Your Freshman Year in College

[Still BLUTANG]

wow. 10 years ago i was a freshman in college. i made a couple of friends and participated in A LOT of activities. Most people thought i was stuck up because i didn't go out of my way to make friends. I wasn't shy but i just wasn't the type to talk to strangers all the time. I thought it was CRAZY that people said "Hi, how you doing, o.k. catch you later" instead of just the head nod or waving and keeping it moving. Who has time for all that? LOL.

I was blessed to have a nice (but weird) roommate and also a cousin who was a couple of years ahead of me on the yard. My only "first" at college was my 1st time at the club.

Being involved in Band, SGA, academic clubs, and taking a full load helped keep me focused on college WORK instead of getting caught up in social trappings.

All in all it was pretty calm, things didn't start going crazy until my junior year (got a car, took less classes = more time for partying).

Oddly enough, my best friends by senior year and now (as a grown up) are some of the people i COULD NOT STAND as a freshman.

[neosoul]

my freshman year was the most memorable for me because I had a bad perm and all my hair FELL out... *sigh*

but I had MASSIVE country, not culture shock. Coming str8 from Africa I was like Hakeem in New York, from Coming to America... i hated the people, the language... black people were scarce and the few that were there were awesome, especially the old heads, they made me feel at home, and then they graduated the next semester and then I was all alone but I had fun!! the classes, the people... I didn't have many friends until I joined the NAACP and then I was home free...

[Natty Nupe]

Originally Posted by neosoul

my freshman year was the most memorable for me because I had a bad perm and all my hair FELL out... *sigh*

but I had MASSIVE country, not culture shock. Coming str8 from Africa I was like Hakeem in New York, from Coming to America... i hated the people, the language... black people were scarce and the few that were there were awesome, especially the old heads, they made me feel at home, and then they graduated the next semester and then I was all alone but I had fun!! the classes, the people... I didn't have many friends until I joined the NAACP and then I was home free...

lol. i had a massive country shock as well, thank god i had other Trinis with me to help me out. the food was ok, but greasy, chicken seemed to be a staple of nearly every meal (i went to an hbcu). i had a short-lived relationship with an african american girl, i learned not everything one sees on television about america is true. the international students used to throw some wild parties off campus, after a while we built a reputation and ppl would ask us when the next one was.

i saw snow for the first time and learned that even some of the kids from south carolina hadnt seen it before. i saw a poor example of class management, this one math professor would let the students run wild in the class, making noise. one day he got fed up and said, "hey, stop that shyt!"

my roommate was from savannah and i had a couple classes with him. i put him onto obscure bob marley tracks (not the legend cd) he put me on to pastor troy, master p, mystikal, silkk the shicker...catchy stuff. sadly, he didnt graduate, he let his grades drop and lost his scholarship (he was a member of the marching 101) lord knows where he is now.

[Mz_Doc]

Along these lines, did any of you have trouble grade-wise freshman year, for whatever reason and if so, what did you do or what do you suggest a student do to bounce back from that?

My freshman year, it was just a completely different world from high school and I wasn't prepared...no excuses, just a fact and now am just trying to get my GPA back up. Studying more is one of the obvious, but I guess I mean mentally too because I'm just so pissed at myself for letting it happen because I was such a good student in high school... Thanks for your advice in advance!

[pinkies up]

My advise: Don't register for an 8:00 class on a Friday. (You will be too tired to go after partying all night on Thursday)

[Proverbs31]

Originally Posted by Mz_Doc

Along these lines, did any of you have trouble grade-wise freshman year, for whatever reason and if so, what did you do or what do you suggest a student do to bounce back from that?

My freshman year, it was just a completely different world from high school and I wasn't prepared...no excuses, just a fact and now am just trying to get my GPA back up. Studying more is one of the obvious, but I guess I mean mentally too because I'm just so pissed at myself for letting it happen because I was such a good student in high school... Thanks for your advice in advance!

Does your school have some sort of "freshman forgiveness" program? My school had one and basically if you got an E (thats what a failing grade was) during your freshman year, if you retook the class and received a better grade, the bad grade is erased, and it's as if you never failed the course.

But other than that, I would suggest you spend more time at the library rather than trying to study at home or in the dorm, and try to schedule classes next semester (that are needed) that you think you'd perform well in. It's much easier to build your GPA in the first 2 years so if you do well the next few terms you should be fine. Hope that helps.