What was your first year of College like?

[cheerdancer11]

I am so excited for school! If you would like to comment on your experience freshman year do so here, and answer any of the questions you want.

Is is hard living with a roomate? Did you get along?
How much harder do you have to work from hs? Did you constantly do Hw?
Do freshman drink even if they are under 21?
Are there cliques- like after the 1st week every1 is segrated into their own group?

Thanks for your help, just trying to get a heads up on what itll be like next yr.
Michele

 

[DisHornFan]

Well, I am still in my freshman year, but I'll post anyway.
I knew my roommate from high school, we were really good friends. Everyone told us we would end up hating each other and they were completely wrong. This year has been great and we are even living together again next year.
For me, the type of work is completely different. There really isn't much "homework", unless your in a math class. The main thing is reading. The first few months of college I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head I had to read so much . The tests are also alot different, they are harder, but that is to be expected.
And, yes here people drink even if they aren't 21. But you have to remember that it is like the #7 party school in the nation, so it might be different other places.
I don't really think that "cliques" exist in college. Sure the greeks all hang out together, but they aren't like exclusive. College is pretty much what you make of it. If you want to sit in your room and do school work all the time you can, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I was really lucky. I had the chance to meet my roommate before we started school when she came up to Milwaukee for preview, and we knew we'd get along great. We had a lot of common interests, and while we did have our moments, I'd say my roommate experience my freshman year was really good. I'd heard some horror stories about roommates, so I was lucky mine worked out so well. It's not like we're the best of friends, but we do still get along and talk every so often.

Now to answer your other questions...
How much harder do you have to work from hs? Did you constantly do Hw? I agree, there really isn't much "homework"- it is a LOT more reading. But for me, since I had a really competitive high school, I didn't really find the transition from high school to college work all that difficult.

Do freshman drink even if they are under 21? Of course. There's always going to be those kids who want to drink. It also may depend on the school- if it's a big party school, then a lot more drinking will probably go on. I'm not a big partier, so I don't drink.

Are there cliques- like after the 1st week every1 is segrated into their own group? No, I would say there really aren't "cliques" in college.

 

[supercarrie]

My roomie and I aren't best friends, but we get along well enough. We haven't had a fight or argument all year, but haven't become really close, either. The only issue we have had is that she stays up until 4am or so most nights, and I like to go to sleep around 1am, but she just keeps her desk and mirror lights on so I can still sleep in relative darkness.

About the workload...I am on a quarter system (10 weeks + finals) at UCLA, so it is pretty demanding. It seems like every week you have a paper due or an exam, or both. Its not a lot of busy work, though, just a ton of reading, ranging from 50-250 pages/week for each class. I prefer it to high school because although its a lot of work, its a lot less class time as well.

Drinking...yes, almost everyone I know that is under 21 drinks. Most of the people who don't drink are those who would choose not to drink once they turn 21 as well (generally very religious people, but I don't want to stereotype, there are exceptions!) I can't drink currently because of the medication I am on, but it hasn't been a problem, either, people have been understanding about it. (To be honest, its not much fun for me though to stay the sober one!)

Cliques...the Greek scene seems to form cliques pretty quickly if you pledge, but eveyone here is pretty friendly. The first week you should be pretty social, though, since everyone is really open to meeting new people then, and once school begins, things get busy. Its not that people form cliques, its that they get to know people and settle in with a group of friends. Everyone I have met since the first few weeks have been really friendly also.

 

[cheerdancer11]

Thanks for the input! I'm a pretty good reader so thatll probably come in handy. TTYL

 

[Evil Princess]

My first roommate was HORRIBLE, but she left school entirely and I got a new one who I'm actually rooming with my Junior year next year.

Workload...it really depends on your major and the school you're at. Each program is different. This semester my workload is horrendous, fall semester wasn't so bad.

Drink? Of course. It's college. Lots of kids go nuts away from home and drink themselves into oblivion without their parents to watch them. Personally I drank in high school so I got the craziness out of my system before I got to college. I still drink, all my friends drink, but not too often. I really don't know of anyone who doesn't drink.

People are pretty friendly at first freshman year, everyone is in the same exact position!

 

[Megster]

I didn't know my roomate before Igot to school and was terrified she would be one of those crazy psycho roomates you here about. Deffinitely not! We get along great and I'm sure we'll stay friends for a long time.

