Becoming a freshman is usually associated with an exciting new chapter in someone’s life. After all those adolescent years of anticipating the big bad world, you are heading off to further education, often preparing to live away from home for the first time. The excitement is tempered with the thought of hours spent in libraries or rushing through assignments as deadlines approach. The social life? There will be new relationships but potential heartbreak. One thing about the mistakes you might make is that none of them is new. Freshmen have been screwing up for decades! Here we’ll examine common issues arising and how to deal with them.
Poor time management
You are likely to be overwhelmed by your calendar of essays, exams, lecture time, study reviews, and meetings with bursars. On top of this, you’ll be making new friends; seeking romance. Freshmen often fall at this hurdle, ending up juggling too many plates. So take advantage of anything that will inject convenience into your social life. Instead of hanging around campus or sending weekends in bars, check out the possibilities of making direct introductions via online dating sites. These platforms will allow you to socialize via your smart device, flirting with fellow students. You’ll find it easy to develop a rapport with other singles and can quickly arrange dates – as long as these don’t impact study time.
Not dealing with isolation
Freshmen can feel cut off from family and friends. There are only so many phone calls or emails you can make back home before returning to your cramped student flat. This is why you should seek societies where you can mingle with people sharing your interests. Dip into dating website freshmen chat rooms. Here you can engage with a variety of individuals, widening your social circle.
Failure to manage finances
Having never had to budget before, many freshmen rapidly blow their funds. Instead of purchasing course materials, dollars get splashed during happy hours. It is during the student years that the value of money and a more deliberate approach to spending are learned. Do not neglect to use the free tools available to you for study and life - an online library, the Internet on campus, the help of fellow students. Back to the topic of online chatting, a dating partner would be excellent for your mental wellbeing and give you access to a person you could trust with advice about spending wisely.
Upsetting the life-study balance
There’s always a temptation to either study too much or not enough. Again, this goes back to time management failures. You might not always find it obvious when you are tipping this balance one way or the other, but someone more experienced - a teacher, roommate, or partner - might offer an objective viewpoint.
Missing classes
This is a classic symptom of a freshman heading for a fall. It might seem harmless to miss the odd lecture, especially if you're feeling tired, sleep deprived, or even hungover. But think of the longer-term implications of struggling around exam time or being kicked off the course.
Skipping on downtime
To achieve your qualification, you’ll need to work hard. The best way to accomplish this would be to allow yourself plenty of time to unwind. This doesn't mean you have to throw a party every night. But lack of rest can lead to burnout. So don't neglect the weekend. Agree with friends and partner about when to prioritize an assignment deadline and when to relax during a date. As such, you always have time to reboot.
Not reaching out
Freshmen will face problems, that much is inevitable. Overcoming them requires having the courage to ask for help. One lesser-known aspect of dating websites and apps is that they offer guidance as well as matching opportunities. There will be forums where you can ask questions. And regular blogs offering all sorts of useful pointers about ways for freshmen to succeed.
Not being proactive
Many freshmen discover a particular course isn’t right for them. They’ll struggle to remain on this unsuitable journey instead of looking into alternatives. There are always freshmen options elsewhere. You should always keep an open mind about your future. There will be teams of advisors on campus who can help steer you in the right direction and assist with swapping courses. You could research more appropriate qualifications, such as looking into internships or taking a year out until you’ve decided the optimum course of action. When it comes to relationships, if you get the sense that you and a partner just aren’t gelling, don’t let this situation linger. The longer you avoid confronting the truth, the more toxic things can become. It would be far better to move on.
Avoiding faculty professors
When you have difficulty understanding the teaching material and are not doing well with assignments, then remember that college professors will be able to guide you in the right way and suggest additional recommendations for the study. If you have a positive and polite experience of communicating with professors as well as participating in classes and coming to additional electives, then they can serve as your mentors. This is a useful bonus for study, internship, or research work.
People looking back on their freshmen years often state they were the best times of their lives. Others, who failed to resolve the common mistakes mentioned, have the opposite point of view. To give yourself the best chance of falling into the former category, all you have to do is take heed of our advice about fixing issues before they get beyond repair. Whether this is to do with your education or your romantic attachments, your contentment lies in your hands.
