The Most Common Challenges Facing Students Attending College For The First Time

Starting college could be exciting and challenging at the same time. Living on your own, managing your bills, attending classes in the great halls, beginnings can be scary! But it is absolutely normal! It is okay if it takes time to adjust to college life. It is okay to feel a little overwhelmed. But, we do not want to face the trouble for long. That is why we have listed out the most common challenges that freshman students face and how they can deal with them. 

1. Stress

A lot of people would say why are you feeling stressed, you have come here after a lot of hardships. Well, do not listen to such people at all. Feeling stressed in the initial college days is normal. There could be homesickness, anxiety, or nervousness all in your mind. Above that, if you are an introvert, things can be pretty tough to deal with. 

In such scenarios, our advice for the students is to fix a schedule. Work around your classes and build up an eating, sleeping, and study schedule for yourself. This is the first step to beating stress. As you will know what you have to do next, that anxiety will not bother you. Also, try talking to people around you, whether in class or in your dorm. Seeing that everybody is going through the same thing might make you feel less scared. 

2. Health 

Many students switch to eating only fast foods during the first year. Then it becomes a habit and eventually, it affects your health, your brain power, concentration, and learning abilities too. Hence, it is imperative to maintain your health right from the beginning. 

There are many ways to fix this issue: 

• Start with cooking for yourself. Learn a few healthy recipes and make sure you eat at least one home-cooked meal every day. 
• Start doing yoga or any other form of exercise. This will not only make you feel better but will also keep you in shape and will release the healthy, happy hormones in your body. 
• Make some changes in your lifestyle to support your mental health. You can meditate for just 5-10 minutes a day or maintain a journal. After all, your peace of mind is all that matters. 

3. Roommate’s problems 

Now, this is faced by almost every freshman. If you are assigned your roommates randomly, you might have to live with a stranger and many students feel uncomfortable, especially during the first month. But it can be taken care of by following some easy tips: 

• Try to know them: When you just start living with a roommate, try to get familiar with them, their habits, schedule, likes, and dislikes so that you can adjust to each other. 
• Be open-minded: You must accept the fact that people are different. They might have different habits, lifestyles, and choices. Do not take things personally. 
• Share your things with each other: If you are making tea, there is no harm in making one cup for them too. Sharing can help you create healthy relationships with each other. 

4. Managing finances 

Since it might be the first time when you are dealing with money matters on your own, the process can be overwhelming. Sometimes students have no idea how to manage their expenses and face issues like being low on money or might have to borrow some from their parents. If you are also facing this challenge or you want to prevent yourself from facing financial issues, here are some important tips: 

• Start creating budgets so that you know how much you can spend on your stationery, food, internet, and other bills. 
• Revise your budget every month. Do a monthly review of your spending and savings and then revise your budget accordingly. 
• Keep an emergency account where you can save money for emergencies like health issues or fee payments etc. 
• Try to cook at home as much as possible and save money on food. 

5. Academics 

Transitioning from high school to college can be a big change, especially academically. The academic system in college is completely different from that in high school. Similarly, getting straight A’s in college is not as easy as in high school. This stresses out many students and they even feel like quitting. But, do not let this happen to you. Here are some ways you can manage your academics: 

• Attend all the lectures and be regular in studies. 
• Make notes and keep revising what you study in class. 
• Make sure you complete your assignments on time. 
• Talk to your professors in case you face any issues. They will surely help you. 

Academic stress is a bigger problem these days, especially among first-year students. It often leads to depression and anxiety. So, students must not take their studies lightly and should connect with their student counselors often.  

6. Time management

The last and most important challenge that we would like to point out is time management. There is no denying that students these days have a lot going on in their academic life. They are expected to accomplish a lot in a stipulated time which can make them panic if they do not know how to manage their time. Here are some tips that can help:

• It is important to have an eating and sleeping schedule. When you have these under control, you will feel less stressed and more energized to take over the tasks of the day. 
• Make a list of things that you need to do the night before. This gives you an agenda as you wake up and helps you save time in deciding what to do. 
• Keep a weekly calendar where you can block time for different things and make sure you achieve all your weekly goals. 

That’s all for now! We think that these six challenges are the most common among first-year students. One last piece of advice from us is that you must take one step at a time and you can win over any challenge in college. Rest, our tips will be helpful to you and will definitely make freshman year easier for you.