For some reason I never thought I'd make it to college but here I am, starting on the 26th of August going to the university of the arts for fine arts. It feels weird, half my friends are still in high school and the other half moved far as hell away from philly to go to college, like what am I supposed to do now? no more grueling morning routines and standing in the halls with all my friends and bitching. I dunno I'm gonna miss being a senior in high school I guess but oh well.

I guess I'm just wondering what your first year of college was like? Were you scared? Excited? any tips?

I can give you some tips based on my experience if you like.

1. Live in residence if it's possible for you. It's way easier to make friends when you live close to others. Also, if your university offers an option to go into residence with people that have similar majors to you, take it.

2. Don't live with your friends from high school if any of them follow you there. Friends from high school (however awesome they may be) give you that sense of security and you end up branching out less.

3. If you're a shy sort of person, go out of your way to introduce yourself and be outgoing for the first two weeks or so. It sucks, but that's the easiest time to make friends because everyone's in the same boat as you.

4. If you're in a relationship, re-evaluate it. You meet a ton of people in university and you might regret keeping yourself tied down. Also long distance relationships can be tough too if you're away from home/ at different universities.

5. First year is there for you to make connections. Most universities recognize it's a big step going from high school to living on your own at university and they don't tend to mark too hard or give too many assignments. So don't stress too hard about school right yet.

6. If you know anyone who has gone into the program before you, ask for old midterms or tests. They can help you study.

7. Get to know your profs. Your profs can mean the difference between you getting a wicked awesome job at the end of school and working at McDonald's.

Personally I was nervous going into school, but I had an awesome time in first year and made some of my best friends there. I'm now going into my fourth year and I loved the whole experience. I hope it goes well for you too. Just try and remember that whatever happens, keep moving forward because you rock. c:

My first attempt at college was 2 years ago (I left 3 months later, I was lost and just out of high school). I recently came back and next month I'm attending my second semester. I love college, it was a different pattern from last time. I was afraid at first, but growing up made me more confident.

I hope it goes well for you!

thank you so much! these are actually helping me, unfortunately I cant live on campus for this year so that kinda sucks. :/ My boyfriend of 3 years is going to a community college just a few miles out of downtown philly, so we've talked about it haha.

I'm glad it worked out for you and you're having fun! Thanks for the advice, growing up is a scary concept but I'll get the hang of it. uvu

It's my first year of college too, haha. I'm so excited! My roommate and I get along great, I got into LGBT housing, and I'm in a wonderful city and a school I love. I'm a bit nervous, but more than anything I'm excited. :D

…And my boyfriend and I were already super super LDR during high school, so not that much is changing on that front. :/

thats awesome! :'D I was looking into lgbt housing for some colleges but unfortunately mine doesn't offer it. :/ (that's honestly a small part of the reason why I dropped the living on campus thing, besides the fact that I couldn't afford it) But I'm glad everything is going well for you, I've been easing myself into it and I'm excited as well. uvu mostly I'm excited about do things and taking classes.

I'm sorry to hear not much has changed with your boyfriend, hopefully you can see each other soon?

I'd like to see him soon, yeah, but we're both relatively poor, not to mention on different continents. Sorry to hear about the lack of LGBT housing. Does your school have a gay-straight alliance or something like that you could join? And it's great that you're excited for your classes! I don't know what mine are, I still haven't gone to orientation so I haven't been allowed to sign up yet, and unfortunately lots of classes are already full. Oh well! Do you know what your major is?

aahhh that sucks :/ maybe one day? But yes! I plan on figuring out how to join once I officially start. I guess I got lucky with my orientation because it was like back in may i think? .-. but I only have two classes though, not much to choose from. I'm a fine arts major! so thats part of the reason why I'm psyched for classes, I need an excuse to paint and draw and stuff. Do you know your major yet?

That's awesome! I love art, but I'm not really good at any of it. :( I'm majoring in gender & sexuality studies, but I also want to maybe double major in something like sociology or psychology.

aaah that sounds awesome! for awhile I wanted to major in psychology or religious studies but I figured I loved art more haha

I hope you enjoy it. I'm a Design student and I surely followed the path I desired. To be honest, my first year of college sucked because my social life spiraled downwards (this was not directly related to college, though). However, I did meet my boyfriend and most of people do make lots of friends!

