During High School, all my teachers told me life really begins after high school, "Once you step out these doors with a diploma on your hands, you will learn what life is really about." I never really took it serious until I had to experience it for myself. 

When I first moved out as a freshman, I had a lot to handle, paying rent, maintaining my academics at a successful level, and maintaining a job. It was definitely a new experience but it's one that prepared me for my journey.

 College experience is very different from high school, one where you have the opportunity to meet people from all around the world, one where you learn to network and be involved in all sorts of activities.

 I love to be involved therefore I joined everything I can possibly join, it is definitely a good experience knowing that you have control of your future and you are provided with so many opportunities. My favorite thing about my freshman experience was meeting new people and getting close to my advisors. Maintaing a good relationship with professors and advisors is very important and it will help you on the long run. Of course at first going into a new environment can be a little overwhelming but being friendly and open will lead to comfort. Overall, my freshman year was tough but successful and life changing. 

My freshman year in college was filled with uncertainty and thrill that goes beyond the feeling you may have felt when entering high school. Knowing that you will not hear another classroom bell ring is exciting but being responsible to go to class on time without a classroom bell ring is serious.

I enjoyed the college food, the access to any choice of food…be careful, with great “[food choice] power” comes with great “[food choice] responsibility”. Don’t buy Ramen noodles. Please eat fruits and vegetables. If you bring your own tea, a nice cashier should let you get free hot water. Buy snacks in the supermarket and save them in plastic bags to eat on campus. Take heed to this advice because saving money is really difficult if you are spending money on food. Which you will see yourself buying a lot of food because of all of the choices! Or you know you should study but “you are hungry”.

The study skills that are great to adopt are: start early and read the reading material, go to office hours and be respectful to your professors and TAs, pay attention in class by sitting in the front and taking notes, sign up for free tutoring through CSTEP and/or the subject’s department and please eat breakfast! If you are taking lab classes, please do the pre-lab at least two days before the lab day! If you have to write lab reports, start early and start section by section!! It will be more manageable. Use an assignment book or a weekly schedule book to remember assignments and appointments. Find where your class will be located at least a week before classes begin.

Find time to exercise or at least walk around campus (oh yeah, buy walking shoes!), join a student organization or an intramural club (I tried lacrosse, key word “tried”), definitely join your school’s CSTEP, volunteer, buy a leisure book at your school’s bookstore, attend school pride events (usually free food is there!), read the college newspaper(s) and the New York Times or other available newspaper. Be careful when texting and walking, look both ways! Actually, don't text while walking!Please reduce your Facebook-, Myspace-, YouTube-, and/or Twitter-surfing to a minimum. If you will bring your laptop to class, please use it for note-taking or class-instructed online searches. There’s a time for everything, so don’t worry.

Be a focused student. Remember to sleep! Strengthen your faith and find your religious denomination in your school. Keep organized and get to know the students around you. Be safe and be smart, do what’s right and you can’t go wrong.

These are the notes I wished I received but really, what’s most important is that you listen to good advice and use it.

Remember to have fun! The most fun I had during my freshman year was having the opportunity to go through all of these trials and errors (which are now experiences).

Your freshman year will be a learning curve. For me, after the first two weeks, I was worried about college. But remember college is worth it. You will learn so much about yourself and your community. Open yourself to the opportunities that your CSTEP has to offer. That’s where I had a great support system and found a lot of great students.

I really hope your freshman year will be filled with new experiences and remember to enjoy college. Keep growing and never give up! You are a success story waiting to happen. (:

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My Freshman Year Experience


My first year at SUNY Albany was typical in some ways and a little bit different in others. The major influences on my freshman year experience were: the Honors College, living/dorming conditions, classes, clubs, and new and old friends.

 As I entered SUNY Albany, I was admitted into the Honors College which included Honors Housing and Honors Classes. The Honors College created its own community and made it so easy to befriend neighbors because you would simultaneously be taking courses with many of them. To put it bluntly, they really tried to ‘hold your hand’ and make the transition as smooth as possible, and I noticed this was attention that my non-Honors friends did not receive.

One of the biggest things to immediately get used to was the living conditions. I was fortunate enough to live with a very friendly and laid back roommate. Even with this huge bonus, there are also the little things you have to get accustomed to: being respectful of each other’s sleep patterns, sharing a bathroom, eating at specific hours etc. Eventually I got to know my suitemates a little bit better and the students living in neighboring suites became familiar faces. If you put in the effort to adjust, your dorm can really become a second home.

