Meet the List of Common Mistakes First-Year Students Tend to Make

Being a freshman means being the newbie on campus. Without a doubt, your first year in college will be full of unexpected experiences and fun; however, there are a few things that freshmen do that turns their early academic experience into a disaster.

There’s no need to worry since it is OK to feel lost and awkward when your first semester starts, but if you’re aware of the typical mistakes that you and your peers do, you’ll be able to identify those in your own routine and fix them straight away.

Skipping classes

Showing up on tests and exams days is not enough. In order to succeed academically, you need to learn the material that your professor delivers every day. So, go to class! Your attendance is absolutely correlated with your academic progress.

Believing first-year classes are the hardest

Oh, you’re so wrong. When it comes to your first year in college, your pre-requisite and core classes are going to be the easiest ones on your academic path.

Moreover, if you choose to study something that you’re passionate about, the classes will be less painful. Nonetheless, college and university classes tend to progress in complexity. So, make sure to enjoy the easiness of your freshman routine because you will have a lot more to study sooner that you think.

Thinking high school and college are the same

No, they are not. Every professor, school teacher, and the parent tells you that. However, most first-year students truly believe they can easily deal with college or university just as they did with high school. Wrong. You have to play the game according to the college rules. The latter differ from the ones you dealt with at high school. Every single thing counts. And your overall academic success depends on it.

Getting far away in the classroom

Most first-year students do that. Sitting in the back of the classroom is something that we automatically do, especially when we’re not sure about our knowledge. Who knows, maybe you choose those sits because you feel dreaded at the thought of being called on. However, you shouldn’t let your fears keep you from the desired progress. According to the latest studies, the further you sit from the front of the classroom, the more likely your scores will be damaged.

Procrastinating

Procrastination can cause you a lot of troubles. Late or missed assignments, stress, cramming, and skipped meals – these are just a few of problems that you may get into if you let yourself procrastinate even for a week. The chances are you’re going to fall behind not only your classes but your workforce plans as well.

Pulling regular all-nighters

Sleep well. Seriously, go to bed. Sticking to energy drinks of coffee will keep you awake, of course, providing you with an opportunity to cram for that test or exam, but this may result in a poor grade. The reality is that the human brain’s ability to reason and recall materials is better when an organism is well-rested.

Not leaving the dorms

The first year at college is the right time to check your interests, build connections, as well as start working on your resume. To do all of that, you should make enough time to get engaged in extracurricular activities on campus. Do not spend all of your free time in your dorm! Make sure to join some organization to ensure you don’t hang out with the same people. Your task is to socialize, attend various clubs’ meetings and different events provided for the first-year students.

Doing it all alone

Need help with that essay? Talk to your college professor or approach online essays writing service for help. Stressed out? Make sure to have an appointment at your counselor. There’s nothing wrong is needing help and actually asking for it. Most college campuses provide health, academic, and social resources to first-year students to make sure they adapt to college as smoothly as possible.

Overloading schedules

Your first-year college routine won’t be easy, but taking on too much with your schedule and extracurricular activities is the road to nowhere. The point here is that no matter how excited you are about the new page of life called “college,” your enthusiasm will quickly fade away once you begin to overload your schedule as a freshman. You’re going to spend all your time either doing home assignments or in class, getting less sleeping than your body needs. Besides, you will miss all those great moments with your new friends once you’re up to your neck with professional and academic responsibilities.

The chances are you’re really excited to get started with the new chapter in your life, just make sure you do that right and balance your current responsibilities properly with a minimal loss of life.

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