Open Letter to the Incoming Freshmen Class

open letter to incoming freshmen
Yes, that’s me …on a mechanical bull.
One of those nights.

I loved college to the max.  It’s where I discovered that I am, in fact, an extrovert, found some of my best friends, became adventurous.  I developed a love for sushi, the hair poof, dancing like a crazy person – even when sober, and where I learned to speak my mind.  I am not the wisest person or the most eloquent, but I do have some advice for freshmen that was willed down to me.

Dear Small Freshman,

You are about to embark on the best years of your life.  You will drink too much, stay up too late, not study nearly enough as you think you should, and make some of the best memories ever.  To be successful and get the most out of your short time, you have to:

Develop a schedule.  Have specific nights that you stay in, do laundry, get caught up on homework and studying then have nights that you don’t do any of the boring stuff.  For me, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were the fun nights, which meant Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday I stayed in and worked on all my class assignments.   It’s about moderation.

Be adventurous.  It took me the whole first semester before I got this part down.  You will have so much fun if you are up for random road trips, staying up late, or heading to that random dive bar that no one has ever heard of.  Only say no the illegal, try everything else.

Avoid the “Freshman 15” by all costs. In my case it was the “Freshman 15” then “Sophomore 20.”  Workout, join the (probably free-to-you) gym on campus, go for a run with your friends.  It took me 2x as long to lose it all after college then it took for me to gain it all.

Make a connection in each of your classes.  Eventually as you work through your degree program the class sizes will get smaller and you will see the same faces in majority of your classes.  It’s best to make alliances early so when you’re sick or miss class for “whatever” reason then you have someone to call to get notes or turn an assignment for you.

Here we go, pay attention to the next part.  It’s probably the most important to your academic career: Talk to your professors.  Go to your professors during their office hours to ask an assignment question, test question, or anything.  You want your professors to know your face, think you are dedicated to your studies, and in turn, they will be willing to help you succeed or bump you from that 89.2 to a 90.

Most of all, do not stress too much.  Everything will be fine.  My Dad told me one thin that stuck with me “You will not remember in 20 years if you made a C, B, or an A on that test, BUT you will remember that random night when you went out with your friends.”

Have fun!

Yours truly,

Older and Wiser Ex-College Student 

The following two tabs change content below.
Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®, a budget and financial strategist helping families pay off debt and live the life they've always wanted.

2 thoughts on “Open Letter to the Incoming Freshmen Class

  1. Such nice advice! I have a teenager and I told her that college life for me was the best. This is where you definitely want to enjoy life and by all means prepare for your future life. I’ve gone over quite a few of these with her. Hopefully, she keeps these and the ones I gave her in mind.

    1. Thanks! Ya, my parents were very much into me learning and having fun – it had to be a balance. I loved every moment, even those when I was stressed about tests!

Comments are closed.