How to Avoid Making the Most Common Mistakes Your Freshman Year in College

Freshman year can be fraught with pitfalls. This is all new to you and you’re likely going to make a mistake or two as you try to acclimate to your unfamiliar surroundings. It’s important to remember that this next phase of your life is very important and you will set the tone for the next four years in your freshman semesters. You worked hard in high school to get your GPA up so you could get into the school you really wanted, it doesn’t make any sense to waste all of that time and effort, not to mention tuition costs, by not applying yourself to your studies and making the most of everything that college life has to offer. Here are some of the big college mistakes you want to avoid during your freshman year.

Skipping Classes

This is the first thing that can get you in trouble. But not in the way you think. Now that you’re in college, your professors aren’t going to scold you for skipping class the same way your high school teachers used to when you were absent. How you budget your time is entirely up to you and when you miss classes, you’re putting yourself in jeopardy of ruining your GPA. You can’t rely on your classmates to get the notes from the class either, there’s no substitute for being present if you want to succeed.

Too Much Partying

Now that you’re in college you’re going to have a lot of distractions around you. It’s fine to enjoy some parties and activities with friends and classmates, but when the partying becomes too prevalent and starts to interfere with your ability to attend classes and complete your assignments, that’s when it becomes a problem. So you must not fall into this common mistake that many freshmen make because staying up late means oversleeping and that’s how you miss classes and fail to hand in work on time.

Selecting Your Major

Every student will be faced with picking a major, but doing so too early can be a big mistake. Even if you know what it is you want to study in school, it still makes good sense to try out a few other classes and take a number of introductory courses that are offered. This will let you sample other interests and fields of study so you can get a sense of what else is out there. Choosing your major before you are definitely sure it’s the one for you can lead to a long and uninteresting four years of college and that’s no way to go through this experience at Chicago State University.

Don’t Go it Alone

Talk to professors and advisers if you’re having trouble at