Perspective and advice for college freshmen from a rising Berkeley sophomore

The academic year 2020-21 wasn't ideal for college students, especially incoming freshmen.  But the 2021 high school graduates whom I advised during their college application process made the most of it. 

This blog post will share the perspective and advice of a rising Berkeley sophomore from Belmont, CA, who found ways to pursue new and exciting opportunities even while attending virtual classes.  

Here's a summary of Milad's experience:

--He's glad he lived in the dorms, where he had a single room due to fewer students on campus.  It was a great way to begin a new chapters in his life and he also made good friends during the year.

--He took challenging courses: calculus, American Studies, a few freshman seminars, data science, programming, and the philosophy of science.  All were a step up from high school level.

--Second semester he joined the school newspaper's sports department and became a beat write for Women's Tennis.  He was a varsity tennis player himself in high school and this was a way for him to share his passion for the sport.  He improved his writing skills and met others virtually through his assignments.

--He also secured a position as a researcher in a developmental biology where he studied sleep patterns in jellyfish.  He gained designing and running experiments and in analyzing data.

Milad also shared with him advice to pass on to this year's incoming freshman class:

1. Spend time before school starts learning how to learn, that is, research effective study strategies.  Reading and going over your notes before an exam is no longer adequate he discovered.

2. Don't sit out of extracurricular activities freshman year or first semester.  Attending class and earning good grades are only part of the overall college experience.  You learn a lot from others outside class and you get to try new experiences to broaden your horizons.

3. Be sure to develop good self-care habits.  Set a weekly schedule for studying and free time; get enough sleep every night, and exercise/stretch/de-stress regularly.  

Here are links to previous posts with advice for freshman fall.

Best wishes to all who are matriculating at college this fall!

UC Santa Barbara--more than sunshine and beaches!

I visited the University of CA, Santa Barbara on a sunny Friday morning in January and came away with a very favorable impression.  The warm sunshine may have helped but I learned a lot more on my tour that dispelled the myth of UCSB as a “party” school.  Here’s what I discovered makes UCSB distinctive from other University of California campuses:

Academics

--With a population of 23,000 undergraduates and only 3,000 grad students, undergrads have many

opportunities for research.

--College of Letters and Science has no impacted majors so students applying to this school can select any major they wish.

--College of Engineering is quite small and very selective—1,500   Average GPA for admission is 4.30 and SAT scores are: 652 R /749 M

students total and a 10:1 student faculty ratio.

Engineering offers a 3/5 year BS/MS program, which allows students to graduate in 5 years with a masters degree.

All engineering students do senior projects.

For engineering, applicants should take the Math II SAT Subject test and declare engineering as their first choice major.

 

--The College of Creative Studies, also highly selective, allows students who are passionate about one field of study pursue research and/or creative projects.  Only 500 students total.

8 majors are offered: Art, Biology, Chemistry/Biochemistry, CS, Math, Music Composition, Physics, Writing and Literature. 

All students are expected to “publish” by the time they graduate.

Students will work one on one with a professor. 

Applicants should take the SAT Subject Test in their chosen field and a supplemental application/essay is required.

--Of its pre-professional programs UCSB offers Technology Management (TMP), which brings in local entrepreneurs to teach students how to launch start-ups.

--Our tour guide had a Professional Writing Minor. This program offers 4 tracks: Professional Editing, Multimedia Communication, Business Communication, Writing and Civic Engagement, and Science Communication. Each track includes two capstone courses and an internship and prepares students for real world job experience. 

Living Environment and Extracurriculars

--UCSB is the only UC to guarantee four years of campus housing; 82% of students live within one mile of campus.

--No football team but UCSB’s Varsity Soccer team is very popular with student fans.

--The beach is minutes away and a wonderful stress-break between or after classes.  Some classes actually take place on the beach.

--Because UCSB is the only major university and college in the region, students find many internship and job opportunities usually only open to post-grads—examples include medical scribing in hospitals, working at law firms, supervising research.

--Greek Life is 12% of student body but doesn’t dominate (according to our tour guide).

College Sophomores to College Freshmen--Advice for settling in

Recently I contacted my former advisees who are now rising sophomores in college.   Several offered advice for incoming freshmen.  Here are three different replies from students attending a large public university, a small liberal arts college, and a mid-sized private university.  Though each student’s experience and perspective is unique, all college students share similar experiences transitioning from home, meeting friends and adjusting to roommates and learning how to study and perform academically in a new environment.

Below is a summary of their advice as well as a link to previous blog posts offering advice to incoming freshmen. 

Good luck settling in and enjoy your first term!

Advice from Katrina at Cal Poly SLO:

--College friends may come slowly, but once you find them they are invaluable and worth your time. Spend time with people every weekend.

--You should always feel like yourself in your dorm room. Do not let a roommate ruin your college experience, even if he or she is much different from you.

--Make time for your favorite activities on campus.

--Try new clubs and activities that spark your interest.

--Eat in the cafeteria -- sometimes this is the easiest way to get to know people. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to someone new.

--Explore the new area that you move into. Go off campus as much as you can, and befriend people who like to do the same.

--Make time for yourself in your dorm room and the end of the day. Calm down, drink tea, eat chocolate.

--Always have your favorite snacks and desserts in your dorm stockpiled for studying.

--Make use of resources on campus, whether it’s going to the gym or office hours.

--Get out of the dorm even on days you do not have class. It will allow you to get to know campus and socialize.

--Set personal boundaries and schedule your time: determine when you like to go to bed, to eat, do homework, to relax.

--Love your school! Be grateful for the choice you have made and appreciate the college experience.

Advice from Mackenzie at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota:

--If offered, participate in your school’s pre-orientation trip/program. I participated in one of our pre-orientation programs, Macward Bound, which was a five day backpacking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail. I was apprehensive--meeting new people, leaving home early--however, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The trip introduced me to ten amazing people that I’m still friends with today (two of which are my roommates for the upcoming year) and helped me ease into the difficult transition into college life. 

--You don’t have to be best friends with your first year roommate. Sometimes you and your roommate are going to have completely incongruent interests and schedules, and that’s perfectly fine. My roommate and I were friendly but not super good friends, and I believe this allowed me to branch out socially and have a friend group that was a coalescence of classmates, teammates, and people I’d met while in line at the dining hall.

--Take advantage of your school’s resources, whether it be academic resources, social resources, or health resources. One thing I was really glad I did was make strong connections with my professors. The department offices are great places to be around professors in a less menacing setting than the classroom (plus, our department offices were always stocked with snacks and the occasional pizza day). 

 

Advice from Zach, attending Stanford University:

--Take a light first term—this allows more time to adjust to a college schedule as well as make new friends.

--Seek out your passions. This is another way to make connections and form friendships with people who share similar interests.

--Allow time for deep or extended conversations: at the dining hall, in your dorm lounge, wherever.  Appreciate this opportunity to learn about yourself and others.

--Appreciate and search for new perspectives.  Get outside your political or social bubble to expose yourself to new ideas and approaches.

Previous posts about settling in to college:
8/17: Advice for College Freshmen

8/15: Transition to College