My Advice for First Years

University is an exciting and scary place all at the same time. For many of you its your first time being in complete control of your life, like myself. For me college was the first time I really got to get out of the bubble my family had surrounded me with, not in a bad way but I was definitely naïve about how the rest of the world functioned outside of suburban northern New Jersey. So for me going from a somewhat urban area to a rural was definitely culture shock. Which leads me to my first tip, be completely open minded. Go into this new experience with no biases. Realize that everyone comes from a different walk of life and give everyone a shot, you'll be happy you did. So be friendly and smile, if you're the shy type like myself don't worry there are other shy people as well just smile.

Now onto academic advice, I mean this is why we attend uni... right? Now if you don't have a major picked out don't worry its your first semester, but definitely take the time this semester to narrow down your options. Once you plan your schedule make sure to map out your classes, typically you can do this with your roommate or other people on your floor. This is also a great way to see if you will know anyone in your classes, which will come in handy as the semester progresses. Which leads me to my next tip make friends with people in your class. Now they don't have to be the friends you hang with on the weekends, but by having a friend in class you can study together as well as help each other out if you have to miss a class. Also, take advantage of your professors office hours try to get to know your professor and have them recognize  your face. This will make it a little easier for your when you need to miss a class and will come in handy when you need a letter of recommendation. A little tip for letters of recommendations I'm going to fill you in on now is that many of my professors wouldn't write a letter of recommendation for a student unless that student has taken at least two of their classes, so keep that in mind once you enter your major. My last academic tip is to actually make time to study. I knew tons of people my first year that didn't study and many of them didn't come back after that first year, so don't be that guy and just study! Lastly, take advantage of this time. You'll make some amazing and some not so amazing memories but it'll all be worth it.

Best of Luck this year!

xoxo Franchesca