The Transition to College
Amidst all the excitement, many students overlook the stress involved in making so many big transitions in such a brief period of time. In anticipation of these changes, we recommend thinking through as many of the particulars as you can in advance. The more prepared you are for college, the more ready you will be to confront new pressures with a minimum of panic, frustration, or depression.Here are some things to consider as you head off to college: College is hard.Courses are at a higher level than high-school classes; the material is presented at a faster pace; and professors are likely to assign more reading, writing, and problem sets than you may be used to. The harder work is something all first-year college students contend with, so don’t think having to struggle to keep up is somehow a failing on your part. In order to give yourself an scholarships for high school seniors opportunity to adjust gradually to the new academic demands, choose a course load that includes some classes that will be harder for you and others that will be less intense. For example, if you took an introductory calculus course or a second-year French class your senior year of high school and don’t feel like you quite mastered the subject, consider repeating the course your first year of college rather than moving on to a more advanced math or French class. The very fact that the course is at the college level will mean you’ll encounter new material. College life is unstructured.No more curfews, no more concerned questions from parents about whether you’ve done your homework or where you were until 3 a.m. This may sound like the definition of freedom, but freedom itself can be stressful. You are responsible for managing your time in college.