An old guy’s guide for incoming college freshmen

Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted with permission from the Journal & Topics Newspapers.

It is nearing that time of year (summer, please slow down!) for many of our Journal & Topics area kids to be headed off to college. For some, it will be their first venture officially away from home, while for others a return trip for a new year.

Clearly, things over the past five decades have changed dramatically, thus stating the ridiculously obvious, so far be it for a crusted old veteran writer like myself to even dare to make any suggestions to today’s incoming college kids regarding modern-day collegiate life.

… But I will.

Listed below is my official “old guy’s guide to incoming college freshmen.” Note, many of the items below can apply to all college kids, but the emphasis here is on those just starting their new journey.

1) Warning:  The first two weeks can be tough! I don’t care how confident, how popular you were in high school, how solid your family life has been—when you get dropped off that first time? When your parents get you situated and then exit stage left, and you are left on your own in a strange place, possibly with no one that you know? It takes some getting used to.

Homesickness can definitely hit in the early going. The adjustment often is a bit harder than you think. But have faith—it will get better! Every freshman, to some degree, goes through this, and you will come out fine on the other end, so hang in there in the beginning!

2)  Choose your friends wisely.  At first, it will most likely be the ones in your dormitory. This is natural, and it is good to get to know as many people in your dorm as possible. But as the year wears on, you start to find the friends to hang around with whom you connect better. The ones that hopefully are good influences and bring out the best in you.  

The friends you make and the people you hang around with will be a big part of your own personal growth and the college experience as a whole—so choose wisely (and don’t be afraid to slowly but gently move away from those that might not be the best of influences). 

3) Get involved in outside activities.  Whether it is a job, a club, intramural sports, music, theater, or any number of the many activities offered outside the classroom, get yourself involved in as many as you can. Just like high school, surveys consistently show that the kids who say they had the best college experiences are the ones who were involved in extra-curricular activities.

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4)  Food:  Five decades ago, the number-one collegiate eating advice was to stay away from the Friday “surprise meat” offering, as it was usually whatever was left over in the cafeteria from the first four days of the week. But today? College cafeterias are more like one of our suburban mall food courts. An amazing amount of quality selections, and all free! (Well, sort of—please see fine print on college contract).  Enjoy, try and eat healthy, and beware of the “freshman 15.”

5)  Exercise.  Many have regular workout routines from their high school days, but when heading to college, sometimes exercise can take a back seat to classes, new friends, activities, “distractions,” etc. It shouldn’t. Find a way to get regular workouts (whatever your choice might be). Besides staying in shape, you will be mentally sharper in class and in your studies, and it can’t hurt your social life, either.

6)  Sex, drugs, and alcohol.  My number-one “old guy’s advice” in this area is… to take it easy. Go slow. “Ease into it,” if I could use that particular term.  

Do you go too hard in the party scene too early? Then there is only one way to go the next four years, and that is down. Understood that all of the above may be part of the college experience, and yes, it is tempting without parents around to really let loose—but my advice, again, is to just slow yourself down in this area in the beginning.

7)  Friends from home at your same school? Fine, but be careful not to hang out with them too much in the beginning. Is it easier and more comfortable? Sure, but it also might hinder your transition into making new friend groups at your new school.

I could go on… but I probably already went well over my “advice from the old guy” quota limit for this column.

Closing thought? Please note that I stayed away from any specific classroom or academic recommendations. This was done intentionally, primarily based on my own less-than-stellar grade-point average in my college days. I figured the less said in this area, probably for the better!