After you’ve made your final college decision, the pressure is off – well, mostly. While the hard work is mainly over, there are some things you should do to ensure you’re all set for next semester.
Colleges will communicate most of these items with you, but it’s up to you to stay connected and on top of your correspondence with your future school.
This will ensure you’re getting everything done when you need to do so, not when you get around to it. Waiting until the last minute will significantly decrease your options in all aspects of college life, from housing preferences to scheduling your courses.
Stay on top of these items to ensure your freshman year is off to a great start:
1. Complete Your College Tasks
When you accept an admissions offer, the college will likely communicate things you need to do to get ready to attend. From filling out housing preference forms to signing up for your orientation and classes, it’s important to stay on top of these tasks from now until you move to campus. Staying in the loop will often ensure you have more options than waiting until the last minute.
2. Connect with Your Classmates
As soon as you make your final decision, you can start connecting with your future classmates via social media groups dedicated to incoming freshmen at your college. Sometimes, colleges even have specific sites or mixers to meet and greet other students in your class. Explore the options offered so you can start building friendships right away.
3. Continue to Save
If your number crunching session left you feeling somewhat helpless (or, even if it didn’t, you’ll likely begin to feel that way in college life), it’s smart to save for school starting as soon as possible. Think about getting a summer job to earn extra money and save it to use while you’re in school.
Also, explore the possibility of finding a part-time job on campus. The earlier you apply for positions, the more options you’ll have because they tend to fill up quite quickly.
4. Explore Potential Campus Activities
Now that you know you’re attending; the academic aspect of your student life is somewhat set (you just need to sign up for courses later). Make the most of your college experience from the very start by looking into clubs and extracurricular activities.
This will help you maintain a well-rounded student life, while also connecting you with other students on a social level. It’s a great way to build friendships with other students and explore different aspects of your new school!
5. Connect with Your Future Roommate
This comes a little later, but it’s important to get to know your new roommate, assuming you don’t know the person already.
Contact them to talk about your personalities, items you plan on bringing and, if you live close enough, consider meeting up in person. It doesn’t matter whether you contact them via email, phone or some other method – they’ll be happy you took the initiative to get to know them!
6. List Out Your College Goals
You’re in a unique life situation: you know you’re about to enter a new chapter
and you have the time to think about and prepare for it. Not many aspects of life allow this unique opportunity to stop and think about what you’d like to accomplish.
Consider what you’d like to accomplish in college, both academically and in terms of your college experience. You can always edit the list later, but it’s helpful to enter college life with some goals in mind.
