7 Biggest College Freshman Year Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

Freshman year is a huge transitional part of your life. You’re away from home and excited to have a fresh start. Every single person who goes to college has a completely different experience that’s special and unique to them. But there are some common mistakes that almost any freshman will make, and I’m here to help you avoid them! So here are the seven biggest college freshman-year mistakes and how to avoid them!

Biggest College Freshman Year Mistakes

Eating too much

Who hasn’t heard of the freshman fifteen? Well if you haven’t, it’s the widely held belief that many college freshmen will gain at least 15 lbs during their first year in college. While I don’t think 15 lbs is an accurate number, you CAN gain a couple of pounds. While you’re going to classes, getting involved, and studying, you honestly forget how much you’ve eaten. It can creep up on you. My campus had two full cafeterias, an endless Chick-fil-a buffet, Canes, Qdoba, and more. But pace yourself, you’ll be there for (possibly) 4 years, so you’ll have plenty of time to try everything there is on campus.

Make time to work out, and make sure you aren’t overeating just because there’s so much food readily available every single day. Many things are good in moderation, and food is one of them.

Not getting enough sleep

During my freshman year, I had early classes at 8:00 AM that I was never ready for. On top of that, the classes were typically a long walk away from the dorms. So it wasn’t like I could wake up late and fast walk to get there on time, I HAD to wake up early. Even on the days that I would get to class on time, I would constantly be exhausted and tired trying to keep up with the lecture. Wanna know why? Oh, ya know, just went to sleep at 2 AM the night before. Or shall I say, morning? Then I would go to my room, take a nap, wake up, eat, study late, and literally repeat the process. I cringe so hard when I look back at how bad my time management skills were back then.

If you take anything from this whole post, make sure you get a good night’s rest as often as you can. You want to feel rested so you can be alert and pay attention throughout the day. One thing that completely changed my life, as overhyped as it is, is time-blocking! If you are having trouble managing your time, check out this super simple and in-depth tutorial all about time-blocking and themed days to boost your productivity.

Not studying enough

Part of the reason I didn’t study enough was because of my bad time management (as mentioned above). But I also just had so many other things I was working on or dealing with and I constantly put studying on the back burner. I literally went to college to study biology, yet studying wasn’t always at the top of my priority list like it should’ve been.

Create routines and try your best to stick to them. You could choose to study after a certain class or at certain times of the day. Whatever fits into your schedule, do it and stick to it. Don’t make it hard, make it easy to follow the routine. Set up a schedule that you look forward to, not something stressful that you will dread so much that you don’t even do it.

Related ⇾ 15 Amazing and Scientifically-Backed Study Tips You Need To Be Using

Not calling home

I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep up with your family. Some of my friends talked with family basically every day, some didn’t talk with family in weeks to months on end. Having someone to check in with (that you completely trust) is such an important thing to have while being a student.

I was constantly on the go with classes, my TA-ing/tutoring job, and organizations but I called home often. I still felt like a kid, and having my parents help me navigate through certain situations was literally life-changing.

Not being social

Please, please, please, don’t be the college freshman who stays in their dorm at all times. If that sounds like you, or something you would do, I challenge you to join ONE thing on campus. College is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I really want you to take advantage of and have some fun.

I was a part of many things on campus such as the Student Alumni Association, and leadership programs, I studied abroad and I even did a pageant! My older sister was more reserved but she still joined an anime club on campus and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just know that there is always a place for you, and if there isn’t, create your own!

So, if you’re interested in something, see if there is a club or organization on campus that allows you to enjoy whatever it is with new people! I met my best friends by getting involved. I also met a lot of people through my classes. However, I noticed that after freshman year, people started to form groups of friends in their majors and it can be a bit more challenging. So get involved early and meet your future BFFs (not to be dramatic but you really could meet some special people by getting involved)!

Picking classes late

O-M-G. This actually sucks the most. This might be one of the biggest college freshman mistakes when it comes to your actual education. I went to a research university. While we had some world-class researchers, that by no means meant they were world-class educators. There are just some professors people would warn you about, and honey, if you registered late, you were screwed. There’s always the option to join the waitlist for the class. This meant if there were 100 spots in let’s say, Genetics and all of those spots were taken, joining the waitlist meant if a student in that class drops the class within the first two weeks of the semester, you could take their spot. But this isn’t always reliable, ya know?

This is where making friends in your major can be so beneficial. Ask around to see which professors are worth taking and also check ratemyprofessor.com to get all the tea on your faculty. See what I did there? Tea… facul-tea? Ok, next…

Not being yourself

Last but not least, be yourself. I can promise you, 95% of freshmen are brand new, haven’t been through the college experience either, and want to make some friends just like you. Stress less and live more. Again, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it goes by fast. So live it up and also work hard towards whatever long-term goals you have. It can be easy to feel like you should act a certain way or do certain things because everyone else is doing it. But stay true to your character and morals and you will find your people!

No matter what school you’re attending, there are common mistakes every freshman makes. So I hope you learn a thing or two now so that you can enjoy your freshman year to the fullest! If there are other college freshman year mistakes you’ve made or your friends have made, sound off in the comments. I would love to hear.