Big School, Big Changes

The transition from high school to college can be a scary, yet exciting time for many students. A lot of high school seniors are probably deciding where they want to go around this time and are forming expectations and ideas about the college they may be attending. Along with these thoughts, they are also thinking about their fears about college, as well as the great things that come along with starting fresh in a new school. Through orientation, we can help these students coming from high school confront these fears, all the while pumping them up for an awesome and successful progression into Rutgers.

And so, to get inside the head of a high school senior and to see what preconceptions they have about college, I interviewed my eldest niece, Shianne, who is graduating from South Plainfield High School in June and will be attending Rutgers with us in the fall. During the first part of the interview, Shianne talked about the different things that she is worried about for her first year of college. Some of these included getting used to being in a larger class, having bigger course workloads, and navigating from campus to campus through our bus system.

Advising centers are one of the many resources Rutgers has to offer.

In addition, she was concerned about having to become more independent and more responsible with her education. This was a good realization on her part because in college, your courses, your resources, nor your books are handed to you like they were in high school. In college, you have to take it upon yourself to manage your courses and talk to academic advisors, you have to reach out to your professors during their office hours, you have to look for the resources that are provided by the school. Most likely, what you need is available to you, it is just a matter of finding it. This is something we can assist first-year students in understanding when they come to orientation.  We should stress to our new students how important it is to reach out to these resources that can help them, if they put effort in looking for them and are open to them.

Planners can assist in developing efficient time management.

Another topic discussed in our interview was how excited she is to be going to Rutgers. Shianne told me that she is most excited about meeting new people and having more freedom. These are wonderful things first-year students are looking forward to when they attend college in the fall. These are also topics we can discuss with our students during the orientation program. First off, we could encourage the students to be open to meeting new people and making those connections from the beginning. Secondly, we can talk about the new freedom that a lot of the students are dealing with for the first time and point out how time management comes into play. This is what I told Shianne in regard to this new freedom. I talked to her about how important it is to use her free time wisely and to recognize her priorities.

Most recent "normal" picture I could find of me and Shianne, haha.

Lastly, I asked her about orientation and her expectations for it. And it was interesting because from the question, she came up with expectations she has for herself when she goes to orientation. She hopes that going through orientation will make her more confident about herself as a whole, as well as about the transition to college. Therefore, I believe that as orientation leaders, we can have a big effect on students’ outlooks of college. With a successful orientation, we can really help students transition into Rutgers more easily and have an amazing four years of college because of this fresh start.