Tips to Adjusting to College: 

Starting College 

As a freshman year college student, give yourself time to adjust to the college transition. You need some time to digest all of the new things around you before you go home for a visit. It's very common to become homesick when you first move into a dorm. Especially if you're within driving distance of home, you may be tempted to go back within your first few weeks because of that feeling. Try to avoid doing so and instead give yourself time to experience your new surroundings. Look into college programs on campus that can help keep you engaged in the campus social life. Be sure to check out our College Freshman Survival Guide for tips on making this adjustment easier. 

Dorm living

 Leaving your family to move into a dorm and become a college freshman is something that you might be looking forward to or you might be dreading. For most undergrad students, adjusting to college life is a combination of both. The idea of going away and being independent is exciting but there is some worry about being alone, possibly for the first time and some people have trouble adjusting to college. Below you will find some tips or adjusting to college.

Many college freshman tips talk about how to adjust to dorm life, how to budget your time and your money and how to handle living with a roommate that you don't know.  They will also talk about moving out checklists, dorm checklists, dorm stuff and the dreaded freshman 15. Not as much college preparation seems to be spent preparing you for how you'll feel when you leave your family. This could be one of the toughest things to do. But you have to consider your family and your place within it, as well. It's often just as much an adjustment for parents and family members as it is for you when you leave home. Though they know you'll be coming back for visits (and maybe even bringing your laundry with you!) it may be the first time you've been away from home for weeks at a time. 

College Activities

 Going home early or often in the beginning can actually make you more homesick. Do your best to stay on campus as much as you can and get involved in social activities around your campus to help distract you from those feelings until you adjust. Ask your RA if there is a college activity list or if they have any ideas on what you can do. Some colleges also have a college activities board that can help place you in the right group. Call home, write, e-mail or talk via web cam when you feel home sick, and express your feelings. Your parents or family members are bound understand because they're going to be missing you, and they may remember what it was like for them when they went away to college. 

College Freshman Tips

There are a lot of sites that have college freshman tips and advice for students that are having some problems. Here is an idea that could help, revive the somewhat forgotten art of letter writing and actually mail them home. Your parents will probably be thrilled to hear from you in this way and the act of manually writing down how you feel and writing to them about your college freshman adventures can help you feel less homesick and make the adjustment easier. This is also a lot more personable and only takes a few more minutes to complete than sending an email. 

College Depression

 If you're a freshman year college student and you're having some homesickness, don't forget that your family may be having a harder time than you.  Call home and contact your family on a regular basis to help ease their transition to your college life. Staying in touch with your family and friends can help keep your spirits high. And don't hesitate to contact a school counselor if your feelings of homesickness persist, or you start to feel lonely or depressed, because counselors have great college freshman tips to share. Those tips listed above will help you avoid college depression, college anxiety, or feelings of being home sick or bipolar. There are a lot of college depression facts that show a correlation of college success vs. college drop outs. So be sure to seek help if you feel you are starting to struggle with any of these feelings. 

Comparing Colleges

One way to make sure you find the right college that’s not too far from home, is to use AnyCollege. You can compare college and universities though our online search engine. We also have a great resource center with stats, charts and worksheets on colleges in your area.

There was a good discussion on NPR this morning about a non-profit group that was formed to help U.S. Veterans pay off their student loan debt. It is actually two Veterans who started the group, Leave No Veterans Behind. This focused group is making strides to help relieve them of their Veteran student loans. 

One of the founders shared a story about when he was deployed overseas he actually received a call from his student loan originator asking him to make a payment. Student loans are supposed to be deferred when a soldier/sailor is deployed, but for whatever reason the loan originator still called them. They ended up working it out in the end and it helped spark the idea of helping other Veterans out with their loans. If you would like to help a Veteran, please visit their website.

The average Veteran who attends school has an average student loan debt of $42,000. This eye-popping figure is what Leave No Veterans Behind is out to help with. The group has already helped wipe the student loan debt clean for 3 Veterans and they continue to seek out donations so they can help out the hundreds of thousands of other Veterans struggling to pay off their loans.

If you are Veteran, AnyCollege works with many schools that offer exclusive scholarship and financial aid options to Veterans, so be sure to check out some of these great colleges today. While you are at it, swing over and submit an entry for our scholarship drawing!

