Don’t Feel Pressured to Like Your Roommate(s)
Your child’s initial living situation doesn’t have to define their entire freshman year. If they realize they don’t get along with their roommate after a few weeks, they can reach out to their resident assistant to discuss a change of scenery. Living with new people is hard enough, but living with new people your kid doesn’t even like can ruin the whole college experience.
However, they shouldn’t let one negative interaction influence their decision too much. All roommates have disagreements. It takes time to establish boundaries and expectations that all parties can agree on. Tell your child to wait until everyone develops their routines, then determine whether their lifestyles and personalities are compatible.
Figure Out Your Sleep Schedule
Sleep is the most important – and often the most overlooked – part of a college student’s routine. Figuring out their sleep schedule early on will help with many other aspects of college life:
A consistent sleep schedule also prevents kids from falling into bad habits off campus. Partying and drinking all the time might seem appealing at first, but it often leads to many health and behavior problems that could ruin your child’s college career.
Become a Good Housekeeper
The hardest part of living at college is housekeeping. Your child and their roommate are 100% responsible for vacuuming, taking out the trash and washing dishes, depending on their living situation. Evenly splitting the workload is the fairest strategy.
While the above tasks are relatively straightforward, laundry is more complicated and individualized. On-campus laundry rooms are complete free-for-alls. Ensure your child knows how to navigate the laundry room and take care of their clothes.
Read the Syllabus
Each professor will provide a syllabus outlining the class’s full schedule and policies for the semester. Your child should read it the whole way through and then read it again. Knowing what comes next in the class schedule will help them manage their time and workload. It also ensures they remember the professor’s directions for writing papers and submitting assignments, putting your child in their good graces.
Participate in Class
Frequent participation is another awesome way to stand out to professors. Many students zone out and browse on their laptops during class, which makes for a poor learning environment. Encourage your child to put down their electronics, raise their hand and engage in discussions. They shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes or embarrassing themselves in front of peers. That’s how you learn and grow as a person.
Get Involved on Campus
A college degree is no longer enough to make people stand out in the job market. They need to get involved with extracurriculars on campus to make connections and grow their resume. Your child should look into part-time jobs, internships, clubs and athletic programs. If they’ve already decided on their major, they should reach out to professors and other students in the department and make a name for themselves.
Find a Quiet Study Spot
As the semester goes on, students will discover and overrun all the good study spots around campus. Encourage your child to plant their flag at a quiet location early on to avoid the big crowds. They should look for low-traffic areas in smaller university buildings. Their place shouldn’t be flashy — a simple table or bench is more than enough.
Take Care of Your Body
The freshman 15 is a common weight gain trend among first-year college students. Once they arrive on campus, they start drinking more, sleeping less and developing unhealthy eating habits. You can’t allow your child’s health to go off the rails in just the first semester. Make sure they take care of their bodies with exercise and proper nutrition.
Manage Your Expectations
Every wide-eyed freshman shows up to campus with lofty expectations. They expect to make a bunch of friends, enjoy all their classes, party every weekend and meet the love of their life. This overconfidence could cause disappointment in a few months when arguing with roommates and losing sleep over midterm exams.
College can be lots of fun, but it’s also a great responsibility. It takes hard work and dedication to get good grades, graduate and find a job. Kids looking for an “Animal House” or “Old School” experience are going to school for the wrong reasons.
Remember: It’s Just the First Year
Above all else, incoming freshmen must realize that it’s just the first year. They still have three-plus years to make connections and gain valuable experience. Embracing the ups and downs of their first year will prepare them for the real world and teach lessons that will impact the rest of their lives.
About The Author
Ava Roman (she/her) is the Managing Editor of Revivalist, a women’s lifestyle magazine that empowers women to live their most authentic life. When Ava is not writing you’ll find her in a yoga class, advocating for body positivity, whipping up something delicious in the kitchen, or smashing the patriarchy.