This week, we asked a few of our interns to share their experiences transitioning from high school to college. Here, Mindy shares her first few weeks as an undergrad at UPenn’s Wharton School.
During the first two weeks of college, there was an endless lineup of events. At Penn, there were a lot of parties set up that celebrated and welcomed the freshman class. For instance, one was a toga social and another involved busing over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Every day was exhausting and jam-packed, and you return to your room usually to socialize some more if you have a roommate.
It was a bit difficult navigating the first few days of classes. Everything was new—the students, the teachers, the buildings. And your lifestyle completely changes—no longer do you have the nice and stable routine of high school where you wake up, go to class, and then go home to do homework and sleep, but instead your schedule may start late in the morning. In between classes, you may have an awkward hour chunk where you cannot actually get homework done, or you may have a three-hour gap that similarly dwindles away into nothingness. It is easy to be unproductive in college, especially when the first days are largely dedicated to meeting new people.
Do not be surprised if you do not find your perfect circle of friends within orientation week. In fact, most likely, you will not find them until the following semester, or even the following year. Transition into college is hard, so try not to be too critical. I remember feeling anxious in the first two weeks about not having a best friend and then realized that it had only been a couple of days—that it is normal to not have a best friend within such a short time span. Friendships take time to develop, so your social life may not be so great in the beginning, but later on, be it months or years, everyone will find a niche.
Read more about Mindy by visiting her profile!
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