When we published Busted Halo’s® First Annual Freshman Survival Guide in 2005 we thought we had a good idea on our hands, we just didn’t know how good. Since then, the Guide has been read (and distributed via the condensed, one-page pdf download available here by tens of thousands of college students, administrators and parents from across the United States). We even heard from campuses around the country that they hosted informational evenings and retreats based on the Guide. However, the level of interest became most apparent when last year’s version was reposted on catholic.org—a large internet news aggregator—where it was forwarded over 30,000 times and became both the most read and most emailed article on that site for four straight months. Clearly, there is a need for the practical, real-world advice that the Freshman Survival Guide offers.
Over the course of the four years since we started publishing the Guide, we’ve always made sure to include the best advice from previous years. What makes the Freshman Survival Guide truly unique is its interactivity and constant evolution. The 2008 edition not only draws on the wisdom of administrators, professors, counselors and campus ministers, but, more importantly, it reflects the experiences of scores of current (and recent) college students and RA’s who have shared their advice with us. While there are “experts” involved, in a very real sense much of Busted Halo’s® Freshman Survival Guide has been generated for students by students. At the end of the day, students are the ones who understand best what works and what doesn’t.
In addition to the Guide, in the coming days look for articles on protecting your privacy online, dealing with your professors and transferring colleges. We also have a great conversation between a rabbi, a priest, a protestant minister and a 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® group on Facebook to see even more tips, ask questions and add your own suggestions. We also encourage people to print out and distribute a condensed, one-page pdf version of the 2008 Freshman Survival Guide here.
Why bother?
This fall over 1.5 million students will start their freshman year of college. Some of them will hit the ground running and never look back. For others their freshman year— especially the first few months—will be more of a challenge. Thirty percent of students will actually drop out during their first year. If you’re one of the 1.5 million students starting college this fall, our Freshman Survival Guide is designed to help ensure you don’t become part of that 30%. Armed with a bit of information, you’ll be in much better shape to handle the difficulties that lie ahead.
Why is starting college so difficult?
- You’re in a new place away from everything and everyone familiar.
- There’s no one to keep you accountable and true to the person you have always been.
- You’re learning to set your own limits.
RIT
Don’t judge too quickly, but at the same time, protect yourself. You can be a nice person without giving your trust away too freely. It’s trust, people are supposed to do something to earn it.
These are major changes and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Keep in mind though that others have gone before you and lived to tell the tale. Here’s Busted Halo’s® list of 25 tips and tricks to help you avoid the most common pitfalls, plus advice from other college students and experts to get you through the next few months…
1. Be Generous With Your Friendship But Stingy With Your Trust
The friends you have back home didn’t get to be your friends overnight. It took months — or, more likely, years — to establish those friendships. You trust your friends because they’ve proven themselves trustworthy. At college it can feel like these new people are your old friends. You’re eating together, studying together, in some cases spending more time with these people than you ever could with your friends from back home. These new friends need to earn your trust though—don’t just give it to them. The people you meet in your first few weeks of school may be great. Some of them may turn out to be the best friends of your life, or they may turn out to be criminals. Every freshman class has its gems and its jerks (I’m not kidding, some of them are actually criminals). Which ones are which will come clear over the next few months. Save your deepest secrets for later in the semester and don’t loan out your keys or ATM card to someone you’ve only known for a week.
2. Go to Class!
Seems obvious—it IS why you’re at college—but you wouldn’t believe how many freshmen skip their way out of school. Do a little math and figure out how much it costs for you to have your butt in that chair per hour. You’ll be less willing to blow one off. Most professors will allow one or two absences but save ‘em for the end of the semester when you’ve got mono and three papers due in the same week.
Tom met a girl on his hall in his first week on campus. He was pretty lonely and she was pretty cute and being with her made him feel a little less homesick. Things moved along pretty quickly—after one or two dates they became a couple and things got physical. Tom was really falling for her when all of sudden she lost interest and moved on. Tom ended up having to deal with a break up (and bumping into this girl all the time because she still lived in his dorm!) along with everything else he already had going on.
Dr Thomas O’Brien, Ph.D., DePaul University— The most important things you can do to make sure you do well in class? Come to class. Submit assignments on time. Participate and stay engaged. Read and follow the syllabus.
3. For the First Few Weeks Live Like a Monk
Monks take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. There’s plenty of fun to be had at college and lots of time to have it. The first few weekends, especially among freshman, can be a bit of a free-for-all and are often when you are at your most vulnerable. Give yourself a chance to get acclimated to your new surroundings before you start taking chances. Those chances will most likely look a lot less attractive once you’re feeling more comfortable.
- Chastity
College may be the place where you meet the love of your life but you probably won’t know that in the first week of school, especially on Friday night after a couple of drinks. It’s too soon to tell who’s who. Give yourself some time to settle in before adding a boyfriend or girlfriend to the mix or hooking up with someone who may turn out to be bad news. - Poverty
Don’t blow all your money your first weekend there. In a few weeks you’ll be amazed at what you can live without. If you have the luxury of calling home for cash, your parents will be a lot happier if you don’t do it the second week of school. All the more so if you worked all summer for spending money that has to last the semester. Companies love to give credit cards to new college students. JUST SAY NO! Credit is bad (ever hear of predatory lending?). It’s way too easy to get in over your head. - Obedience
Go to class!
Rick Malloy, S.J., Ph.D., professor of anthropology, Chestnut Hill College— Get on top of work early. Go to class. Every class. Yes, even the 8:00 am classes! The expectation is 15 hours a week in class and 30 hours studying. You don’t do the 30 hours the first week, you have 60 hours for week two.
Georgetown
Sleep is always important. It may seem like fun to watch a movie with your friends on a Tuesday night before studying, but the consequences of only sleeping 4 hours a night are huge. Your schoolwork suffers, your emotions start going haywire, and every little thing becomes a gigantic stressful situation.
Sleeping and napping = survival
If you’ve always been able to skate along without really working too hard—that might catch up with you now. Check out the BustedHalo Study Budget from last year’s Freshman Survival Week to help you develop a plan of attack.
4. Sleep is Good
Sleep! Do it at night as often as possible. Staying up all night and sleeping all day screws up your body clock and your ability to attend your very expensive classes. Lack of sleep also impairs judgment. It may not seem like a big deal to pull a few all-nighters but according to Dr. Richard Kadison, Chief of Mental Health Services at Harvard, poor sleep quality can lead to depression, anxiety, reduced physical health, poor problem-solving and attention difficulties, and increased use of drugs and alcohol
Dr. Richard Kadison, Chief of Mental Health Services, Harvard—It’s a myth that the best students stay up all night studying. It has been scientifically proven that it’s the student who gets a good night’s sleep, not the student who studies through the night, who does better academically.
5. Get Involved…but Not Too Involved
The college experience is about so much more than classes. Campus activities and organizations are a great way to expand your horizons and connect with other students who share your interests. Every club, activity and association will be vying for your time. Be choosey. If you tend to be a “joiner,” be careful not to over-commit yourself. Charles L. Currie, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, explains that there is “an explosion of options” for students in their first few weeks on campus.
Rabbi Yonah Schiller, Executive Director of Hillel, Tulane University— Experiment and flex your curiosity. College affords you access to great professors, people you never would have been friends with before, and experiences that would have not been deemed cool to take part in while in high school. These opportunities breed a sense of search and exploration and ultimately, meaning.
Campus Minister Dave Nantais at the University of Michigan warns against doing too much at first— Sometimes I see freshmen who come in and sign up for everything under the sun and by mid-October they’re already burned out from being too involved.
NEXT: Living With a Weirdo…
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...
