College can be daunting for those who haven’t actually experienced it. Is it going to be hard to make friends, keep up with classes, manage time, or live in a dorm? The M-A Chronicle interviewed M-A alumni to give you a better idea of college realities.
First impressions of college can differ depending on someone’s journey. “My college journey has been pretty atypical,” Arjun Sahni, a junior at Santa Clara University, said. After taking his first semester off because of the pandemic, Sahni started college in spring 2021 at the University of San Francisco. “I thought I was going to meet a lot of people and have a better social life,” Sahni said. His high expectations were not met at USF, so in the fall he transferred to Santa Clara University. There, he joined a fraternity, allowing him to have a more active social life.
Olivia Sapp, a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle, expected that a large public school would provide an engaging social life. “The most shocking thing was that UW is a commuter school,” Sapp said. The campus felt empty at times, and her roommate was a local, making it harder for them to bond. “I learned to set my expectations on more academic expectations rather than social ones,” Sapp said.
For UC Berkeley junior Brianna Aguayo, transitioning to college academics was difficult. “College classes were a big adjustment and learning process,” Aguayo said. She eventually figured out how to manage her time, but her first semester was hard.
Meanwhile, University of Oregon junior Audrey Lillie felt almost over-prepared for college academics through a rigorous IB and AP course load in high school. “I had a really easy time adjusting to the workload in college,” she said.
Similarly, University of Michigan junior Eli Chane enjoyed college academics. “It’s a lot easier to stay on top of school because you chose what you’re studying and you’re interested in it,” Chane said.
Though he did not find the academic transition difficult, Chane’s new living situation was challenging. “I would say the biggest transition is living in the dorms,” he said. For him, it was hard to learn to live with someone and take care of himself. “Adulting is also a transition which is hard to adjust to,” Chane said.
Lillie had a similar experience to Chane. “I was surprised by what it actually meant to live in a dorm with other people. No free space, no alone time, absolutely none of it—for an entire nine months. That was tough,” Lillie said.
