#FirstYearProblems: Support Group

First year of highschool, probably the last big school change before college. The biggest problem is probably getting used to the schedule or finding your class for the first 2 days. 

Now it's your first year of college and here's how you think it will go...you know absolutely no one, you have no idea where your classes are, you have no idea how to get there.....and you don't know how to  The appropriate term for what you're thinking is not blog-appropriate. However, few first years actually have that incredibly nervous feeling, or at least have some of the weight taken off after attending summer orientation. Though students may not remember every detail of the couple of days, or even specifics about  the University, they all agree on one thing:  Orientation gave them a heads up and a first look into the next few years of their lives, and made them feel confident that they are able to adjust and take on the problems that may pop up unexpectedly, by having that initial support group. 

^You don't want your group to think that this would even BE  a problem.  

First Year Danica, immediately made friends with her OL and facebook friended her at the table while on their lunch break during orientation. In her orientation period she had a group of friends who signed up at the same time.  They were from another Rutgers group program who had met earlier in the summer.  Though she had felt confident that she had friends within her peer group she still wasn't sure about the school, considering none of her new friends knew anything either.  The part of the program that benefitted Danica the most, she says, is the tour around Busch campus she took, but mostly because she lives on Busch campus. If she were anywhere else, it would have been a much harder time coping. She suggests getting the students involved in an activity that lets them get to know the other campuses a little more without going on a tour.  "I kind of got nervous when I realized my classes weren't on Busch at all". The second problem was running out of meal swipes unfortunately... which is one of a kind, because first years tend to have large meal plans and advice given is usually to use meal swipes just for coffee. 

Besides her first semester problems, Danica believes that she definitely felt confident to go into something she knew little about (college in general) coming out of orientation.  The first group of people she met and her orientation leader helped get her past the summer slump and anxiety of waiting to move into a large, new place.  "Most of what I learn today has been taught by the upperclassmen I live with." Though not everyone has the personal lasting impact from their OL, the two days they are in orientation, they make a kind of support group of friends of knowledgable individuals other than fellow first years. Comfort comes with knowledge, even if that knowledge is simply knowing someone with knowledge.

Being able to be flexible and adjust. College, no matter how well your orientation went or how much you prepared, is a new experience and something they need to adjust.- Danica

Making new friends

Surviving your first year

Dr. Richard A. Stevens backs up the idea that making new friends during orientation helps the overall transition to college a lot smoother.



THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLEGE ORIENTATION


"Information helps to reduce stress due to uncertainty and fosters an active
problem-solving style, an important life skill. Successful orientation programs
provide learning experiences that help students Understand and make adap-
tations to change."

This article explains in detail the true importance of having a college orientation and being fully there and fully aware for it so that your support group is made and uncertainty levels are lowered.