Transition into College

This is a conversation among three college students discussing their experiences with college transition, homesickness, workload, social life, and advice for incoming freshmen. They talk about their majors, being from out of state, and how they manage their workload and social activities. They mention being in a sorority, joining intramurals, and meeting people through social media. They advise incoming freshmen to be patient, not compare themselves to others, and stay in touch with family and friends. Hey everybody, welcome back to Campus Chronicles with the Wi-Fi Sucks and Gordon's Taste Lessons. With the first and probably only episode, this show will dive into the different college transition students experience. We are your hosts, Sophia, Taylor, and Juliana. We are all current students here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And we will be taking a look at each of our homes away from home. Let's roll into the fun stuff. So, where are you guys from and what's your major? Well, I'm from Minnesota and I'm actually undecided, but I'm thinking about maybe kinesiology or psychology, but yeah. I'm from Boulder, Colorado and I'm majoring in kinesiology, hoping to pursue physical therapy. Since you guys are both from out of state, do you guys experience homesickness at all? Minnesota's not too far. It's about like a four hour drive, so I've been okay. Like I've gone home for a weekend because I have missed home, but I'd say it's fine. I'm 17 hours away, so a bit further, but I've been staying in contact with my family, which has definitely helped with the homesickness and it also helps me look forward to the times that I get to go home. Taylor, where are you from? Have you ever experienced homesickness? Well, I'm actually from 20 minutes away, so that hasn't been a huge issue. My mom works on campus and my dad works in Middleton, so whenever they drive home, they can just pick me up. Wait, Taylor, you never mentioned what your major was. Well, right now I'm kinesiology, but I'm thinking about switching to health promotion, health equity, just because it fits better with trying to get my PA prerequisites in. Oh, I heard you mention academics. How would you say your workload is? Well, it's definitely way more than high school and you have a lot of time that you have to manage, so as long as you stay on top of that, I don't think it's too bad, but definitely a lot of work has to be put into school. Yeah, since we're all in the same big, I feel like this workload hasn't been horrible, but I mean, it definitely is a huge transition. It's a big giant. Yeah, I agree with what you guys said about the SIG workload, but I took IB classes in high school and I feel like it prepared me a lot more, especially for the workload, and I feel like the workloads were very similar. Interesting. I did not feel prepared at all. My high school did not prepare me for college whatsoever. At this point, you just have to learn by yourself. Academics is definitely something that you have to manage here, how you guys manage your social life on top of that as well. Well, Juliana and I are both in the same sorority. Go Gamma Phi Beta! Hi, sisters! Being in a sorority has definitely helped to make new friends and also gain new connections, but there are definitely some other aspects to it. Yeah, I'd say it's kept us very busy and I've actually been very stressed with a lot of things to attend on top of schoolwork and other things. Taylor, since you're not in a sorority, do you think you have more free time? Yeah, one thing I've noticed is that in college, you have so much time that you almost don't know what to do with it, so just doing things to stay busy, like going to the gym, joining intramurals, hanging out with friends, and stuff like that keeps me busy. Yeah, I agree. Joining intramurals has definitely kept me busy when I don't have schoolwork or any sorority events going on. Wait, Taylor, since you're not a sorority, how else have you met people? Well, I honestly really lucked out with my roommate. We found each other on Instagram, so I'm very happy that I don't have a roommate horror story, but because we got super close, we started branching off in our dorm and it definitely took a little bit of time, but I ended up finding my people. If you guys were to have one piece of advice for an incoming freshman, what would it be? I would say my piece of advice is to give everything time and not compare yourself to others when it comes to finding friends right away or not, and when it comes to any kind of social event. Yeah, I definitely agree with being patient, especially when it comes to academics, just because you need to allow yourself time to adjust to the new life of living on your own and also the coursework. Yeah, Math 112 is definitely a struggle sometimes. Yeah, seriously? F*** Math 112. Yeah, but just remember that not every class is going to be your favorite, so just push through it. It's only a semester long. Yeah. One last piece of advice that I'd give is that it's totally okay to be homesick sometimes. Yeah, I would say since the beginning, I've been homesick every now and then, and it's totally okay, and a lot of people are feeling it too. They just don't show it. There are so many other resources that can help, but one main thing is that it's super important to stay in touch with your family and friends. To wrap things up, we hope that these were helpful and wise words. Thank you for joining us on Campus Chronicles. To our listeners, we hope that this conversation provides some insights into the transition into college life. Good luck on your journey, and don't forget, I'm a Scotsman!