First Year University Students

[Amethystic]

Okay, so I just had the first day of my school's orientation today, and what a day it was. They walked us all over campus in the burning heat and crammed at least two degrees' worth of information into our brains in just a few hours. Needless to say, I'm utterly exhausted right about now.

Anyways, it got me thinking: who else on the ToO is new to the hallowed halls of learning this year, and how has your experience been so far? Is it how you expected it to be? If not, how is it different? What's your favorite/least favorite thing so far about college life? (I understand that many of you have started school already, so you might already have a jump on me experience-wise.)

And hey, even if you're not a first year university student, feel free to tell us freshmen how your first year was like anyways.

[Anna><>]

When I was a first year and went to O-week we did sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much walking everywhere and my feet almost died and I basically was dead from walking so much. I've never walked so much in my entire life. My first year was good though. I had 3 roommates who I never saw. They may have been ghosts. But two of them were exchange students and it was really cool to get to know them a tiny bit the few times I saw them.
My favourite thing was the gym. My least favourite thing were the parties on the floor above me when people were jumping and being crazy. This year I am on the top floor in my building which is AMAZING so far.

[EK]

My first year was... school. I didn't really participate in much aside from Chemistry Club, Future Health Professionals, and SEAC. I just studied a lot. Worked a bit. Utilized the gym because it's there... and uhhh yeah. I honestly cannot remember what mindset I had going into school. I'm sure I was ready for fun or something. >_> I think I remember getting lost a lot.

[Shennifer]

I remember moving into my dorm freshmen year, and meeting people and all the busyness. I used to feel a bit chaotic about moving in but now I'm used to it.
People were loud sometimes and the AC/heat in my room was either way too cold or way too hot. It drove me crazy.

I remember being hungry a lot at first because I was still figuring when the eating places were open. And I tend to need food more often then some people do.

[American Eagle]

My college life had humble beginnings.

I attended orientation, but that was a waste of time. I picked my own classes and showed up for the first one without any college assistance. I was nervous, but the instructor was easy-going and he said we could work on our own pace and do whatever we wanted in the (computer) class. I skipped lecture, did my work on my laptop at McDonalds, and walked out of that class with a 4.0 before the rest of my classes even started.

This semester is my favorite so far, because I'm taking more centralized classes and I know a lot of the people on campus. I don't stay in the dorms.

[Carrie Ingalls]

My first year I commuted to school (it didn't have dorms). I went to orientation, but it wasn't mandatory and there were a lot of kids that had been dragged there by their parents. What I remember most from that evening was one of the speakers telling us that studies have shown that the students who sit way up front and those that sit right in the middle towards the front statistically get better grades than those that sit in the seats on the sides and in the back (which looks like the letter U as in unconscious zone). I was nervous about school, so I decided right then that I was going to give myself the best chance possible and sit up front.

There were several goldmines that I stumbled upon: professors' office hours (have at least one question when you go), tutoring centers (if your school has one take advantage of it especially if it is already paid for through your tuition), and clubs (this can be a good way to interact with other students and develop more of a relationship with some faculty depending on how the club or organization is structured).

I did all my math homework in the math tutoring center (the tutors only helped if you had a specific question) and it was just nice to know the help was there if I should need it. It was also fun to stump the tutors from time to time too.

My first year I didn't really have anyone that I would consider a good friend, but I had connected with many faculty and staff. I met two of my best friends my 2nd year!

I transfered to another school and my first year there was pretty hard in a number of ways, academically challenging, completely new environment, busy, and simultaneously very lonely. I didn't take the time to stop and be still enough during that year to reevaluate and assess how I was doing (beyond academics) and the loneliness really hit me in the beginning of the summer (my program ran year round so I didn't have the summer off).

[manfrednissley]

Ok this will sound strange. I am a Freshman at Liberty, but I have senior classification due to transferring in over 90 credits.

[Carrie Ingalls]

Ok this will sound strange. I am a Freshman at Liberty, but I have senior classification due to transferring in over 90 credits.

Thats not so strange. Did you go in another institution and transfer or do something like CollegePlus or do distance learning or online classes through Liberty? (Just curious). The only thing I'm a little surprised about is that they accepted so many credits from somewhere else. Most of the schools that I applied to transfer to would only accept a certain number of credits, usually limiting your classification to a maximum of Junior. I am intrigued.

I have a friend who entered college as a Freshman when he was 25 because he first served in the military and completed his service before starting school. Also, I've really liked going to school with more "nontraditional" students, they tend to be more levelheaded and take the academics more seriously than many closer to my own age.

[Amethystic]

I just got back from the weekend camping trip that was put on jointly by one of the big Christian student groups and the big group for international students. I was given the surreal experience of becoming a minority presence within my own country. Seriously, more Mandarin was spoken this weekend than English. Oh, and then there was the Japanese, and the Portuguese, and the Bangla (at least, I think it was Bangla)... It was also cool because this was the first chance a lot of these students were getting to see the sights and try some real "Canadian" activities. So yeah, if I ever get another opportunity to go camping in the Rockies with a bunch of Asians again, I'm going snatch it up like those kids snatched up the instant noodles.

[Pirate Oriana]

No Irish people.

Yeah, I saw a lot of Asians when I took that one ( ) class at my local community college. Though, I suppose there are obvious reasons for that.

[Sherlock]

I remember the stifling heat in the dorms. Mind you, this was ..... yeesh, 10 years ago now? Yikes
Anyway, we had boys and girls dorms and the boys had television, high speed internet and air conditioning. The girls' dorms had none of the above. It was quite the injustice. I remember wanting to spend as little time as possible in my room, so I was usually in the library, the computer lab or outdoors. I transferred in as a Junior and only spent 2 years there. There wasn't a lot to do, so weekly Wal-Mart trips were pretty exciting.

[manfrednissley]

Ok this will sound strange. I am a Freshman at Liberty, but I have senior classification due to transferring in over 90 credits.

Thats not so strange. Did you go in another institution and transfer or do something like CollegePlus or do distance learning or online classes through Liberty? (Just curious). The only thing I'm a little surprised about is that they accepted so many credits from somewhere else. Most of the schools that I applied to transfer to would only accept a certain number of credits, usually limiting your classification to a maximum of Junior. I am intrigued.

I have a friend who entered college as a Freshman when he was 25 because he first served in the military and completed his service before starting school. Also, I've really liked going to school with more "nontraditional" students, they tend to be more levelheaded and take the academics more seriously than many closer to my own age.

I graduated in 2012 from a community college with two Associate's degrees. I should mention that at age 27 I am not allowed to live in the dorms. Actually, that is good thing, I have Asperger's Syndrome. Furthermore, I only pay $200 a month!