It’s Okay if You Don’t Enjoy College as a Freshman

Entering college might seem like a life-changing point, but once you dive into the daily college routine, it quickly turns out that it’s not that good as you expected it to be. And know what? It’s totally fine. You will be surprised to know that many freshmen feel the same, and only you can change the situation to make your life more exciting. 

Freshmen Struggles

Every college student goes through many obstacles and difficulties that make their academic experience unique. Some students call college years the best of their lives, but some don’t agree with this. You may not like your course, your professors, your mates, your living conditions, your learning institution in general, and that’s fine. Not everyone makes the right choice from the very start.

Everything around you is new – new classes, new people, a new daily schedule. It’s hard to get used to it and not feel overwhelmed about it. Moreover, many students face the pressure of their parents, professors, loads of homework, deadlines. So, it’s not a surprise that they don’t like this experience.

You should understand that you have plenty of time ahead, and there are many things that you do to make college work for you. Spoiler: you might be one of the people who don’t enjoy college at all and don’t need it. Everything is in your hands when it comes to education and the path that you choose.

So, the pandemic brought many changes to the education system and made it pretty hard for freshmen to feel truly involved in students’ lives. Thus, it’s much harder for you to study in college than it was for previous generations. And not only for you but for other freshmen too. It might cheer you up a bit, but many other first-year students are not happy with their choice of program or college. It only depends on you if something changes for the better. Here are a few things that you might try.

Get Involved

Sometimes to avoid feeling lonely, all you need to do is to exit your own shell. Once you start being opened toward new experiences, life starts to show another side – more friendly and exciting. There are so many opportunities for you to be more involved in students’ life and which you should not miss. For example, joining clubs and fraternities/sororities, attending various college events, master classes, conferences, DIY lessons, hobby and interest group meetings. 

It’s a great way to avoid sitting in your room alone, not knowing what to do. You can always learn something new, have fun, and make new friends. Not all the classes in your college might be interesting, but you will definitely find something you enjoy when you attend such events and get involved.

Moreover, some former students admit that joining various clubs and groups (even if they were not interested in the subject) helped them find some great friends and boost optimistic mindset. Of course, forcing yourself is not a good thing, but sometimes you need to try more than once, even if you don’t really like such organizations. Eventually, you have nothing to lose.

Take Your Time

At first, everything might seem to you as wrong, boring, and even hostile. However, you just need some patience. The majority of freshmen can’t find a solid friend group or their place in the college social life until the end of the second semester or even much later. So, don’t fall to quick conclusions before you give yourself some time to get used to the new routine and flow.

Of course, you can always drop out if you just can’t handle the pressure. However, we wouldn’t recommend you this option as it would make all of your effort useless. There is also another option – to transfer. Be sure you really think it through before you make any decisions, as it takes a lot of time and might not be worth all the difficulties that you need to overcome when you change your learning institution.

So, for now, wait for a little bit and try to stick with optimism. It all will be good.

Find Someone

If you don’t have much or any friends in college, you might try talking to someone online. You can keep in touch with your school friends via the Internet or find someone completely new online to chat about life, music, movies, hobbies, and college classes, of course. Many people in various groups and online communities will be glad to talk to you and maybe even help you out with some advice. Technology nowadays allows us to connect with people located so far away from us; it’s a pity if you don’t use such a great opportunity.

Ask for Help

Lastly, you can always ask for help from your college advisor or counselor. They can provide you with a piece of good advice or help you to reach out to a specialist who you can talk to about things that bother you. Don’t be shy to get psychological help – it’s now more needed than ever because of the pandemic. Many students struggle with their studies, so there is nothing wrong with getting help from a person who understands you.

What also can help you is to get help from a professional writing team who can assist you with your studies and ease your life by doing some assignments for you. When you get fewer academic papers to finish, you feel less stressed; so it’s a great way to support your mental health during these hard times and focus on your wellbeing.