{"id":260112,"date":"2017-08-07T15:02:59","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T19:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=260112"},"modified":"2017-08-16T13:36:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-16T17:36:16","slug":"ten-tips-incoming-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/ten-tips-incoming-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten tips for incoming students"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve moved into your residence hall, met your roommate, memorized your class schedule, and found the dining halls. . . . Now what? Students and staff members offer tips to help adjust to college life.<\/p>\n

Relax.<\/h2>\n

\"ok\u201cTake a breath. It\u2019s okay to be nervous. Everyone else is nervous. They don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing, because no one knows what they\u2019re doing. You\u2019re all just figuring it out together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Katie Emmons \u201917<\/p>\n

Seek out positive experiences.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cYou\u2019re going to experience things you may never have known before: different kinds of people, food, classes, and maybe even climate. Embrace all of the things you may not immediately see as exciting or positive. Be open to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Laura Gavigan, associate director, College Center for Advising Services<\/p>\n

Budget your time.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cFor every hour you\u2019re in class, you should be studying three or four hours outside of class. Think about that when you put your schedules together, and when you take on all the responsibilities of clubs, which add vibrancy and are so important to our community. I\u2019ve seen students in situations where their academics suffer because they\u2019re too involved, and that\u2019s not healthy for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Beth Olivares, dean for diversity<\/p>\n

Experiment.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cTry something you\u2019ve never done before. We have more than 250 student clubs, and they\u2019re willing to take you at any level. Keep your eyes and ears open, go to events and see what people do, and say, \u2018Hey, maybe I want to do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Anne-Marie Algier, associate dean of students and director of student activities<\/p>\n

Chart your course.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cTake a variety of classes. Try a little bit here and there. Experiment. You have a lot of freedom to find what you really want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Scott Saucier \u201919<\/p>\n

Be engaging.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cMeet as many people as possible. There\u2019s a special type of person that decides to go to this University, and there are a few thousand of them you can meet. Do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Alex Copperman \u201920<\/p>\n

Keep talking.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cIt\u2019s important for students and parents to be willing to renegotiate expectations. They may have a plan to talk every day at 6 p.m. But as the student becomes involved in studies and clubs, that may become less of a possibility. But you have to keep the lines of communication open.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Dawn Bruner, director of Parent and Family Relations<\/p>\n

Get involved.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cJoin everything and then figure out what you like as you go through the semester. You\u2019re joining a University that\u2019s deep with traditions and community. Learn about those traditions and all of the many men and women Rochester has sent into the world to do wonderful and amazing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Eleanor Oi, director of orientation<\/p>\n

Learn the campus.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cThe best thing you can do the first week at the University is to get comfortable, learn the campus, learn about the people you\u2019re going to be around, and explore as many clubs, activities, and locations as you can. Take the initiative to make the University feel like a home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Tom Hogrefe \u201919<\/p>\n

Get out of your room.<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cYou always have a good connection with people you live with, but that\u2019s a very small percentage of your class. Get involved in clubs, get into the city, and get out of the campus bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Liz Priore \u201919<\/p>\n

For more advice for back to school, listen to the latest episode of the University’s Quadcast<\/em> podcast.<\/strong><\/p>\n