What to Expect in the Freshman Year of College: Student’s Guide
Here are insights to help you and your freshman better understand what your child will experience the first year, from a grad who with her mom has written a “both sides” look at the college years.
by Shannon Philpott
The most anticipated time has arrived—the first year of college. Amidst the excitement of moving out, grasping freedom, anticipating change, and forging new friendships, the average college freshman often underestimates the challenges associated with adjusting to an entirely new lifestyle.
Although college offers opportunities and an adventurous academic and social journey like no other, breaking through the barriers of the unknown and dealing with the uncertainty of what to expect that first year are often sources of significant stress. Finding a balance between freedom and responsibility is crucial.
What freshmen can expect the first year
According to Steffany Bane, a graduate of the University of Miami–Florida who with her mother, Margo E. Bane Woodacre, M.S.W., is co-author of I’ll Miss You Too, an off-to-college guide for parents and students, it is important for college freshmen to remember that every other freshman is scared and a little nervous, too, anticipating an exciting first year.
● Expect demanding classes. Academic success really matters from the very first semester, according to Bane. “But you can get lost and lose focus on your studies,” Bane said.
Noting that several of her friends worked the next four years to recover from low GPAs, Bane suggested students utilize college resources such as tutoring centers, read textbooks thoroughly, sit near the front of the class, and attend all classes. “If you sit in front, a professor knows your face and recognizes that you’ve been attending,” Bane said.
● Expect emotional days. The first few weeks of college can easily send any student into a whirlwind of emotions—emotions that Ann Losoff, Ph.D., staff psychologist at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville, describes as “normal, developmental issues.”
According to Losoff, living in freshman dorms is a positive step in the right direction. “The wonderful thing about freshman residence halls is that everyone is in the same place. They all need new friends and they are reaching out to each other.”
Losoff recommends getting involved in campus activities to meet new people and keep your mind off of home. Bane agreed. “I didn’t know a soul, so I went to the orientation programs. You really need to be around people.”
● Expect the “Freshman 15.” Many college freshmen find that food offers comfort from emotional stress. Beware, though. The Freshman 15 is not a myth. “In college, eating is a social event,” Bane said. “It really is a free-for-all because of crazy schedules—your can easily find yourself eating a waffle and ice cream for dinner.”
Pacing yourself and recognizing unhealthy eating habits will help, Bane said. With newfound freedom comes self-discipline. (She had the added incentive of bikini weather all year round when attending college in Miami.)
● Expect friendship foes and woes. Just as everything else in life is changing, so are friendships. Bane found that it was painful to grow apart from her friends at home, especially after Christmas break when she had sunk back into her pre-college life.
Many students are shy, unsure of themselves, and socially stressed, Losoff said. Meeting new friends and roommates can be frightening, challenging, and thrilling, as well as a life lesson. “You have to be open-minded, be more selfless, and reach a compromise between personalities,” Bane said. “You are never really prepared for being in a two-by-four room with a roommate.”
● Expect social life overload. “As a freshman you want to experience it all,” Bane said. Although the social aspect of college is often the most appealing, it can also be the most challenging balancing act of freedom.
“You don’t have a curfew, and mom isn’t making you get up on time,” Bane said. “I learned that with my 9 a.m. math class. I had to schedule myself. There is nothing wrong with excusing yourself early from a party.”
Bane also recommended that students choose class schedules with academics and their social life in mind, and to trust their intuition—what she called “a gut check”—to sense when the pressure of balancing schoolwork, friends, healthy eating habits, and a social life is proving to be too much. “Every individual has a tipping point,” Bane said.
● Expect new learning, growth and maturity. Ultimately, Bane said, “College is really an opportunity to find yourself and find what you enjoy doing.”
Shannon Philpott is a writer/reporter with 10-plus years of experience, and a college journalism instructor. She maintains a blog about writing, reflecting, and teaching at shannonphilpott.com.
© Photo by Sonya Etchison | Dreamstime.comYour kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.
Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)
* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating.
* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.
* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.
* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.
* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.
* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.
* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.
* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.
* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.
It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.
A role model for cooking with kids
Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)
The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.
The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.
Good cooking habits
Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)
When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.
You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.
Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.
Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.
Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.
CREDIT:
Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.
PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:
Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org
TEASER:
Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.
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