Workload is deffinitely different. Most stuff is "optional". The professor could care less if you do it or not (meaning its not collected or graded). However, they don't just assign it for no reason. Most reading/problems are going to help you on papers and tests and you'll probably do pretty bad on the tests if you don't do the work. Im a good reader too, but I found reading at this level is a lot harder. I got distracted easier and 10 pages would take me like 20/25 minutes whereas in high school that would take me like 5.

As to drinking...absolutely. I do know a few people who don't drink due to medication or just they don't want to. No one really cares if you do or don't, so that was nice. Theres not the pressure to do it like there was in high school.

I don't think that cliques form especially with fresmen because everyone is going through the same stuff. I know a lot of people who think the Greek system is cliquey but personally I don't think so. i have a lot of friends who are Greek and I think many people who don't know anyone in the system mistake the close friendships/connections they have with each other as a clique. If going Greek is something you are even remotely interested in i would say you should check it out. Rush is great way to meet people even if you don't end up pleding anywhere.

 

[kandeebunny]

My freshman year I was lucky enough to get a single so I never had to deal with a roomate. I was and still am one of the few people who just don't drink. I have no real desire to. As for the homework level, I went to a private Catholic prep school so I found college is MUCH easier for me. I have a lot of work to do, but nothing terribly hard, just time consuming. It also all seems to hit at once. I have 3 tests in a week or 3 papers due the same week, so it makes it harder to leave everything to the last minute. Like this week, (I'm taking 3 courses right now at 2 different schools) I had a History final and term paper due in one class, then in my other history class I have another final, a term paper, vocab and a powerpoint presentation due within a day of each other. In my Lit course I had reading logs, a term paper proposal and I have a midterm next week I have to study for. It's easy stuff, but it all happens at once.

I'm now a junior and a commuter, I don't really know that many people from school because of that and I've met no one this term because I have been doing online courses due to health issues and so I can travel.

As for the roomate situation though, one of my good friends had the roomate from Hell freshman year. She was weird, didn't talk to anyone, scheduled classes around her soap operas, was bulemic and ate cat food (I'm so not even kidding.) After trying it for awhile it didn't work for her and she was able to get moved after talking to the RA because it was SO bad. The RA is there to help you if something like that should occour.

 

[jimmybop]

I've been lucky with random roomate 3 diffrent times.... The first when I moved to college I was sopose to be trippled (lots of in comming Freshmen... but everyone would be detrippled @ x-mas time after people leave school for various reasons), but my third roomate never showed up (which was good... cuz they both did football, so they would of been there about 2 weeks before me and took up all the space ). We wernt friends in the end... but we got along real well, and still will talk a bit if I see him around (which I havent seen him in about a year).

But I left after my 1st semester to do the College Program, and I got really lucky again, and he was awesome. We got along great and hung out a bunch..... I mean.. this isnt college but still being put with a random person....

And then the semester I got back, I got randomly put with someone who needed a roomate, and we got along real well.... not good friends or anything... but just like the first time, we lived well together.... although he did move out after x-mas break... but that was ok, my school never did anything untill about 1/2 through the semester

As for drinking..... did I drink under age... no... and I still don't even though i'm 21... Do people do it under age? Yes.... are people smart about it? not all the time.... But if you don't want to, you don't have to, and if people force you to, ditch them and find someone else who is better (school is stressing enough as it is). But yeah... if you do, be smart about it and don't be the drunk person yelling in the hall at 3:30am at campus safety "i'm 18... I have rights.... I want to go down and get a soda, you can't tell me what to do... this is Bull**** blah blah blah... yada yada yada" (yeah.. that happened outside my door the other weekend...)

 

[pixiedust23]

well....not to scare you but i hated my freshman year in college. No amount of money would get me to go back and do it again!

My roomate: well she ended up suffering from depression, she was smelly, and she made all sorts of messes.

The workload: It was tough b/c I was on the varsity cheerleading team which took up 3 hours everyday. Plus I was pre-med and there is just soooo much reading. I highly reccomend doing the reading however, you'll do a lot better in your classes.

Drinking: everyone drinks, even if youre 12 year old little brother comes to visit you and stays in your dorm, lol he might even drink. But that's college for ya. Take advantage b/c the real world just isnt' like that!

