5 College Life Hacks To Survive Your Freshman Year

So your parents just left after dropping you off at the college you have been dreaming of going to since you could speak. How are you feeling? Excited? Scared? Teary?

Put aside these feelings and read this article as I give the college life hacks of surviving your first year in college. You will thank me later.

Schedule

Chances are that before the school’s official orientation, you are going to get a little lost. Even after the orientation, you are still likely to get lost, and there is nothing as embarrassing as asking seniors for directions.

To hack this and to ensure that you get to your classes in time, schedule every minute of your day in relation to a particular location. For example, if you have a class in the Stricker Block at 10 am Monday, mark the time in your schedule, then find the building beforehand, say on Sunday evening. After your classes, that first Monday, find the location of the Tuesday ones. Do this until you are familiar with the school.

Get A Coffee Maker

Why do you need a coffee maker you say? I mean, you don’t even drink coffee. Either way, get yourself a coffee maker and thank me later. Here’s why.

Imagine that you have a lot of assignments, and as such, you have to sleep later than usual. As the clock turns 2 am, your stomach starts rumbling. For the sake of this hypothesis, let us assume that it is raining outside and the only 24-hour mess is 12 minutes away. Let us also assume that you live in the dormitories.

If you have a coffee maker and a packet of noodles, you can fill the former with water and drop in the latter. In three minutes, you can have yourself a (relatively) whole meal. If you didn’t get a coffee maker since you “don’t drink coffee,” you will sleep hungry. Literally. Or get rained on.

Make Friends

College is an experience best-enjoyed with friends than alone. I am sure you have repeatedly heard that it is here that you will make friends that will be with you throughout your life. It is true.

If you are socially awkward and have no idea how to make friends, breathe easy. There is no rush. If you see someone you think you might want to be friends with, don’t worry about exactly what to say to them. Just start with a simple “Hi.” You’ll be surprised how often that works.

However, chances are that you will make friends with the most unexpected guys.

Take Responsibility

During the first few weeks, there is something that will shock you a bit even though you waited four high school years for it: the freedom. There will be no one to give you a curfew, scream at you for touching their latest edition of some comic, and tell you how to manage your money, or stop you from drinking yourself to death.

As such, you have to discipline yourself. You can simply do this by ensuring that your room is clean and organized, planning for and managing your weekly expenses, and setting out a bedtime that you should adhere to.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have any fun. Set out some time for going out and hanging with your friends, so long as it doesn’t extensively affect your school work and other core activities.

Call Your Parents

Call them several times a week if not daily. Check up on them and tell them how much you miss them because chances are that they miss you terribly. You just left their nest after being there for 18 years, and the adjustment is definitely new for them.

Alternatively, you can choose to call them once a week when you ask for money. Either way, call your parents.