College is a time of learning. And while it can be interesting learning all of these life lessons on your own, sometimes you just wish you’d known some of the crucial parts of college before you stepped food on campus.
22 college women are sharing what they wished they’d known before the first day of their freshman year below!
“I wish someone told me that it’s normal to feel lonely and left out sometimes. Some people have a more difficult time fitting in than others, and that’s completely okay. You might not make friends with everyone in an hour, but you’ll make friends that will make your college experience so amazing!”
-Caitlin, University of New Haven Class of 2017
“Where you start is not always where you finish.”
-Hayley, SUNY New Paltz Class of 2016
“Spending tons of money on cute decor for your dorm doesn’t matter once it’s time to buy textbooks.”
-Bri, University of New Haven Class of 2017
“Before I got to college, I wish I knew that it’s okay to change your major. Just because you already signed up for a major doesn’t mean that you have to stick to it as a freshman, especially if you aren’t doing well in some of the core classes your first semester.”
-Areeba, Hofstra University Class of 2016
“I wish I had known that nothing from high school really matters. I’m a sophomore in college right now and I’ve been told to not even write my high school info on my resume. The countless hours of stress and tears and self-hatred that I subjected myself to were useless. When you get to college nobody cares how you did in high school. Nobody cares what you got on your SATs or what your GPA was or how many AP classes you took (which often don’t even count for general education credits or you have to retake them so the college can record your grade). I felt like I was so inferior all the time after going to a really, really hard high school and when I got to college I finally realized that none of that defines me and that those things don’t matter in the big picture. If I’d realized this before, I could’ve saved myself so much grief.”
-Katie, University of Pittsburgh Class of 2018
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“If a guy likes you, and wants to date you, he will.”
-Carmen, University of Albany Class of 2018
“No one cares who you were in high school.”
-Tamiracle, USF St. Petersburg Class of 2017
“I wish I’d known the importance of engaging with your professors beyond the classroom; they can seem intimidating at times, but they have office hours for a reason and they want to help you succeed!”
-Mara, University of Southern California Class of 2016
“I wish I had known that the next four years would be filled with mental instability manifested into mental illnesses — depression and anxiety, emotional instability — with a revolving door of ‘for now’ friends, and financial instability, with debt and living expenses always lingering over your college experience. Overall I wish I had known just how hellish college would be.”
-Bre, West Virginia Wesleyan College Class of 2016
“I wish I knew how much I was going to miss my parents and didn’t take the time I had with them before college for granted.”
-Emily, Virginia Commonwealth University Class of 2019
“Keeping in touch with friends from home and making new friends both take a lot of effort. With homework, practices, and meetings, it gets hard to find time to call old friends or hang out with new ones.”
-Claire, St. Olaf College Class of 2019
“Your roommate is not necessarily going to be your best friend. And your best friend freshman year probably won’t be your best friend senior year. Basically, you’ll make lots of friend is college when you’re seeking them out, but the friendships that stick are the ones you never saw coming.”
-Krista, Kent State Class of 2017
“The number one thing I wished I realized before college is that the world does not end if I do not go out every weekend. During my first semester, I went out about 3-4 times every week and really burnt myself out. Looking back, I realize there is nothing wrong with staying in, whether it be to do work or just chill with friends. I wish I had realized sooner that staying in does not have to equal missing out.”
-Brenna, Rutgers University Class of 2019
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“Gilmore Girls is fictional and so is Rory’s experience.”
-Sydnee, Florida Atlantic University Class of 2017
“Your experience is your experience. Don’t feel like you need to fit anyone’s expectations, whether it’s your roommate or your mom or even you! Even if you’re not having the stereotypical college experience your college experience is still valid. Never feel guilty about living your life the way you want to live it.”
-Julia, Christopher Newport University Class of 2019
“I wish someone had told me that it’s okay to take a bunch of different classes to find what I’m interested in. I’ve changed my major so many times and I think it’s because I never took the time to actually try things out.”
-Teri, Chatham University Class of 2018
“I wish I knew that undergraduate college was truly the last place for you to be a ‘child’. This is the last time it is truly socially acceptable to eat Poptarts for breakfast, more Poptarts for lunch, and Pizza Rolls for dinner, followed by a night out drinking $1 rails until 1 a.m. when you have an 8 a.m. class the next day. 8 a.m. in the real world is when work starts. In the real world, it is not acceptable to wear your yoga pants and a hoodie (aka your pajamas) to work like it is to class. I would have taken advantage of this more often. I would have enjoyed my youth more and used my college student excuse to the fullest. Now, I only have 2 1/2 weeks left to do this that I will miss for the rest of my life.”
-Nicole, Winona State University Class of 2016
“It’s not like the movies, unless you go to a huge school you probably wont have the ‘college experience.’ Also your professors view you as adults, you aren’t in high school anymore they aren’t going to help you with every little thing.”
-Taylor, St. John’s University Class of 2018
“There are ups and downs, you’ll go through rough patches and probably hate college at some points. You have to keep yourself busy and surround yourself with other people. You will start to be sad you didn’t spend more time doing something you love or spending more time with your friends when senior year comes around and your time is suddenly limited.”
-Madison, Fairfield University Class of 2017
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“A lot of people had warned me that I would experience moments of loneliness at college, especially during my freshman year. However, I wish that someone told me that this very solitude could be mentally invigorating and soothing to the soul. During my first weeks of college, I associated being alone with shame or something that should be scoffed at. However, with time, I began to realize that I was enjoying my alone time sometimes even more than when I was with others, as I was able to bathe in absolute and uninterrupted self-reflection, allowing my thoughts to bounce from corner to corner. I wish my younger self had known to freely embrace this beauty of solitude earlier during my college journey.”
-Grace, New York University Class of 2019
“I wish that I would have been more serious about college and choosing which one was right for me. I feel that I did not do enough research to really figure out which college would be a good fit. The good thing that I feel has come out of my undergraduate experience has been the people that I have met and the friends that I have finally found that are true to me. I guess my bottom line is that I wish I had been more prepared for what I truly wanted instead of just going with the flow and taking whatever I could get. You are worth so much more than just choosing the first thing that comes your way. Research the college, whether or not you would want to be so close or so far away from home, really do some soul searching, think about whether it gives you more joy being in a large college setting or you feel more comfortable being in a smaller college. It’s your home for the next four or so years, trust your instincts!”
-Lauren, Marymount University Class of 2016
“College doesn’t last forever. Go out and join your friends at that party, lose that sleep, and take all the chances. I stayed with my high school boyfriend for a semester and thought I was being loyal when I stayed home — and now I feel like I missed out on so much. There are ways make a relationship work without losing experiences at the place you dreamed about being at. If it doesn’t feel that way, you may want to take a step back and look at who you surround yourself with. I wish I did all the things I wanted to, because now that I’m about to graduate I feel like I have no time. This is honestly an experience you’ll never get again, I’m not sure if you’ll consider these the best days of your whole life, but they will be the ones you never forget…or get back.”
-Shiina, The University of Hawaii Class of 2016