10 Things That Will Totally Shock You About Freshman Year Of College!

Are you going into your freshman year of college?

If so, read this post about 10 things that will totally shock you!

All of these things surprised me during my freshman year of college and I’m sure they will shock you too!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read disclosure here.

1. Planners are Super Important:

Technically I knew that using a planner is college would be helpful, but I had no idea that it would be essential to my success!

College is a lot different from high school because, on the first day of classes, you will get a syllabus for each class.

A syllabus is literally a packet full of information about each course that lists all of your assignments for the whole semester.

Teachers will not remind you about upcoming assignments as often as they did in high school because they expect you to be following the syllabus.

The problem is that it is physically impossible to remember every assignment that is due for all of your classes. This is where a planner will become your best friend!!

(This planner brand is my favorite and a lifesaver in school! I don’t even know how you would survive college without a super organized and helpful planner like this one!)

This brand also sells my favorite stickers packs, which I use to decorate my planner and laptop. The stickers are really pretty and inspirational.

2. A College Packing List is a Lifesaver:

Packing for college is exciting but also super stressful! Following a college packing list will make packing a lot easier and ensure that you don’t forget to bring anything really important.

If you’re looking for a very organized college packing list, I created one that you can download for free here!

I promise it’s super helpful and will make packing 1000 times easier!

3. These College Essentials Are Super Helpful:

If there’s one thing that shocked me the most about college it is how essential these three products (other than a planner) really are!

Mattress Topper: Make sure to bring a mattress topper (size Twin XL) to college! I knew that the mattresses on dorm beds would not be very nice, but I had no idea how uncomfortable they would be.

(I’ve heard excellent things about this mattress topper– I haven’t tried it yet because I brought a different mattress topper to college that wasn’t my favorite. I’m planning to buy this mattress topper for my sophomore year dorm bed as I hear it is wonderful and will make your bed super cozy!!)

ID Holder: Make sure to bring something to hold your student ID and other important cards.

Your ID is really important because likely you’ll need it to get into your building, the cafeteria, to use the printer, etc.

I used this pop-wallet (favorite college essential ever!) to hold my important cards in college and it worked really well! If you bring your phone everywhere, this is perfect for you because you won’t have to worry about forgetting your ID.

You can also use a lanyard like this one to hold your ID and important cards.

Laptop: Bringing an excellent laptop to college is essential! I did so much work on my laptop freshman year that would have been a lot harder to do without one.

(This laptop is the one that I used during my freshman year of college and still use today. It’s an amazing laptop and perfect for college students. My favorite thing about this laptop is that it is really lightweight which makes it easy to carry around campus.)

4. Interacting with Others Will Make College a Lot Easier:

Try your hardest to interact with as many people as possible in college. It’s important to introduce yourself to others on move-in day and get to know your fellow classmates the first couple weeks of school.

The first couple of weeks of school is the easiest time to make new friends because everyone is looking for friends so you’re not alone.

Also, you may find a group of people who you’re most comfortable spending time with, which is great but that shouldn’t stop you from branching out and spending time with other people as well.

When I first started college, I clang to one group of people, which ended up holding me back from meeting more people. Once I realized what I was doing, I started spending time with different people and made so many more friends!

5. Buying Your Textbooks Before the First Class is a Mistake:

Last year I was so worried that if I didn’t but my textbooks before my classes started, I would be the only student without them. I promise a lot of students wait to buy their textbooks, and it’s completely acceptable.

It’s a good idea to wait because sometimes professors change the material needed for their classes. It is the worst feeling (and a big waste of money) to buy a book and then find out that you don’t need it.

I also recommend renting your textbooks from Amazon or Chegg. I have used both sites to rent books, and they have saved me so much money!

6. Ratemyprofessors.com is Really Helpful:

The best advice I ever got as an incoming college freshman was to use ratemyprofessors.com. I promise it is such a helpful website and will save you from some pretty difficult teachers!

7. It’s Not That Hard to Live in a Dorm Room:

I was so worried that living in a small dorm room would be awful and super cramped. I was honestly surprised about how much I enjoyed living in a dorm room.

If you’re worried about the space, I promise there are a ton of ways to use limited space to your advantage. I literally had a small corner of my dorm room to myself, and I still made it work!

If you’re looking for easy ways to organize your dorm room, check out the organizational supplies section on page 5 of my Ultimate College Packing List post.

8. Living With Roommates is Really Fun:

Of course, this will depend on how well you get along with your roommates, but I had a really positive experience living with my roommate’s freshman year. I lived in a quad and had three roommates, which was crazy because I was only expecting one.

I was pretty nervous about how we were going to share our room, but it turned out to be a ton of fun!

If you are worried at all about living with roommates or have any questions for me, feel free to reach out! You can comment on this post or email me at emily@positivityispretty.com

I would be happy to chat with you and answer your questions!

9. 8 AM Classes are Actually Awful:

I always heard that 8 am classes were terrible in college but I never understood why. In high school, my classes started at 7:30 so I thought that 8 am classes would be a breeze.

I was so wrong! I swear something happens the summer before college that makes it impossible to wake up before 8 am, haha.

If you’re a morning person please don’t let this discourage you for 8 am classes! One nice thing about them is that you will most likely be finished with your classes for the day a lot earlier.

You also may not be able to get out of 8 am classes depending on your major. I usually have to take two 8 am classes a week which are manageable. If you’re not a morning person try not to take more than two 8 am classes a week. I promise you will be so thankful that you didn’t sign up for more.

10. Joining Clubs is Really Helpful:

Joining clubs helped me make a lot of friends during my freshman year of college! I definitely recommend joining at least one club to meet new people.

Colleges usually have a ton of different clubs that you can join so you should be able to find one that interests you. Most colleges have club fairs at the beginning of the year where you can sign up for clubs.

My piece of club fair advice is to only write down your email for clubs that really interest you. I wrote my email down for SO many different clubs that I’m not even a part of. I still get emails about them, which is crazy and kind of annoying, haha.

Being a part of clubs introduced me to super cool people and are just fun to be a part of. I definitely recommend joining at least one club and going to the first couple of meetings to see if it’s something you enjoy.