Transitioning into college has definitely been a tough thing. I can still remember my senior year in high school and stressing out over college, how my classes were going to be, and exactly what life would be like. Now that I am here, I am hoping I can share some ways to make transitioning into college a little easier for you. I will begin by telling you something you have probably heard many times before: college is all about managing time wisely. You have one hour of a class and a lot of free time that you may or may not know what to do with. Getting used to dorm life, classes, and dealing with free time can become overwhelming. Here are just a few things to keep in mind:

Keep an open mind about college and everything it offers.
I have met the most interesting people the past couple of weeks that I would have not otherwise. I have had to learn, very quickly, how to balance school and social life. I have had the chance to get involved in things that I never thought I would. There is something for everyone to get involved in at OU and I love that. There is something that fits every person’s personality and uniqueness. When choosing your classes and professors, there are various websites that will rate your professors and tell you a bit about them. Know that everyone has different preferences and tastes and ways of learning so even though your professor might have a bad rating and people say “his/her class is too difficult,” you never know what it may be like for you. My Business Calculus II professor was supposedly “a tough grader, and did not know how to teach the students.” I had no other option but to be in his class and it turns out that he is great and that I get the way he teaches us.

Stay Organized.

The first thing I did as soon as I got here was buy a daily planner and it has been a life saver! I first started planning out my class schedule and then started filling in the rest with things like “work-out,” “meeting,” “study time” simply because it keeps me organized. There are days where I find myself so busy that I barely have time to catch a meal, but having my day planned out makes it easy for me to see how much free time I’ll have throughout the day. Having an agenda also gives me an insight to my week, future important dates, and tests that are coming up so it keeps me on track.

 

Discipline yourself.
Even though we are a month or so into school, I have found it easy sometimes to think to myself “Should I really go to my class?” but the answer is YES. Also, make an effort to get to know your professors and/or the TAs. Teaching Assistants and professors are always willing to help and will be essential to making good grades on tests because you can ask them to clarify certain topics that you may not understand. Your TAs can help you with assignments that you may need help with. My TAs go over tests and quizzes with us and make it easier to enjoy and understand the course. I do not mean to sound mom-ish but know when to stop socializing and start studying. I say this only because it’s easy for me to forget. I find myself having to exclude myself a bit from everything that is going on in order to concentrate on my school work and not have it sneak up on me.

All about: DORM LIFE!
Dorm life, in my opinion, is something that everyone should experience. There is something weird and exciting about not knowing who you’re living with/around. Dorm life is all about feeling too claustrophobic in your dorm and having to leave every so often to find things to do that make you not want to come back to your dorm for a while. Dorm life teaches you how to live with others and how to deal with sharing with strangers. It is all about leaving your door open, as you lie on your bed, and do homework and getting to meet everyone that goes by your hall. I love the fact that I am never alone because I can always find someone to do things with. I just step out in the hall and ask if anyone is going to lunch and suddenly there’s a big group all together. I love getting to meet others and knowing that we are all, as students, in this experience together. We all are having to pull all-nighters for the tests coming up, and all learning to balance all the things in our plate. I can already tell I’m going to miss dorm life, its bittersweet really. There are good things and bad things about it but as for now I am loving every minute of it!

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