College Crud Nervus

[stoogefreaky]

Sorry guys if this topic seems pointless. I'm going to college for the first time and I'm kinda freakin out. Can someone help calm my nerves? My orientation is on Wednesday at 2 PM and school starts on the 16th.

[Astro Forever]

I'm in a hurry, but I'll come back later. In the meantime, maybe you could tell us what worries you so much...?

[Astro Forever]

Obviously I'm back, but I still don't know what to say, your message is too vague. I'll just say that it's normal to feel nervous, it's a big change. Do you also have to move away from home?

I spent a lot of years in college. The people I know who experienced big problems were either:

1) not in the right program, usually because they chose a field they didn't like but thought it would make them rich, or they didn't have enough information prior and the program wasn't what they thought it would be. In any case, this wasn't the end of the world, they swiched program and did just fine.

2) didn't understand that you have to do your homeworks and study to succeed. At the beginning of my second degree, I met a girl at the orientation meeting, and she thought she could manage a full classes schedule and quite a lot hours of part time work, plus she was living away from home. It's something that's possible in some programs, but not in the one we were in (most students didn't go for the maximum of hours and they weren't working part time). To do that, she would have had to be both super talented and be willing to experience a serious sleep deprivation. Not only did she not meet either of these criteria, but she also wasn't exactly a hard worker. I guess you can imagine the disaster that ensued... :d oh:

In everyday life, I think the best thing you can do is to not fall behind in your work, or at least by very little. Usually people freak out at the mid semester exams or at the end of the semester, but I think very few people would say that they couldn't have done more in the previous weeks that would have helped make everything easier. An hour or two of reading per week doesn't seem much, but when assignments and exams are coming, those few weeks in which you skipped them will come back to haunt you.

In any case, if you do happen to fall behind in your work (very few students manage to never fall behind at one point, lol!), or if it just happens that every teacher give you their assignments at the same time, try to not freak out, do your best and you should make it in the end.

Finally, try to see how you can improve as a student. I can say that I "learned to learn" through my studies. I would often go back to see the teacher after my final exams (at the beginning of the next semester) to see what I had missed and how I could have avoided making that mistake, even if I had had a good mark. It's very telling. Sometimes I would be sure I'd miss something and I had done it right, sometimes something wasn't marked the way I thought it would and I did better than I expected, etc. I was a much more efficient student by the end of all of my years of college (I have a lot behind me! ) than I was at the beginning. So if things don't go as well as you wanted in your first semester, give yourself a chance. I get easily anxious, but I think by now I could handle almost any class (as long as it's not in a field I totally hate and I have the prerequisites, of course).

[stoogefreaky]

Thanks! I read your message. It helps

But the main problem is I think I suffer from SAD(social anxiety disorder) and this is why I'm nervous to go. I'm really worrying.

[Astro Forever]

Thanks! I read your message. It helps

But the main problem is I think I suffer from SAD(social anxiety disorder) and this is why I'm nervous to go. I'm really worrying.

Oh, I see! I understand better now. I don't know how bad your SAD is, so I'm not sure if there is anything I could say that could be useful, or even anything that wouldn't be out of line with how you feel. I do have a little idea of how you might feel though, I don't suffer from an anxiety disorder but I did have my own problems in the past with my peers, and I'm also a very anxious person. I still survived college.

I don't know if that can comfort you, but I think basically every student will be anxious, unsure about making new friends and overwhelmed by college at first (it's so much bigger than high school, after all!). It's normal to feel this way, although I completely understand that it's worst for you than for others. Hopefully you'll feel better after the orientation meeting, since you'll start getting a better view of what everything and everybody is like. Also, from my experience, students are usually willing to help each others, so it's not that hard to approach somebody to ask a question. (I've heard of super competitive programs where everybody wants to make it to postgraduate studies and so people can be nasty with each others because the competition is terrible, but that's really out of the norm!)

Although I don't live in the US, where I went, there were various resources available to students, such as students willing to be paired with a first-year student to help them getting used to life on campus, for example, and various consellors, so if you have such services available (and I assume there are, because after all Canadian and American students must have similar needs, right?), use them if you need help. They exist because you aren't the only anxious one out there.

Although I was never involved in them, where I went, there were students associations for every degree, that each had their own little room and projects. Sometimes hanging there can be very useful, either to meet new people or learn more about future classes and teachers you might encounter.

[CommanderEVE]

Go out there and do your best.

[stoogefreaky]

I really feel somewhat better and good timing too. I was just having a little panic attack just becuase what my mom told me, but now I'm okay. I don't know if there is a one to one pairing thing at my school but of course there are counceling. Plus, I have one good friend who goes to the college I'm going to. And your right, I'm not going to be the only one who will be anxious. I have to keep telling myself that.

I feel better knowing you guys are listening to me.

[Astro Forever]

Ahh, moms... sometimes they have good intentions, but...

I'm glad you are feeling better. Let us know how it goes if you want.

[zeo]

dont be worried about it,stoogefreaky!! i was just as worried as you where when i first went a year ago,but trust me,its no biggy =) i know for a fact that most people in college are to busy with their work and care so much about it they really dont pick on each other,unlike schools 'n stuff before it,belive it or not.plus,people mature in college,so,oyu'll be welcomed in no time flat!
i might not know personaly how you feel,but i kind of understand what you mean with SAD.even though its never been confirmed,i worry that my brother suffers with the same thing,as well as abnormal axiaty.from his experience,you tend to worry WAY TO MUCH that somethings going to be a lot worse then you think it is.often,my brother has really worried about going somewhere,gone their,and liked it,a lot.just dont worry about it,keep your chin up,and it'll go great =D

[Astro Forever]

Zeo is sooooo right. Here we have a level between high school and college and I noticed how different people were behaving there in comparison to high school. It was startling, I didn't expect this at all! hmy: As if, just because they suddenly find themselves in an adult environment, some people start acting more like adults, or should I say like normal people instead of acting like animals, as they used to.

Just to be sure, I do not mean that all young teenagers are acting like animals! I'm referring to those who can be so mean and cruel. irate: