So, you’ve moved off to Mississippi State University and you’re starting this huge adventure that you’ve been preparing for your whole life. College is vastly different than anything before it and for most people it is the first time they are on their own living as a sort-of adult. This huge life change can be intimidating, but the time has come. Adjusting is a necessary process that can feel like a struggle. If you want to know ten tips on adjusting to freshman year at MSS, keep reading!
All freshmen are required to live on campus which means that we are in the dorms. The dorms are small and definitely take some getting used to. Organizing your dorm room helps make Mississippi State feel more like home, and it helps because it means that the school year doesn’t start with you living in chaos. If it goes downhill, then at least you tried.
For me, it has been really nice knowing the people on my dorm hall. All of my eight a.m. classes are more pleasant when I see some kind faces on the way out of my dorm hall. Another perk of knowing the people on your dorm hall is that it has made me feel like I have neighbors and that I’m not alone.
Mississippi State has so many great resources for students. Adjusting is a lot easier if you use what the university has for us. Whether it be counseling services, health services, the writing or math labs, Mississippi State is here to help us! For a more comprehensive list of what is available for students, I would recommend checking out the Student Affairs page on the school’s website!
Starkville is a great college town with some good restaurants and some neat buildings to see. If you like to go to church, there are also lots of good options close to campus in the heart of Starkville. Knowing Starkville helps when it comes to adjusting to college life because it makes this wonderful place feel even more like home.
During the first week of being at State there are lots of events going on that give out free food, t-shirts, and information. Dawg Daze is a great way to meet people, get free stuff, and have some fun. These events helped get me out of my dorm room and around campus. These events helped me meet a lot of great people. On top of all of the perks, I got to see a hypnotist which was super cool and unique.
This may seem really strange or maybe even self-explanatory, but eating on campus is a great way to adjust to college life. It can be a lot of fun eating around Starkville, but I have found that because I ate on campus a lot initially, it is more comfortable for me to eat on campus now, as well as more cost effective.
It is really hard to adjust to being a college student here at State if you don’t know where things are. Walking around campus in general is a great way to figure out your surroundings before crunch time (classes) starts. Finding individual classes and walking around campus to find them in order of when you have them is super helpful. Because I did this, on the first day of classes, I wasn’t scrambling to find my way to the individual classrooms or buildings.
I came to Mississippi State not knowing too many people and I had no idea how to fill up all this time I suddenly had. Joining organizations has helped me adjust because I had to get used to really putting myself out there. Joining on-campus organizations has helped me make friends that I can always hang out with when we have a moment. Joining Greek life as a freshman at MSU gave me new sisters! The off-campus organization I have joined has gotten me used to going out into the world on my own and it has exposed me to my new city.
You’ve heard this a million times, but it is so important to say. College is not cheap, as we all know. I especially feel the struggle of college costs as an out-of-state student. The main reason we are at Mississippi State is to learn, so going to class is important. Going to class regularly helps get you into a routine. Having a weekly routine makes adjusting to college a lot easier.
College is so different than high school. I graduated from a relatively large high school, yet my classes never had almost three hundred people. Two of my classes now have almost three hundred people, and others have almost one hundred. In high school, all of my teachers ended up knowing me pretty well without me having to talk to them after or before class. To make classes less intimidating and to make a good impression, introduce yourself to your professors. Doing this means that you will not be just another face in the huge crowd of students and it helps it makes you feel like you know the person who is teaching you.
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