Christianity in a Muslim Nation

Before coming to Turkey, I was expecting to visit places that are important in the history of Islam and learn more about that faith, but I've been surprised by how many places we've visited that are important in the Catholic tradition, which I was raised in. Although I can count the times I've been to Mass in the last five years on one hand (sorry Grandma), I can't help but feel these places are a part of my history. Constantinople was an important city in the early days of Christianity. Constantine, the man from whom the city got its name, declared the Christian faith the official religion of the empire. The city served as the Eastern capital of the Church, while Rome ruled over the west. Side by side in Istanbul are the Hagia Sophia and St. Irene's. Dating from the 6th century and 4th century, respectively, both building show the progression of attitudes toward Christianity and religion over time. When the Muslim Ottomans sacked Constantinople, they allowed the church to continue operating, but would store weaponry and artifacts in the building. Now, in secular Turkey, the church is used as a concert hall.

Saint Irene's

Hagia Sophia was such an impressive structure (a topic in and of itself) that the Mehmed the Conqueror had it converted to a mosque, and it remained one until the Republic of Turkey converted it to a museum. In the conversion, the Sultan ordered artists to cover over much of the Christian symbolism. The design the artist used included a fish, an early symbol of Christians, in order to communicate to those in the faith that the Church was still there, even if the building was taken. Looking at the paintings centuries later, it's easy to see what was original and what was the cover up.

Paintings in the Hagia Sophia

By far, the most surprising place to visit was our trip to the final home of the Virgin Mary. She and John the Baptist fled the persecution of early Christians and settled outside Ephesus. As far as tourist attractions go, it isn't much. A cistern, a small stone house, a spring and a wishing wall. It's almost laughable when you compare it to the majesty of the Vatican or the ornate mosaics at Hagia Sophia. But this humble house on the top of a hill thousands of miles from Jerusalem was the greatest reminder of the faith I've visited. To touch the walls built by an old woman who would travel thousands of miles, much of it probably by foot, to flee persecution and spread the word of something she believed in is much more impressive and humbling to me than a thousand gold gilded artifacts or Renaissance artworks.

Mary's Final Home

This next photo summarizes the dynamic of religions in Turkey. The column in the front marks the Temple of Artemis. It was originally a pagan goddess, but renamed by the Greeks. To the left are the ruins of the Basilica of St John the Baptist, where his remains laid until the Crusades. Immediately to it's left is a mosque, currently in use. Layers upon layers of traditions.

Temple of Artemis
 

AnyCollege.com can help you find a college that will help you study abroad in countries like this.

A freshman year college student faces a lot of new information and situations at once. Classes are different, people are different and the college is often miles or even states away from home. But nothing requires the same kind of adjustment that dorm life does. If you come from a large family where several people have shared a small number of bathrooms or you've shared a bedroom, the adjustment might not be as extreme as you think. If you're an only child or you're used to having everything to yourself, a little college preparation can go a long way.

College living in a dorm often means that you'll be using a community bathroom. Each floor of a dormitory typically has one bathroom, but the large dormitories may have more than one. And for most undergrad students, it seems that the bathroom is as far away as it can possibly be. This requires a little bit of forethought. A caddy or container that contains all your toiletries and anything you might need should be fully stocked and kept handy.

If you're not used to wearing a robe or slippers around the house, you may want to invest in those for your freshman year so you never have to make a midnight dash to the bathroom in sleepwear that may be a bit more revealing than you'd like. Also, some type of shower shoes like flip-flops, as inconvenient as that might seem when you take a shower, can protect your feet from fungus that is pretty common in shared shower situations. Taking 3 seconds to slip on a pair of cheap flip-flops can save you in aggravation and antifungal medication later.

You'll also need to consider the laundry situation as a freshman year college student. Shared laundry facilities are common in dormitories and upperclassmen are typically already in a routine. They know the best time to go and have worked out all of the schedules and situations that you're trying to figure out now. Give yourself leeway. Don't wait until every item of clothing is dirty before you try to get the laundry done or you might find that the machines are full.

