General advice for college freshmen?

[ASTalumna06]

My advice: If you're struggling in your classes, don't just talk to your professors, but also considering talking to your advisor.

I didn't know (along with others here, and many students who enter college) that you could drop classes. If I had known, my GPA wouldn't have been so awful after my first semester. And it wasn't until we had someone from the school's Career Development Center speak to one of my freshman classes during my second semester, that I realized that Engineering might not be the best option for me. A week after that person came to our class, I dropped out of Physics in the middle of a test (literally, after struggling for 10 minutes, I handed the test in to the professor and essentially said, "I won't be back"), and I went to the Career Development Center to see what my options were. I took interest tests and talked with my advisor to map out a plan for my new major.

There are so many resources available to you in college, and many aren't advertised on Day 1. If you're struggling, talk to your advisor about your options. And be honest with yourself! Don't feel pressured to stay in a class/major that you don't want to be in. This is the rest of your life. You want to be in the right place.