Freshman on Campus
Getting in the college mindset in high school.
by Kristen Danielle Sagliani
TWEENS
& TEENS News December 2006
During the full nine hours of my ride down
the East Coast on my way to college in late
August, I was questioning if I really wanted
to start a new life in new surroundings. Nerve-wracking
doesn’t even begin to explain the mixed
emotions and doubts that went through my head—
and through the minds of thousands of other
freshmen, as we unloaded our belongings into
our small, cement walled dorm rooms that we
soon referred to as “home.”
My parents and I lugged a fully packed car
of luggage up eight flights of stairs and
organized everything just the way I wanted,
so I could feel more at home. When we finished
unpacking, we walked back downstairs in complete
silence, each of us thinking of the easiest
way to say goodbye. The truth is: No matter
how hard my family thought about how to word
what we wanted to say, we realized that there
is no simple, non-emotional way to say goodbye
to everything you once knew.
Mom finally broke the silence. “This
is it,” she said. “Everything
you worked so hard for brought you to this
point, and now it’s up to you to determine
where it is going to lead you. The sky is
the limit. I love you. Have faith that you
will be responsible and confident, and succeed
in everything you do. Now go on with an open
mind and heart and be the best you can be.”
I smiled at her and my Dad, hugged them and
then turned around and walked back into my
dorm room, my new home, by myself.
I was extremely nervous at this point. My
parents had left and I had no choice but to
stay and make the best of college life. And
that is exactly what I did. I had the best
12 months of my life as a freshman in college,
and would not change one second of it. Though
difficult to make the transition from high
school to college, I did it, and so did hundreds
of thousands of other students. I experienced
a smooth transition, made great friends and
received good grades in my freshman year of
college because I was responsible, hardworking
and confident— and I approached everything
with an open mind and heart.
In high school, when you are a junior or senior,
school administrators say they prepare you
for college. They do prepare you for the classroom,
but they don’t prepare you for the social
life, discipline and awareness that a college
campus demands. Whether you attend a large
university or community college, you have
to be responsible and disciplined in order
to succeed with friends and school work.
Unlike teachers in high school, in college,
your professor may not even know who you are.
You may be in a lecture hall filled with a
thousand students. Yet, attending class is
imperative. Along with attending class, being
responsible in college means doing your assignments
on time, knowing your schedule and how it
impacts your school work, and balancing your
priorities. If you are not a morning person,
then don’t schedule your classes for
8am, because chances are you won’t go.
You’ll be sleeping in your dorm room
instead of taking notes in the lecture hall.
However, not attending class leads to missing
chapters that exams and future chapters are
based on, and you will become totally lost.
In addition to being responsible, you have
to be confident. You made it through high
school, so you can make it through college.
Even when you’re sitting in your calculus
or chemistry classes and you have no idea
what is going on, muster the ability to learn
the material, especially with help from a
teacher’s assistant or tutor.
Confidence truly impacts the way you learn.
If you go into an exam or a speech with a
positive, go-getting attitude, then you will
likely do well. Don’t be shy. Throughout
the semester, raise your hand and ask questions.
You have professors to answer you! Also, get
extra help on campus if you think it will
help you to better grasp what you are learning.
Most people seek extra help in college at
one time or another. Think of asking for help
as taking charge of your academic success.
In the process, you’ll increase your
chances of scoring better grades— without
sleepless nights of cramming come exam time.
Not only do you have to be confident in the
classroom, but around campus you need to be
self-assured as well. Don’t shy away
from people. Come out of your shell and make
new friends. I know it’s hard to start
a conversation with a complete stranger, but
every new student is in the same boat as you—
knowing a handful, if any, students on campus
at the start of freshman year. Yet, the other
students on campus may become some of your
best friends for life. They may also become
your best sources of help in terms of your
studies and social life— and your best
sources of comfort when the going gets tough.
Considered shy my entire life, when I got
to college I didn’t know anyone. It
was extremely challenging for me to adapt
to college and meet new people. Then, one
day outside of my dorm room, I heard a bunch
of girls laughing and telling stories, so
I decided to be strong and join the fun. I
now live with those girls in an off-campus
apartment, and they are my best friends, my
saviors at college who comfort me when I’m
away from my family. Meeting new people and
opening up requires confidence, as well as
an open mind when approaching different situations.
Entering a classroom with poise, or talking
to a person with an open mind, makes college
life much easier and less stressful. A positive
attitude also gives you an opportunity to
fully understand someone without any type
of biased stereotypes controlling your thoughts.
Similarly, having an open mind is vital in
the college classroom because it helps you
to learn and understand information more completely.
Think you’ll drop your shy persona and
biases when you reach college? That’s
not the best route to take. Get a head start
by adopting an open mind in high school—
for your own sake now and throughout adulthood,
and because it helps our society grow closer
and work together more efficiently. Being
in college and working with new students,
demands, text books, lab equipment and responsibility
is a lot easier to do if you welcome the changes
with confidence from the start, without letting
fear or biases get the better of you.
College is a great learning experience, and
a lot of fun. It will be the best years of
your life. It’s okay to be nervous when
you are an incoming freshman, because everyone
else on campus is nervous as well, even the
graduate school students, professors, teacher’s
assistants and resident advisors— those
people looking after you in the dorms. Maintaining
responsibility, confidence, hard work and
liberal thinking will help to ease the transition
from high school to college. Remember why
you are in college, how hard you worked and
what Benjamin Franklin once said: “An
investment in knowledge always pays the best
interest.” Your hard work and determination
brought you this far. Now spread your wings,
shoot for the stars and have the best years
of your life.
Kristen Danielle Sagliani is 19 years
old and a sophomore at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. A biochemistry major,
Sagliani hopes to attend medical school and
pursue a career in medical research.
