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KNIGHTtime News
GUIDING YOUR COLLEGE PROCESS
By Lisa Giarratano
Adults love to lecture about college, promising these years ahead
will be some of the best of their lives (present company included!). While it’s natural to romanticize a time when we were all less jaded, had more energy, grew a ton, and were entirely focused on ourselves, that kind of language can put a fair amount of pressure on high school students to really enjoy college and make no mistakes. As we know in hindsight, the reason why college was so formative is because
of the low stakes missteps we made along the way.
In order to set some reasonable expectations about what to expect, please enjoy our Top 10 Tips for Acing the Transition to College:
Adjust your expectations to make them realistic. There will be days that test you, and on those days, you will question
if you made the right choice attending College X. That’s natural and will happen no matter where you choose to go to school. Understanding and expecting those days ahead will allow you
to be kinder to yourself during tough moments. Remember: this too shall pass.
2) Find a place on campus that
makes you feel at home. It could
be a spot under a tree on the
quad, your favorite corner table
at the co ee shop in the student
center, or a speci c treadmill in
the athletic center. Either way,
identifying a home base that
brings you joy and centers you is important. You’ll always have that 4
getting to know new people on your dorm oor, people usually di erent from you, is what makes college fun. When you get uncomfortable and socially awkward, try putting the phone down and instead, forcing a face-to-face interaction with someone new.
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1)
GETTING IT RIGHT:
Acing the Transition from High School to College
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spot to think and be alone.
could be the most controversial. Gone are the days where you’d attend college and be stuck in
a dorm with people you barely knew and little access to your friends and family back home. Ironically, this is where a lot of the magic happens. Late nights
4) Bring a few things from home, but don’t bring too much. Remember: you’re going to grow and change; give yourself some space to do so. But! Bring enough clothes with you so that way you can go a couple weeks without doing laundry—it will end up saving you money in the long run.
3) Avoid FaceTime. I know, this one
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