Students after passing out from school have lots of expectations and anxieties before joining any institution. They ponder about campus, friends, teachers, hostel, food and all the fun part of the campus on one side and on the other hand, the pressure of studies, time, library, and jobs.
In the middle of all these worries and excitements, it is essential for every student to enjoy the initial days of being a college student to the fullest. Explore everything around you, gather as much information as you can, as these incredible days would never come back.
Apprehension 1: Speculating how college life would be
When you are anxious about something, the best way to feel better is to talk to someone who’s been through similar situation.
No matter where you are from, there will surely be many college students around.Even if you don’t have anyone who is in college, few people will always be there with whom you can chat. May be an elder sibling or cousin or perhaps by talking to a friend’s sibling or cousin.
These students are the most dependable means to know what college is really like and always keep in mind that every college is different, the traditions and customs would not exactly match to your own experience.
Apprehension 2: Wondering who would be the ‘room mate’ in hostel
Don’t forget that this is just a possibility; you might really get along with your roommate or roommates. Give yourself a chance of having a healthy relationship with your roommates; take the time to communicate with them before classes begin.
Once you move in, decide on things like sharing food, hosting guests, cleaning up and keeping quiet hours. No matter what happens, do your best to be respectful, and if it doesn’t work out, it won’t be the end of the world. At the very least, you’ll probably learn something from the experience.
Apprehension 3: Attending induction held by college or not
Go to induction, even if it isn’t compulsory. During induction you will get to know your campus in a better way. Visit all the buildings, offices, library, sports centre and gym. Many institutions also offer a chance to meet with an adviser, so if you’re worried about what classes to take, they’ll be there to help you figure out what classes best fit your interests and aspirations.
Apprehension 4: Focus on Study or Participate in other activities
Make some concrete plans for the first week of college. The institution is sure to have a huge activities fair, so plan to ask your roommate to go with you. Make a promise to yourself to sign up for as many organizations as possible so that you’ll immediately have plenty of things to do and people to meet around campus. Studies are important as the co-curricular activities are. While studies build your core competency, activities build your soft skills and inter-personal communication capabilities.
Apprehension 5: Fighting homesickness
If you’re living in a hostel for the first time in your life, you’ll be missing the time you have spend with friends and family. There are lots of ways to maintain relationships with those you care about. Set time to call your parents, check in with your best friend from school every few days. But being on your own, especially for the first time, is of course hard.
However, remember that something inside of you knows you are ready, else you wouldn’t have wanted to go to college in the first place. You will make mistakes along the way, but you can manage things on your own. And if you are not, there are plenty of support mechanisms on a college campus to help you out.
Apprehension 6: Sharing doubts and anxiety
It’s not always possible to meet your batch-mates in person, search the Facebook group and participate in the conversation. Though you will be meeting your batch-mates virtually, it will help to understand that you are not alone. Everybody is going through similar emotions before joining the institution. These groups are also a great place to ask and answer questions about the institution.
Apprehension 7: Prospects of jobs after college
This is one of the dominant fear of freshers. But, if you keep the doubt in mind and work on it, you may learn a lot about yourself. Take diverse courses in your first two years; interact with professors and seniors studying same subjects you’re majoring in. It is important to plan your course. Make goals for earning your degree, but don’t let the pressure and expectation to figure everything out and restrict with these valuable years of exploration.
Apprehension 8: How to balance everything
Time management is one of the biggest challenges for students.Experiment with different ways of keeping yourself organized, like making to-do lists, using a calendar, setting goals and assigning priority levels to your tasks. By learning some important management skills, you can stay on top of your academics and learn how to handle a very demanding schedule while still having fun.