As for cliques: my school was extremely clique-y. I graduated a few months ago and went back a couple weekends ago to visit some friends and the clique-iness still amazed me. However it was a really small school (about 4,000) so I feel that it all depends on the size of your school and the level of competitiveness there.

 

[cheerdancer11]

Hey pixie dust you sound a lot like me, i might be pre-med and i want to do cheerleading . What school did you go to? Thanks!

 

[pixiedust23]

went to a small private school in VA. I'll leave it at that.

 

[cheerdancer11]

Cool! My friend is going to going in VA at Hollins University, she's really excited. Ttyl.

 

[Linxzy]

No roomates, since I live 5 mins away from college. Plus my college does not have dorms.
I loved my first year, made great friends. I am in biology (changed mayor to biomedical sciences last year, but not much difference) and it is alot of reading. And lots of lab work.

As for drinking, our legal age is 18, so drinking is usual before college.
There are some cliques, but we all get together just fine.

 

[BluesTravlr00]

i'm the only one who couldn't stand his roommate?

he was filthy. he smoked weed 3-4 times a day. he came home at 4am every night drunk and/or stoned - unable to open a packet of ramen noodles, so he would tear at the pack until tiny little shards of noodles exploded all over the carpet (for me to cut my feet on in the morning). he was racist. his friends stole my food. lots more. enough said. grrrrr....

 

[phisigprincess]

I actually lived with my best friend my first year and we had a blast. (though this isn't recommended for a lot of people - usually I hear horror stories about friends living together).

I think the major difference in work load between college and high school is that you have to be motivated. No one holds your hand in college. If you forget to do something, no one cares, you just lose the points. There usually isn't extra credit or "redos". You sound like you're pretty self-motivated, so you should be fine. It's people who are very used to having someone there all the time to push them to get their work done who experience a problem. The same goes for going to class. I admit that there were many times I didn't want to go to class.... whether you act on that or not is your business. I knew many people in college who never went to their classes because they didn't have to. They ended up failing the course, but it was their decision.

Yes people drink. Again, it's a choice though. I know my sister didn't drink her first two years at school and no one pressured her or thought any less of her. It's a personal choice and if you do just remember to be responsible and use your head no matter what!!! Sometimes freshman can get carried away with the party scene.

College is practically the opposite of high school when it comes to cliques. I had friends from all different walks of life. Friends in the sorority, in my major, in the theater department, in the Greek system, in the dance department.... in (most) colleges, it doesn't really matter who you hang out with.

Overall, just be yourself and enjoy every minute of it!! You will be AMAZED at how quickly it goes. (But also use your head. ) Good luck!!

 

[pixiedust23]

I didnt like my roomate either. But you just pick a better one the next year!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my roommate and i got along pretty well..not best friends, but didnt fight either..i was only there for one semester--it was a small catholic school and i dindt like it, so i left to go to another school..
there were tons of people drinking, personally, i dont really drink..ill have a daquiri or something when i go out to dinner with friends or family, but i dont go out drinking..plenty of people do though--doesnt matter how old you are pretty much haha

freshmen year went pretty quick though..i cant believe im almost done my sophomore year

 

[Stephanie218]

my freshman year hasn't been great at all...i'm doing the small private catholic thing right now and hating it, there's sooo many more cliques here than in high school that it's rediculous...

i also drank in high school so that's not a huge deal...but a lot of people here haven't before and i'm not one to take responsibility for them and clean up after them when they go overboard because they don't know how much they can drink.

but on a brighter side i'm transferring to ASU next year and i'm sooo excited!!

 

[Sehsun]

In my freshman year, I was assigned a random roommate. I was given no preferences at all. I was very fortunate to get a roommate that I got along with. It was a little hard to share one room together, but it worked out okay.

Honestly, I had to work about the same as I did in high school. I was only constantly doing homework for my math classes (pre-calculus & Calculus), which took a while and was frustrating at times.

As for drinking, I do not know...they probably do.

It is less clique-y than high school. I don't even talk to the people in my classes, unless it's to ask some questions or stuff or make small conversation before class. My school is one of the top five biggest colleges in the U.S. (I think).

Overall, my freshman year was okay. I wish I had spent more time developing my social life. I got involved with several things such as clubs and volunteering, but the amount of time I spent talking with people and making friends was minimal.

Sophomore year is better though, and I hope that it continues to be a lot of fun.