                  As far as classes go, I’m glad that I was assigned only 4 courses that first semester, my lightest load to date. At the time, I was not a disciplined student and my work ethic had some holes in it. By the second semester though, I had kind of gotten the hang of things and was better prepared for more time consuming classes.

                  I must confess that my participation in clubs was somewhat lax. At first, a friend and I tried to attend a few club meetings, but other things got in the way and we were never consistent with attendance. I fortunately stumbled upon a running club, that I had some great experiences with. The club was very relaxed and no one was counting attendance so it really fell on you to show up if you wanted.  I can honestly say some clubs are more welcoming than others and so if you find one with friendly people that share a common interest, stick with it and you won’t regret it.

                  Looking back on that first year, I can see very clearly that what I put into college and college life is what I received back. And in my case, I was lucky enough to receive a little more because of the Honors College. When I arrived, I didn’t wholeheartedly ‘cast out my net’. I didn’t put myself ‘out there’ as much as I could have because part of me was more concerned with holding on to what I already had from high school.  I don’t regret that decision, but it’s important to recognize that it was a choice and an important one at that. Ideally, you can find a good balance between relaxing your high school relationships and investing in college ones. I know that the main reason I enjoyed my freshman year was because of the new friendships I formed and the people I met. And so my highest recommendation, without a doubt, is to put yourself out there and find your niche. If you do, and you manage to keep up your grades, you’ll have a solid freshman year for sure. 

My freshman experience was an emotionally draining. It was the biggest learning experience that I faced in my life so far. The hardest part was the separation from my family. I am very close to my parents and siblings and could not go a day without talking to one of my family members. In the beginning of my freshman year I called my family 2-3 times a day. As the months went on I realized that is phase I was going through was a part of my of life. I literally had to tell myself that I could not live with my parents forever and this had to happen one day.

I did a lot of growing up in the course of that two semester period. I had to learn how to be on my own, make the right choices for my life and most importantly be sure to keep God in my life by going to church every Sunday. There are so many things that can go wrong in your first year of college and there are so many things that can go right! It's all about opening your eyes and learning from your experiences.

My first year college experience:

    On September 2009 I was officially in college as I moved in my dorm finally away from home. It wasn't really a hard thing for me to adjust to the new lifestyle because mostly my parents were working so it was just usually me and my siblings at home. 

As I finished moving I got to know the people in my floor and got familiar with the campus. I had a sister graduate from SUNY Albany and currently had a brother enrolled in the school. Even with all of that I really wanted to experience the college experience so I kept the fact I had a brother in the school to myself and worked on establishing myself as my own person in this university.

 I always had my brother as a roommate so having a roommate wasn't really a big issue for me but it was difficult living with family as oppose to living with a stranger.My roommate was really friendly and so were my suite mates. I had little problem with the fact that my roommate wasn't as organize and clean as me so we had disagreements with that. After while we just kept our stuff on our sides but his laundry and stuff occasionally wander over to my side and my desk. 

One thing I will say is talking to them first is always better than getting mad and blowing up on them. Only do that when necessary and one thing you should be careful of is buying things together because it could lead to a disagreement who is using it more like food for example. For me we brought a flat screen tv for the common room and it lead to an argument at the end of the year of who keeps it.

 Everyone has there own schedule so the time you go to bed with your roommates will differ. I had morning so I always went to bed early. Most of my suite mates had class in the afternoon so they went to bed later with wasn't problem until some nights they made noise.  I just ask them to lower it down. Because I woke up early everyday they always ask me to wake them up early especially when they had a test that day.  Lol. We would chill together but eventually we got our group of friends to hang out with but we we're still closed. 

    When we went out at night we would have fun socialize and everything. Good amount of people I met were in my classes it was a good icebreaker. One this I would say is that in college you can and will have a lot of leisure time. It's up to you how you use whether its for studying, hanging out, sleeping , working or joining clubs and groups on campus. This much I will say is get involved. I was really involved with the University. I had a hard time balancing homework and fun which affected me later so don't slack off and get all your work done first during the week. You'll learn that some classes are optional to go to I didn't go to all my classes but make friends in all classes just in case you miss class you have someone to get the notes from. It helps a lot to have reliable people.

My freshman year at SUNY Albany was definitely an experience I will never forget. When I first moved onto campus, I was extremely excited to be involved with everything. I got involved with a few groups on campus as well as participating in everything I could. 

Starting out as a business major, classes were tough and I did not really know about the different tutoring options available to me, so therefore I did not get all the help I needed in order to succeed. I was focusing more on social activities rather than academics, unaware of how such would effect my grades.

