Being a freshman is fun. Daunting, too. As much as we try to make the most of our first year at the university, there will always be things we wish we knew beforehand. Corvinus got you – we are ready to spill some secrets we learned during our freshmen times, some – the hard way.
Here are 5 things we wish somebody told us when we just started school. Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride!
1. First year is important, but not the defining one
Of course, it feels like your whole university experience will be shaped by that first year when you get to know your routine for the next 3 to 5 years. Partially, it is true because this first impression is, no doubt, important. However, it doesn’t mean that the things that went wrong then, will stay like this forever, and vice versa. First year is just a first year. There will be the second one. And even the third.
2. Your friend groups will shift and change
This one may hurt. Your first formed friend group may experience a fallout or stop existing at all. You and some people you thought you were great friends with may grow apart, too. It’s a perfectly normal human thing, don’t be afraid of this. You don’t have to become best friends with the first people you meet on campus, but if you feel like it, then go for it! Making friends at the university is an interesting thing. And a complicated one, for sure.
3. Go out more. But don’t overdo it
University is, indeed, about studying. Burying yourself in books, though, may play a bad trick on your mental health and overall experience of school. There are so many sides to being a student, especially, a freshman, and knowing how to find a balance between them all is one of the greatest skills you can acquire. Go to parties, and meet new people, but don’t overload yourself with this feeling that you have to be everywhere every time. The truth is you don’t. And if you feel like skipping this one party, skip it. There will be so many more.
4. At some point, you will get tired
First year is everything in between. Studying, personal drama, university drama, the first experience of real adult life, lots of new things, good and bad. Every normal person gets exhausted from all of this after some time. It is important you notice when you start running on low energy and give yourself a break. You are not a robot, and that applies not only to your first university year.
5. Career plans may change. And it’s alright
You, like many other freshmen, probably have some ideas about what your university years and what comes after will look like. You may have even started thinking about your career, which is a great thing to do. Be prepared, though, that those thoughts and ideas may vary and change very fast. Starting a new university life will put new goals and ambitions in your head, don’t be afraid to accept and consider them. Change of plans is not always a bad thing.
Your freshman year at Corvinus is an experience that will have a lasting impact on your life. While we try to share the things we find out during it, you, of course, can’t be prepared for everything. That’s also the beauty of it – you get to have your own experience and, probably, say the phrase “I wish somebody told me that” afterward. Enjoy your first year, focus on good things, and remember that there is still a whole life ahead, and it doesn’t end outside the university’s walls. At least, not when you study in Budapest at Corvinus.
