Dear Boston University Freshman Collegiates,
How does it feel now that you’ve made it past your first few weeks of college? You may have gotten past the dreaded feeling of homesickness, found new friends to replace the comforting company of your old friends at home, and you may have even gained that confident stride as you rush from class to class down Comm. Ave. Or maybe you aren’t quite there yet. This is ok. Here is some advice that will help you through these not so sure times so you can be the best you can be at BU!
1.) Family and Friends
Since you arrived at school, I know that Allston has certainly been added to your vocabulary. Now you may be having a fabulous time bouncing from frat house to frat house, but Allston isn’t forever, where as family and friends are. You need to call your parents once in a while! The whole independence and freedom deal is amazing, but your parents love you and miss you and are probably experiencing some serious empty nest symptoms even if you’re not the last of the siblings to go off to college. As for your friends back home, Skype, Face Time, Snapchat, and so on are all your best friend. On top of that, why not plan some visits to see each other? You get to chill with your friend from home, meet all their cool new friends, and visit another awesome school with a ton of new and different things to do.
2.) Going out
There is no denying the fact that going out is a major aspect of college life, but it shouldn’t take over your life. After the first couple of weeks you should be able to figure out which nights you can and can’t go out. If you have class at 8am on Fridays, then maybe crawling the streets of Allston till 2 every Thursday isn’t the best thing to do every week. Also, while we are on the topic of the freshman crawl, forget about the heels and miniskirts already. THIS IS ALLSTON. You are not hitting the clubs in NYC, rather we all know you are going to be chilling in a dark, smelly, gross frat basement. No one is going to see this super cute outfit that you took hours slaving over. Instead, keep the fabulously put together looks for nice dinners out with all your new friends and think about investing in a pair of black skinny jeans and what I like to call “frat flats”.
3.) Academics
One of the biggest tips I could give you when it comes to college is going to class. It is a given that if you don’t go to class you aren’t going to do well in said class, so just roll out of bed, throw on the yoga pants and sweatshirt, and get there already. Also, keep in mind that in high school you may have slipped by without studying for that test, but this is college and it’s realistically going to be harder. Keep organized, stick to a routine, and have a study schedule; you wont regret it! If you do happen to find yourself struggling with a class, do not be afraid to get extra help! Your processor has office hours for a reason and likes seeing students use their time to the fullest. BU has an amazing tutoring program too, through the Educational Resource Center (ERC) at 100 Bay State Road, which is FREE.
4.) Life
In college you are going to face a lot more opportunities than you did in high school, but don’t think you have to do everything and anything that comes your way. Its better to pick a couple different extracurriculars that you are really interested in, rather than joining every club, intramural, and community service opportunity you saw at SPLASH. Also, the hustle and bustle of being at BU may be deceiving, but don’t think you always have to be on the move. Take the time to relax; there is nothing better than a girl’s night in watching movies, painting nails, and ordering insomnia cookies. Another option is spending a day/night exploring Boston. Some of my favorite memories include venturing around Boston, with no destination in mind, just checking out all that the city has to offer. There are so many awesome places to check out and it’s a great way to make memories and bond with your newfound friends.
5.) Health
I think you know what I’m going to say here; DON’T SUCCUMB TO THE FRESHMAN FIFTEEN! Go to FitRec. There are free classes every day of the week for members (which every full-time student automatically is, so no excuses). Even if you can’t make it to the gym one day, just walk everywhere; at a school like BU it makes a difference. Also, calm down in the dining hall! Dining services is pretty good about giving small, healthy portions (sometimes too good) but it doesn’t mean that you can treat yourself to every chocolate chip cookie in sight. That doesn’t mean to not ever have that cookie either. Think of your diet as 80% healthy, good for you foods and the other 20% are for you to do whatever you please.
6.) Love
Oh college love life! Now you are definitely going to be exposed to the infamous college hook-up scene, but otherwise there are three (but not limited to) main situations you can be in coming into college concerning love and relationships. One is you are single and either loving or hating it. In my opinion, of all your college years, freshman year is the time to be single and ready to mingle, so embrace it! The other is you’re single but you rush into a relationship with the first guy or gal you meet. Unfortunately, at college you will see this way too often and usually this wounds up being a huge mistake. Lastly, you are coming into college embracing the forever-challenging long distance relationship. First of all, I give you major props, and second of all, just be prepared that this will be indeed a challenge, but with a whole lot of Skype sessions, visits to see each other, and honesty, you both can make it work.