In addition, by living on campus, I gained a greater sense of independence as this was my first time living on my own away from my family. Nobody was forcing me to get up in the morning, go to class or reaching out to me if my grades began to drop. I was forced to figure things out on my own as well as enforce discipline on myself, which definitely allowed for me to grow as a person. Throughout my second semester of my freshman year, I definitely learned from my mistakes and got the help I needed as I took advantage of opportunities provided for me.

Overall, freshman year was way more than just having fun and making mistakes, but it proved to be a great learning experience for me in general. I not only learned to manage my time efficiently (between school related work and my social life), but I also developed a greater sense of independence, allowing myself to further develop as well as mature a great deal.

Now as I reflect on my freshman year experience, I can't find anything prominent or worth talking about. I guess the best thing I got out of freshman year was the friends I made.

Coming to college was all that I expected; lots of work, little to no time, and lots of distractions. I can honestly say that I did not allow myself to get distracted and spent most of my time studying. With constantly occupying my time with studying, I did little to no socializing, so I missed out on an opportunity to get involved on campus and meet even more people. However I excelled academically and grew socially as well.

During my freshman year, I was balancing five classes, a job and trying to maintain my family relationships and as well start a new long distance relationship. I guess my advice to you readers is to balance your studies, friends, family and your job if you have one. Do not forget about your friends and family at home. Also do not get caught in everything college has to offer, remember that you came to college to obtain a degree, and grow both academically, socially and personally.

My final thoughts would be to make the best of your college experience, but do not forget that after college you have to grow up, get a job and really begin living.

Freshman year Experience: Community College

                  After I graduated from Beacon High in 2008, I attended Dutchess Community College. There were many positives, but also negatives to this decision. I was able to save a lot of money by living with my parents rather than dorming on campus. Tuition rates of community college are way cheaper than a four years school. 

When I graduated in 2010 with an associate’s degree, I left with no debt, something that many college students cannot avoid. Not only was I financially stable, but I was able to have a fulltime job while being a fulltime student as well. 

The one thing that I do regret is not being able to form the sense of community like a student dorming on campus can. There were programs and clubs that were provided for students at Dutchess but, as I have heard from many the experience is not the same. 

My day at Dutchess consisted of driving to school, going to class, and heading to work. I kept to myself a lot of the time because I would rarely see the people on campus, only in class. From what I have noticed the difference between Community college and a four years school is that due to the opportunity to reside on campus, people build stronger bonds. Students become more aware of opportunities to socialize, thus building stronger networks. I on the other hand was not on campus long enough to fully get involved. I do not regret going to community college because I did learn a lot form that school, and it helped me discover who I am at a cheaper price. But if I could choose again I would go away.

 Freshman year was the best of times and the worst of times. I crossed paths with people i had never met before, but we were all at the same place at the same time for the same reason; to gain higher education. Some people were awfully kind to me, while others were devils in disguised. 

The 6 girls i lived with and I were forced to maintain a living environment, which to each of us simply meant to respect each others space despite our differences and dislikes towards each other. I had my own ideas and expectations of college, but to my surprise, I gained a lot more. I learned the true meaning of patience, tolerance and acceptance. From my suite alone, I learned that every single person is his or her own person and that no two people are the same. I learned that everyone grows up differently and expects different things from differently people. 

Some of my suite mates expected me to be a ghetto, juvenile girl from the bronx, but to everyone's surprise, I was not. I wasn't too backwards either because I expected my roommate to be some uptight rich girl from Long Island, but she turned out to be a great person and one of my closest friends. My suite taught me to accept people for who they are and to be patient and tolerant, because you never know what kind of lives anyone else has. All you know is the kind of life you have and where you came from. 

Academically, my freshman year taught me to rely on reading and understanding lectures to get through classes. Each class is different and as semesters pass, I learned which professors are better than others and which classes are a lot less stressful than others. As a biology major, my freshman year was filled with sciences and labs. I learned to manage my time and be more organized than before by force. If I hadn't been as organized, I would not have gotten through my freshman year as successful as I did.

 I learned that high school crippled me because teachers actually pushed me and encouraged me, which professors here do not. I had to find my own motivation to do my own work. Sometimes, I admit i just wanted to sleep! Sleep is one thing I rarely got my freshman year. Between classes, studying, doing homework, reading, working, trying to make friends and simply trying to fit in, sleep became optional. Overall, classes my freshman year were hard to get through, but it was necessary to learn how to go about passing each class each semester, which all depends on the class and the professor. 

