Hey Hawks, coming somewhere new can be a shock and feel overwhelming. I\u2019ve been there. I came to Iowa, which is four hours away from my home, so everything felt completely different. I didn\u2019t know anyone, and in this blog, I\u2019ll give some advice I wish I had in my first semester\/year.
My first piece of advice is that you don\u2019t need everything figured out. College is supposed to be a learning curve; it’s about finding out who you are. It\u2019s normal to change things like your major, your routines, and what actually works for you.
My second piece of advice is to use office hours. This was something I didn\u2019t take seriously in my first semester, but it is a game-changer. Professors appreciate effort, and it shows you\u2019re trying to learn. Even if you don\u2019t know exactly what to ask, go for clarification or study support. It is a great way to make more connections and feel less lost in your classes.
Next, enjoy your time in college. Don\u2019t rush it. Take photos, talk to new people, explore campus, and create memories. It goes by fast, faster than high school did, so enjoy it and find out who you are along the way.
Another thing I wish I knew is that you are not alone. Reach out to anyone and everyone to do things. Little interactions make such a difference, and it shows that you\u2019re trying to make an effort to be involved and meet people.
Finally, it\u2019s okay to give yourself grace. Freshman year is a year of growth, not perfection. No one has it all together, even if it looks like they do. You\u2019re learning, adjusting, and figuring out life on your own for the first time, and that\u2019s something to be proud of.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hey Hawks, coming somewhere new can be a shock and feel overwhelming. I\u2019ve been there. I came to Iowa, which is four hours away from my home, so everything felt completely different. I didn\u2019t know anyone, and in this blog, I\u2019ll give some advice I wish I had in my first semester\/year. My first piece of advice is that you don\u2019t need everything figured out. College is supposed to be a learning curve; it’s about …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/lily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}