the various fraternities or sororities on campus to figure out what is right for you.
In a nutshell, realize that everyone is lonely those first few days and you will be surprised at how quickly it takes to make new friends. And, of course, don’t forget to visit the campus Chapel/Church. There are many positive ways to get involved through campus ministry.
Good luck!
Ladies, if you’re going away to school, and living in the dorms for the first time, don’t overpack. Chances are, you’ll be stacked triple in a dorm room that was only meant for two (a lot of large colleges do that to freshmen these days) and you won’t have any extra space. No matter how much you think you’ll NEED 15 pairs of heels and 27 dresses for going “out” on Friday or Saturday nights, don’t bother. You’ll live in jeans, t-shirts and sweats and sneakers and you’ll be so busy with your workload you won’t have time to go out.
As a freshman, I believe it is important to make a list of your best qualities. What is important to you? What are your skills and talents? What kind of friend are you? Getting grounded and centered in your own value and worth is valuable when navigating a sea of new people. I made some questionable choices freshman year and ended up missing a lot of opportunities for other types of friendships because there are so many interesting people out there-meet them! I regret sticking with people that were a bit like high school friends and missed the opportunity to grow and change and attract different relationships that would ultimately be more lifelong rather than based on partying and having a fun time without more lasting substance. Also, be aware of frat parties and overuse of alcohol in general. It is a lot of fun to be out on your own and the freedom can be giddying, but lots of bad things happen with yougn hormones and alcohol combine. Always stay with friends and make sure you all leave together. 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted and it is most often by people that they know. Alcohol makes otherwise wellmeaning men and women lose inhibitions, judgment and self control and its repercussions are often life long. Pack tons and tons of undewear because it is a pain to do laundry and you really only have to do it when you are out of underwear! Maintaining a healthy cordial relationship with your roommate is great but if your lives get too entwined you can end up literally having no time or opportunity to meet other friends if you are constantly with them. Joining clubs, groups, campus ministry or places where you will meet people with long lasting common interests and values will help you pick your new friends in such a way they will be lifelong and supportive of your Best Version of Yourself. Have an amazing time! Never again will you have the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want with whoever you want, without the responsibilities of adulthood. Have fun and follow your heart and check in with your head!
Please note that the editorial staff reserves the right to not post comments it deems to be inappropriate and/or malicious in nature, as well as edit comments for length, clarity and fairness.