Tips for alleviating first-year worries

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTIAN ARNDT THE COLLEGIAN

By Christian Arndt @csucollegian

Welcome to Colorado State University, Rams! College is a rollercoaster of different experiences — some being better than others — but the fun lies in the experiences. Here is some advice to help you ease into your new life in college and at CSU.

Establish good study habits early on

It is easy to get swept up in your newfound freedom from home while embracing your young adulthood; however, this is college, and building strong study habits will ensure that awkward conversation with parents about your grades ends up being positive.

Make sure to take detailed notes, keep track of exam dates, stay on top of coursework and actually go to class.

A useful technique to keep yourself from being burnt out from studying is to space out your work. This can be done by either working on coursework for a short time a day over numerous days or studying for 30 minutes, taking a 10-minute break and repeating.

Being consistent with schoolwork is very important to stay on track, so find a rhythm that works for you. Meet people by taking advantage of school events

It may be scary meeting new people and getting yourself out there, but know that thousands of students are also in the same headspace. Take advantage of this, and put yourself out there.

You may hear from your Ram Welcome leaders that the first two weeks are very important for meeting new people — this is very much the truth. Many people establish friendships within the first few weeks before and during the start of your classes.

Leave your dorm door open while moving in, and say hi to your neighbors. Introduce yourself to the people sitting next to you during events, and embrace any social setting you find yourself in.

Know your professor before meeting your professor

Once classes are chosen and the drop deadline has long passed, you are going to be locked into that class for the rest of the semester. One of the easiest ways to see if a certain class you want is taught by a fun professor is through research.

RateMyProfessors.com is a valuable resource to utilize in order to see how a professor’s class functions, what people think of the coursework and how they enjoyed the lessons taught. Plenty of people use this source to find a suitable fit for their personality.

Confidence in the classroom translates to your coursework

Honestly, your first college classes can be very anxiety-inducing. You may feel like you are drowning in a sea of 200-plus people, and you may hesitate you ask an important question about coursework because of this.

However, a simple approach is to sit in the first three rows in front of your professor. The room is as big as you make it, so if you sit closer to the front, you are automatically more likely to feel more relaxed and confident about asking questions.

Another helpful tip is to attend office hours. Honestly, there is no better way to understand coursework than dropping by for 10 minutes and talking with your professor about it. Your professors want to help you succeed in their courses, so take advantage of these office hours.

Be safe at parties

Look: A big part of college life is going to parties, but that does not mean ignoring safety.

Always go out with a group of friends, keep your eyes on your beverage of choice and always have a safe means of transportation to get back to your dorm room. Rams take care of Rams, so make sure to take care of yourself and the group you’re with. But ultimately, enjoy yourself, and let off some much-needed classwork steam in whatever ways you find helpful for you.

Time your laundry just right

Laundry can be so utterly frustrating in dorms. There is no worse feeling than hauling your heavy load of laundry down to the machines only to see that they are full.

An easy way to navigate this issue is establishing a solid time when you know not many people are doing their laundry. Are you an early riser? Throw the load in first thing in the morning. Do you go to bed late? Throw it in right before bed.

Some good times to get some laundry done are Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning while everyone is either out with friends or sleeping off the weekend.

With that said, have a great time, Rams! CSU has a beautiful campus and fantastic people. A majority of people consider their college years to be their best, and we at The Collegian hope yours is just as great as well!

Reach Christian Arndt at life @collegian.com.