Also, keep in mind that the neater you keep your space, the better you'll be able to concentrate and focus on your work. You'll also be able to enjoy yourself more when you do have down time because you won't be thinking about how messy your dorm room is. The stereotypical messy dorm room might seem almost fun, but it can actually be counterproductive to a freshman year college student or any student. Keeping your room clean and organized and planning your time for showers, laundry and other tasks will make a huge difference in how smooth your transition is from high school to dorm living.

AnyCollege can help you find a college that has a great dorm environment as well as academic excellence.

The great thing about going to college is that you have all kinds of opportunities to spread your wings. Studying abroad is one of those opportunities and too few students are taking advantage of it. Many schools and universities offer study abroad programs, some are better than others, but all of them offer a unique chance for students to step out of their comfort zones and better themselves.

Thousands of students head off to foreign lands every summer. From England to Australia, South Africa to Spain, there are many places to go. You may never have an opportunity like this again in your life to take off for a few months and immerse yourself in a different country and culture. The best part is that you get to earn course credits while you are there!

It's not all about learning a foreign language either, although it is a great opportunity to. Many students go to further their education in whatever particular area of study they are majoring in. Business, foreign language, communications and international relations are just a sampling of what you can study overseas. It also something you can put on your resume after you graduate.

Some students may be scared off due to the potential cost involved or because they would be away from home for so long. Don't fret, that's a normal feeling. Students who have studied abroad often felt the same way before taking the plunge, but they comeback being so thankful they were able to go. They often return to campus with their eyes wide open and with a new insight into how they fit into the world.

"I was so sad when it was over," stated Laura Paterra, who went on a study abroad trip to Italy. "I remember crying on the way there because I was nervous and didn't want to be away from home for so many months. And then, I remember crying on the way home because I don't want to leave." There are several other shared experiences like Paterra's that can be found in the same article by the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW.

Studying abroad may not be for everyone, but if you are interested, check to see what programs your school offers. Many of our schools on AnyCollege offer study abroad programs.

It looks like public colleges are interested in more than just GPA and ACT scores. More universities now require letters of recommendation, essays and other materials that help them learn about the "whole applicant," instead of just numbers on paper, when admitting students to their schools. Why? To improve the quality of the whole student body, according to this article in the New York Times.

More students than ever are applying to colleges and universities to get educated and start down their dream career paths, and test scores and GPAs are higher than ever. In order to help choose the best candidates and give the school the most diverse, multitalented and vibrant body, admissions representatives are now considering factors such as special talents or successes, overcoming major life obstacles, and community and extracurricular activities.

This "holistic" approach to accepting college applications may make some incoming freshmen nervous, but for many others such as low-income, minority and first-generation students, it is opening new doors. (Interestingly, the New York Times article says, "Minority students tend not to fare well on admissions exams." Author Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book, Blink, that standardized exams which ask for a student's race before the test versus after greatly skew test results.)

Hopefully this broader consideration set for choosing student applicants for a college will make the process more fair for everyone. The article also discusses several barriers that this new "whole applicant" approach can alleviate, including admission of legacy or wealthy candidates without the individual achievements to match, as well as lowering of admission standards to recruit star athletes.

While this more holistic approach can help countless students get the college education they want and need, this is not to say that colleges and universities will not still expect great numerical performance from student applicants.

Visit the AnyCollege search page to find colleges and universities near you.

Everywhere I go, I'm overhearing talk of NCAA Tournament brackets and Final Four picks, March Madness upsets and obvious Championship choices. But one thing that's really interesting to me is how little I know about some of the schools that have made it this far in the basketball tournaments.

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It's application time! Many of the kids I work with coaching and in various other community events are applying like crazy for colleges and trying to make the decision. One has it narrowed down to two excellent private colleges in the state, and she's torn between them... another is looking at all the major state colleges who have great performing arts programs...

So what I'd like to hear from you (as students, parents, counselors... whoever!) is what questions are you encountering in the finding a college process? What decisions are hard to make? What is confusing?

Please share them in the comments and I will post a blog later this week answering as many as I can... or giving what insight I have.

Not too often am I amused and impressed at the same time. This morning, a close friend of mine in the admissions world sent over this essay, and it's way too good not to share. In my opinion, anyone with the guts to write this AND turn it in should be admittend into the university/college of his/her choice!

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