Preparing for college: Common challenges and going away from home

Key topic

Today we will discuss the transition from high school to college; addressing some of the challenges and some of the issues that you need to be aware of and prepared for. Before going to college there is substantial prep work to be done in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. We will also discuss some of the common challenges that new students face, before zooming in on two issues: going away from home for the first time and managing your finances now that you will be on your own.

Learning objectives

• Be aware of some of the research and preparation that you’ll need to do before going to college
• Be prepared of some of the challenges you are about to face
• What it means to leave home for the first time
• Put your knowledge to the test and manage your finances efficiently

Let’s  start  today’s  lesson  by  watching  a  clip on  the  realities  of  college  life  and  how  it compares to high-school. It includes a lot of the points we will address today:

High School vs College – How Do They Compare?

Common challenges faced by freshmen

So, for many of you, college is just around the corner and you are probably both excited and scared at the same time. That’s good. It means you’re feeling it and you are not in denial.

College students are vulnerable throughout the years of their studies. Nonetheless, new students are even more vulnerable and face additional challenges. New beginnings are never easy or comfortable, after all. Let’s explore a few of these:

• Partying: Parties can be a great way for students to meet people, blow off steam and an indispensable feature of the college experience. However, sometimes partying can cause problems. Substances such as alcohol and drugs can lead to a variety of unwarranted consequences. What begins as an innocent party can lead to legal, moral and ethical problems. You should party responsibly and avoid making decisions or acting when under the influence of alcohol. Know your limits, have a friend next to you and always carry things such as protection, with you.
• Time management: The challenging academic requirements, the additional and almost daily chores, the fact that you are without your parents can feel disorienting. Time management is one of the skills that you need in order to avoid drifting through college. Set aside time for studying, then do your chores, then have fun. You’ll find that it will lead to a more efficient lifestyle.
• Social problems: You might not find it easy starting over, or adapting to a different lifestyle, or making yourself at home in a different city. A lot of students who never had any social problems do so in college. Establishing connections and spending time with classmates and roommates is important.
• Academics:  Things will get serious and many of you may experience initial low grades; no matter how good you were in high school. You might have been the best at a subject in high school, but be average at it in college. The level of writing required will be higher and in greater quantity than what you were used to in high school. Some readings will be more complex and difficult than what you’re used to. Assignments may require several readings and much more time than students allot. You might even have to learn a particular professor’s expectations. You’ll have to motivate yourself to study, to go to class and get out of bed. Some students may feel overwhelmed by large lecture rooms. While some professors are interesting, talented speakers and captivating lecturers, others are not.
• Choosing a major: There is a lot of pressure to choose a major. While you shouldn’t be stressing about it too much due to the common misconception that it will define you, determine your future and set your salary, at the same time, you should slowly but surely start thinking about it. Give yourself sufficient time to think about it thoroughly and with a clear head.

College preparations: Alleviating the stress

While the transition from school to college will be rather intimidating, it will help if you are aware of certain facts and issues beforehand, as well as some of things you’ll need to be prepared for. We have a compiled a list for you doing just that:

• Start planning what you need and make lists: It would be useful if you started making a list or lists of things that you will need to take with you. These can be   either college-related such as transcripts and other documents, as well as personal such as clothing, decorations, stationary and so on. Preparing lists ahead of time will prevent you from leaving things behind and make sure that you are adequately prepared with fewer things to worry about once there. It would also be useful to make lists of things you would want to buy; it does not make sense carrying with you such like furniture (a desk for example). Having lists will help you feel more relaxed as you’ll know most of the things you’ll need. You can also save money as you will be less likely to go on a buying spree and confuse need with wants, as it usually  happens when you’re not prepared for what you want to buy. It goes without saying that by that point, you have already figured out accommodation.
• Time to learn the basics: Make sure that you are ready to be self-sufficient. What that means is knowing how to do all the chores that you need to do in order to survive. These include, laundry, drying, ironing, cleaning and cooking. You don’t have to learn how to make lasagna, but pasta, eggs, vegetables, chicken and rice are a must. They are every student’s survival kit.
• Visit campus: Some colleges offer this opportunity during the summer. It’s never too late to visit your campus for the first time and it is advised that you do so once before going there officially. It will give you a sense of direction, you will familiarize yourself with the landscape and you will not feel as disoriented on your first day there.
• Emotional preparedness: Avoid denial and let the thoughts sink in. Allow yourself to think these things over and over. Then start structuring your thoughts and start considering everything you have to think about beforehand. Identify your goals (academic, social and athletic if applicable). Spend time with friends and family. List the activities that make you happy and find a way to continue doing them while on campus. Remember your upbringing and moral compass and do not give it up just because you’re going to college. It’s ok to feel a bit scared, stressed and anxious. Try to address it head on though by being as ready as possible.
• Research possible majors: It’s never too early. You don’t have to make a decision now, just list your interests, think about what you’re passionate about, what you’re good at and then start making lists of possible choices. Let the ideas sink in slowly until you actually have to make a decision.

Some additional tips:

• Read a lot: Pick up books from bestsellers lists or some of the classics or even better, from your college’s readings lists. It will boost your confidence and prepare you for the leap. College coursework consists of considerably more reading than high  school. Students can prepare by reading books preferably during high school, or at least, the summer before college.
• Polish your soft skills: You’ll have to start over again. At high school you might have had a lot of friends or you might have been the most popular kid, but now everything starts over. You’ll have to make friends again and create a name for yourself. Remember everything we discussed about communication and apply it. Moreover, reading new books and classics and watching some tv shows and movies will give you some info to kickstart conversations.
• Make the most of orientation activities: Know beforehand all the options and go to as many as possible. It’s the best way to meet people swiftly and make friends. Remember everyone is in the same boat; everyone is new there and don’t know the people around them.