Socially, my freshman year, I made tons of acquaintances, but only a handful of real friends. Everyone was friendly because everyone was trying to make new friends too, but you never really know someone until you've actually spent time with them. First impressions are not always what they seem. Some people are genuinely kind, while others can turn out to be lying, manipulative, very horrible people. I learned the hard way, to not trust people until I have good reason to. I trusted too easily and as a result, one of the girls I lived with stole money, clothes and food from me. The best friends that I made, however, are still my best friends. We still go out and have tons of fun together. The best thing of all, is I know that I can trust them and always count on them like they can trust me and count on me and thats all that really matters to me. 

Altogether, my freshman experience taught me a lot about life and the kind of life I want to have. Freshman year taught me how to live my life in a better way that I can enjoy my life and attain my career goals. My freshman year taught me what 4 years of college takes to teach others. It taught me about exactly the person that I want to be. 

Sincerely,
Pertrice Sennon 

Freshman College Experience

First of all, before my freshman year started, I was thinking “I’m going to have issues having a roommate.” Slowly I tried to get into the idea that maybe it won’t be so bad having one person there provided of course that they are SANE. I get an email telling all the people in my suite who’s living with who. Apparently the people doing the housing decided to throw me into a Forced Triple. Now for those who think oh it’s a triple, you must be getting a bigger room than the other people right? WRONG. They forced 3 people into a room meant for two. Needless to say I was annoyed. Now I have to worry about two people all the time.

So the day came, we went up, met the roommates and they were alright. One of them was a track star who was about as innocent as can be. The other was the complete opposite, best way to put it. I got along with both but they seemed to butt heads so I just sat there usually watching and laughing. Not the point.

So after we met, we decided what beds we wanted. The beds were set up bunked and then one single. No one wanted top bunk. Especially not me, I move around when I sleep and I could fall and it just would've been awkward waking up eating the floor. So at the time we thought of debunking the beds and we all get our own. I kid you not when I say that besides the room the beds we took up, we only had a path inside the room about 2 feet wide. Great living conditions…. We made it work though. During the year we would come to have a lot of people over and we’d all just sit on the beds watching tv. At one point we had about 14 people in this room…that was hysterical.

Classes came around and getting used to huge lecture centers wasn't honestly as bad as I expected. All we needed to really know was about how they did homework and tests. That’s it, the rest was up to you.  One class though I had a professor email me and call me a liar and tell me I was lazy. Since I was still a freshman, I was surprised and wondered if all the professors hear are like that. He was awful though. You always are going to have that one bad professor.  That kept me away from that guy for 2 years until I was forced to take him again. More on that story later….

The workload took some getting used to because of how high school had hyped it up. Everyone told me it’s going to be huge, it’s going to be hard. It really isn't. The fact is that it’s pretty simple homework freshman year, the only thing about it is that it takes a bit of time. The other big fact about it is that with all the free time you get, it’s really hard NOT to become lazy and just think all fun all the time. Everyone goes like freshman year is the year that you take to find what you want to major and minor in. I signed up for my minor the first day since I already knew I was going to go into Mathematics. I guess I got lucky since most of my suite mates took the whole year to figure out what they wanted to do.

So anyways, with the new area and new people, I was feeling very social so our suite decided to make friends with all the other suites in our hall. We called our suite “The Open Door Suite” where anybody could walk in at any time to come and hang out if anything. The situations in how you meet people at college can be those you will honestly never believe. We were known to be very social…well 5 out of 7 of us. Think of this mix, there was myself, who’s already social in my own way, a track star who knew all the athletes, a long islander who had people from his area join us at times, a Staten islander who loved to hate this place (and somehow it bonded him with a lot of people quickly), and then the last of us who was pretty flamboyant and a big lover of anything techno but he knew anything needed about parties. Surprisingly enough we all clicked for the most part and hung out with the occasional fights here or there.

At one point we had a party to go to and we had a group of about 30 people, mostly from the same hallway, going to the same party together. WE OWNED THAT PARTY. The parties back then were insane but then again any older college student can tell you that. But you know you've had a good freshman year when you have the most random assortment of memories such as 5am race to Dunkin Donuts, Swimming in the fountain at 4am, waking up at 4pm to see a meteor ( to this day I don’t know what it was, it was like a stationary blue fire that as soon as myself and 2 friends noticed, it zapped through the sky), hanging outside to see shooting stars, going to a party and having bus drivers crash your party (true story), and planned for one of your friends to dress up in a monkey costume on Halloween to scare the living soul out of fellow freshman only to see your friend skid out of control and face plant it. These are just some of the few very random memories that made up my freshman year. Knowing how I want to use this blog I’ll post some past moments of these more quite often.