Freshman Year - Expectations vs. Reality

Now that the first two weeks of your freshman year are behind you, you are finally getting a glimpse of the real college life.

Whether you’re still settling in or already feel at home, you may be starting to notice that some of your college expectations may not be all that you thought them to be. We all go to college with certain expectations, but we can’t forget there is the reality to them.

“Coming into freshman year at CCSU, I was really focused on the idea of entering a whole new lifestyle for the first time, and that can sometimes be scary,” newest Blue Devil and freshman Ryan Guthrie stated. “I had a lot of expectations coming into my first semester for sure. A lot of them were spot on, but others were definitely different than I originally thought,” Guthrie added.

For other freshman such as Guthrie, sooner rather than later you will begin to notice the truth to the college lifestyle. But do not be scared — below is a following list of expectations that you might find yourself experiencing a little differently while here at Central Connecticut.

1. “New School, New Me.”

Expectation: When starting off our college years, we all expect to be someone new with the idea in starting over and making new friends.

Reality: You are still the same person…surprise! Three years into your first semester you will find yourself as the same person you were the day you moved in. Be who you are and embrace it.

2. You and your roommate will be BFF’s.

Expectation: You and your roommate will be best friends and nothing can tear you apart. You will do everything together and not get in any disagreements.

Reality: You’ll find yourself possibly spending too much time with your roommate that by the second month of school, you’ll want your alone time. Some people do not get along with their roommates, but sometimes they do. Do not get discouraged if you and your roommate get into an argument every once and a while. We’re all human, and sometimes we need personal time for ourselves.

3. You are excited to leave your family.

Expectation: You are finally ready to leave the nest that is your hometown. You finally get to be independent and live without your family and you are excited for this change.

Reality: You will miss your parents and siblings more than you thought you would. There will be days during the week where you will be wishing you could go home more often and see them. Whether you’re crying on the phone to your mom because you miss her home cooked meals or simply miss your dog, you will be wishing you were home.

4. Getting up early on the weekends and being productive.

Expectation: You are going to set an alarm for the latest 10 a.m. on Saturday morning so you have the rest of your day to do school work, explore the city, or any activity you had in mind for the day.

Reality: You sleep until 1 p.m. and do not leave your room until 4 p.m. You will stay on campus because you either don’t have a car or simply don’t have the energy to leave your bed. Either way, you aren’t starting your homework till Sunday night.

5. You’ll make it to the dining hall for all three meals.

Expectation: You are going to get up and go eat at the dining all for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You will never miss a meal and will always be willing to leave your dorm and step outside to walk to the dining hall.

Reality: You will sleep through breakfast, end up taking a snack to class as your lunch, and you will barely make it to dinner after a long day of classes and work. There will be plenty of days where you will be eating ramen or mac and cheese in your dorm room as your “well balanced meal.”

6. Take all 8 a.m. classes so you can finish your school days early.

Expectation: You are going to wake up bright and early with a positive mindset and be ready to take on your day. Starting your classes off at 8 a.m. will leave you with your day free by the latest one in the afternoon, giving you time to relax and do homework.

Reality: In no time you will be running late to your 8 a.m., still in your pajamas and hair all over the place. Your 8 a.m will begin to be your least favorite thing, and you’ll be wishing you made your earliest class a 10:50.

7. Have time to balance clubs, hanging out with friends and keeping a hold of life.

Expectation: You will be involved in as many clubs as you can handle, while still having the time to see your friends on school nights and complete your homework on time.

Reality: You will still be able to join clubs and make time to see your friends, but you find yourself stressing over it. It will be difficult to juggle your time and be able to manage school work with social time.