It was nice to do whatever I felt like without responding to my parents, since I attend college far from home. It was also quite challenging managing myself on my own, especially money wise (actually, I don't think my budgeting has improved since, ahah)!

Best of lucks. :)

Ah yeah, I was excited when I did my first year of College at a University. I stayed in a dorm, by myself, and became a hermit to all social life (totally ignored all lol). It was hard-ish...I guess?, but most of the first year classes are simple, like what you were taking in High-School. I wouldn't know about a second year in a University because I have now recently transferred to a College, since it was closer to home, and I could take care of my son easier (and save gas BONUS). To me College just seems like glorified High School classes and weren't hard at all. There is a lot of self teaching if you do online courses (which I prefer because I don't have to wake up early....wait...could this be associated with the hermit-titis I acquired in University? Quick don't read any further...I don't want you to become a hermit too! D: ).

But as long as you don't go out partying too much and stick to studying (and defiantly not waiting to the last minute on some papers!) you should be fine. It is a wonderful place to start fresh and make new friends c:

My first year of college wasn't the "typical" experience portrayed everywhere. I only finished one class and dropped out of the others. Then, I quit college for 2 years, because I was paralyzed by depression.

When I returned, I was working full time, so I only went to school part time. I didn't do anything at school except go to class and homework. I didn't talk to people or go to any events.

Don't do what I did. Do your homework, go to class, take advantage of school activities, make friends, and have fun!

Take a little time to think about how you WANT college to be for you. Everybody's different, so things that make college great for one person don't do it for everyone else.

I'm the sort of person that doesn't want a million friends; I have a few friend groups and they keep me plenty busy. I don't want to constantly be out and about, I need my down time just reading or catching up on my favorite show or what have you. As much as people tell you to get out there and make friends, don't feel pressured to do this more than you want to. You know when you feel like you need more friends. Some people love living in the dorms cause they're surrounded by other people in a similar situation, but I didn't dig living on a floor with 25 other girls. Also, wearing flip-flops in the shower because everyone uses them is weird, but a good idea.

BUT, do also communicate with some classmates. Really do try to get an email address from at least one person in each class. You don't have to act like you guys are gonna be besties, just find someone in the first couple weeks who seems to sit in the same area you do and pays attention to the class and say something like, "Hey, I was wondering if we could exchange emails in case we ever miss class or need a study buddy." That way, when you get sick, you don't feel obligated to go spread your germs so you don't miss something.

Your school probably has a website that lists all the school organizations. Scroll through that sometime and see what there is. I know you're thinking, like, "Okay, religious groups and IV volleyball, whoopee" but my college for undergrad had a Humans vs. Zombies club as well as a Quidditch team. If there's something you're interested in, give it a try and see what you think (also there's often free food).

If you have some time, explore campus a little. The student center may always be packed, but you might find a little spot you really like to sit in and relax between classes in a random building.

Try to pack some things besides clothes and books. I had a paper bag of medical stuff: headache meds, anti-histamines, bandaids and neosporin. There are things that come up yearly or so, like allergies, that you don't really think about till they're happening. If you have a few favorite board games or card games, you'll probably be able to find a little space to store them. If you can't think of something to do with your friends, you can always suggest a board game night. Always works with my group :P

I personally love love love school; I'm one of the people that waits impatiently for syllabi to be posted and class sites to come up. I love learning just about anything. I'm starting my Master's degree this semester through a 100% online program (so I can take the specialization classes I'm interested in without moving from the state I love and my fiance).

I loved moving off to college! I had such a good experience. My major advice is to get out of your dorm whenever possible. I enjoyed going into the city on weekends (I was in Philadelphia for university) and walked just about everywhere. I liked to try all of the local restaurants and shops. I also tried to participate in all of the events on campus and in the neighboring area. If you have a lot of homework, try studying in different spots sometimes. The library was always crowed, but I liked to find study rooms in buildings on campus so that I didn't feel cooped up in my dorm room. I hope you enjoy college too!