Prepare Now For The First Weeks Of College
July 31,2000
University Park, Pa.--If you're starting to attend a college in the fall, start preparing yourself for the first two weeks on campus.

"There's a lot of truth to the old saying 'You get out of college what you put into it,'" says Margaret Sebastianelli, director of Student Services Center at Penn State's College of Health and Human Development.

The transition from high school to college, Sebastianelli says, means an increase in personal responsibility and workload. College students experience greater competition for grades. If you expect to earn an A or B grade-point average then develop a plan during this time so you can study 25-30 hours per week.

Take advantage of new student orientation activities. If an orientation program is offered, you should attend, advises Sebastianelli. You will meet faculty, staff, and students. You'll get lots of printed material as well as information shared during presentations. Take notes on the information presented because it will prove useful in the future.

"The first two weeks on campus are an opportunity to learn about the campus as well as what is expected in your courses. It's also a good time to start building a network of resources to promote your academic success," says Sebastianelli.

Tour the campus during this time and locate your classes. You should visit the bookstore, tour the library, check out the computer labs, find the ATM machines and the student hangouts.

If your university offers a student involvement fair, you should attend. These type of functions are great opportunities to join organizations that interest you, and you can start developing leadership and team-building skills. Employers want these abilities in college graduates so start developing them early, says Sebastianelli. You might want to look for on-campus jobs during those two weeks.

If you will live on campus, get to know your resident assistant (RA) and hall coordinator. They can be valuable resources as well as good friends or confidantes. If you live off campus, Sebastianelli suggests you find the commuter student office.

Be proactive in your education, advises Sebastianelli. Learn about the university's resources before you need to use them. Find out if the university offers academic assistance if you experience difficulty in classes. Discover if tutoring is offered for writing, math, language and computer literacy. It is never too early in your college experience to learn how the career services office supports career exploration. Identify the offices that provide health and psychological services to students.

Introduce yourself to as many people in your residence hall as possible. It's also a good idea to talk with your roommate during these first two weeks about issues such as having visitors, borrowing items, and study habits.

"It's best to talk about these things early in semester so you can defuse any potential problems," says Sebastianelli.

New students often have a problem managing their new kind of freedom. Attending a time management seminar during those first two weeks can teach you how to maximize your time. Sebastianelli suggests buying a daily planner to schedule study time, class time, work and play time.

"This is one of the keys to success in college and throughout life," adds Sebastianelli. Learn to use breaks in your class schedule to review for upcoming classes, complete a homework assignment, borrow books from the library, or to visit a computer lab.

One of the most important things to do is to meet your academic advisor. Your academic advisor is in a position to be a mentor to you. At some point in your college career you will need someone to speak about your character, leadership and communication skills when you apply for internships or employment. Your academic adviser can be the resource you need, but remember that it is up to you to initiate the advising relationship, says Sebastianelli.

"It may sound obvious, but it's also really important to attend every class during those first two weeks," says Sebastianelli. "There's a new sense of freedom and new social pressures so the temptation to skip a class may be strong. It's never good idea to miss a class, but it's especially important to resist skipping early in the semester when the foundation for the rest of the semester is built."

Introduce yourself to your professors during the time, too, says Sebastianelli.

Use the first two weeks as opportunity to examine your reasons for attending college, says Sebastianelli. If it is to earn a degree and get a career-related job, know that employers are looking for number of abilities in their new hires: an ability to apply what you learn to practical situations; to understand and communicate; to analyze information and solve problems; work with others individually or on a team; to continue learning on the job and throughout life.

"Give yourself every opportunity to develop these skills in college," says Sebastianelli.

EDITORS:?If you need any additional information, you can reach Sebastianelli at or 814-865-2156 Steven Infanti, External Relations Coordinator, is at 814-863-4325.