Going away from home

Many if not most of you, have never lived away from home, except perhaps during holidays and summer camps. Do not underestimate the challenge of leaving your friends and family behind. You will miss them; being homesick is one of the most natural and common challenges of new students.

That means that a person no older than 17-19 years old, leaves their home, leaving friends, family and relationships behind them in order to move to a wholly different place where they will not only have to adjust to a different weather and landscape, but also adapt to the challenging environment and the rigorous schedule of being a student-athlete.

If you don’t get the chance to visit the campus beforehand, it would be a good idea to also research the broader area of the college in order to familiarize yourself with the amenities, facilities and points of interest, such as diners, grocery stores, cafes, bars, drug stores and other things that are either essential or integral parts of your everyday life. That would make that first walk you are going to have on campus and the surrounding area much more effective and less stressful.

You might feel homesick –whether you’re a student or a student-athlete – which is ok and normal. You took a huge leap leaving your loved ones behind and you are way out of your comfort zone. It’s the first official step of adulthood, after all. Make sure that you spend that summer before college wisely. Plan a lot of activities, outings, lunches, dinners, walks and adventures with the people closest to your: your family and your friends.

Once you’re off to college, make sure you keep in touch with them through video calls, although, not to the extent that it will impede you from taking full advantage of your time in college and have an actual social life. Video calls are much more intimidating than phone calls. There are also some small things that might sound funny, but will certainly help such as finding the local franchise of your favorite restaurant, café etc. In other words, try and keep in touch with things you used to do before moving and that make you happy. It will make the transition smoother and will also inject a dose of your original home to your new one.

Being in a new place can be extremely overwhelming especially if you add the stress and pressure pertinent to the lifestyle of students and student-athletes. Turn that to your favor. It’s ok from time to time to let go and behave like a tourist. After all, you are in a new city that you get the chance to explore and broaden your knowledge and experiences. See it as a way of rejuvenating yourself and taking a break from routine and your athletic and academic commitments.

It’s an opportunity for you to try new things. This might sound like a cliché, but there must be something in this new city/country that you could not have seen or done back in your home country. This can be anything ranging from water skiing, scuba diving, hiking, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, canoe riding, to visiting local markets, the theatre, etc.

Action steps – Exercise 1 (10 minutes)

• What do you think you’ll miss the most from home and your home city, if you’re planning to study in a different city/ state?
• What can you do to find substitutes/ alternatives?

Managing your finances

A second challenge that we would like to discuss extensively is, of course, how to manage your finances during college. Hopefully, you’ve learned everything we tried to convey through these classes. Nonetheless, there are some specific discussions that you need to have and tools that you have to adopt and adjust that are particularly relevant to college.

Step 1: Sit down with you parents and talk allowance. How much money can they give you? What will cover? Accommodation? Groceries? Everything?

Step 2: Once this is done, then you need to do your research about average student expenses at your university for all the above. StudyPortals is a helpful resource for finding rough estimates of living expenses for students across the country.

Step 3: Based on your parents’ contribution and your research, decide if you need a job (part-time or otherwise) to supplement your income. You should also determine roughly how much you need in order to be more targeted in your job search.

Step 4: You are ready to prepare a rough budget. Remember to revisit your notes form our class on budgeting. Draft a budget and give yourself some time to test it. You will surely need to make adjustments once you actually put it to the test.

Step 5: Apply your budget. See if it was realistic and accurate. If not, reconsider. Also, you might want to consider if you went out of budget because it wasn’t accurate or because of excessive and/or inefficient spending on your behalf.

Other useful tips:

• Remember the difference between needs and wants: Your financial resources will be limited in college and you’ll need to distinguish between needs and wants more than ever
• Take full advantage of discounts: It’s important to make time for fun and relaxation, but too much entertainment and going out with friends can destroy budget. Take advantage of on-campus events and discounts. For instance, eat at the cafeteria rather than the restaurant across the street and register with the campus fitness centre instead of that fancy gym next door. Moreover, it’s common for companies, especially franchises, from movie theatres to restaurants, to offer student discounts. If in doubt, ask!
• Protect yourself: Don’t let money lying around. Be careful of classmates and friends who want to borrow money, or “know” how you should spend yours.
• Don’t buy new: There is not a need to purchase a brand-new textbook, if you can find a used one for a reduced price, online. Nowadays, you can even find e-books. Also, remember that while you are registering, someone else is graduating; you should be able to find used furniture and appliances from these people online. In short, it might be time to compromise your designers’ taste.

Lesson wrap-up

Today we discussed the tasks you need to complete before going to college, the challenges you should anticipate and a few tips on how to address them. We began with some of the common challenges faced by freshmen and then provided you with some advice on how to address those and other challenges, by becoming as prepared as possible. We then gave particular attention to two things: going away from home and managing your finances.

Being homesick is normal and there are ways to deal with it. Moreover, everything we tried to teach you during this course will come in handy in relation to your finances, so be sure to take your notes along! At this point we will wrap up today’s lesson. First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved and then we will address any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lesson and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your life!