Prepare for College - College Dorm Life

Prepare for College
By Jeff McGuire
CollegeView

The move to college can be a major adjustment. In addition to tougher coursework, a foreign environment, and a dramatic new level of independence, some of the biggest obstacles a new college freshman will face have practical solutions. As with any new challenge, the old boy scout credo of "be prepared" holds true once again.

From fighting homesickness, to being prepared for a medical situation, to getting to know and learn from people whom are different than you, college gives you a chance to really shine. Indeed, no one said the transition to adulthood would be easy, but when you learn how to prepare for college, you also learn how to prepare for life as an adult.

Here are some helpful tips and advice that address fairly universal challenges that freshman often encounter, and ones that will teach you how to prepare for college adjustments.
Prepare for College Dorm Life

For most freshman, going to college will mark the first time they will be spending a considerable amount of time away from the comfortable confines of home and loved ones. It helps to know that your family is also going through the same situation. While you prepare for college dorm life and are making plans for your new home, your parents are likely making plans to turn your old room into "guest room" where they will only "occasionally" charge rent to boarders who would like to "stay" there.

All joking aside, your relationships with friends and family are special, but those relationships didn't build themselves. You had a lot to do with that. An essential way to prepare for college is to start by giving yourself some credit; you are an interesting and unique person who will be surrounded by thousands of other interesting and unique people. Another way to help prepare for college is to know that you should, and will likely want to, get out and meet people. Just about every college or university has a many different student organizations comprised of people with common interests such as: radio broadcasting, ultimate Frisbee, paintball, religious affiliations, and many more. Every semester these organization welcome new members just like you.

And just because you've left home doesn't mean you can't still stay in touch. Your parents will enjoy hearing from you. This growing experience for you will likely inspire a great deal of pride in your parents and remind them that, despite that time you brought home a leather-clad hoodlum named Spider as your boyfriend, you are the intelligent, responsible, and determined person they've always believed your were. Phone calls, IM, e-mails, and occasional visits are all healthy way to stay in touch with loved ones and fight homesickness. Learning how to prepare for college often means learning the right way to stay in touch with people back home.

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