By Tucker Golladay

It’s February, and seniors may be incrementally less motivated to do work, as the annual college process is approaching closure. As seniors begin the first steps in the transition to college, the fears and challenges of becoming a first-year college student have become more prominent.

Going from an institution that many students have attended their entire life to a large new community filled with new faces and characteristics can be intimidating. Members from the graduating class of ‘19 were asked about their fears and concerns about going to college, and their responses shared some common themes.

Many Collegiate students fear not finding friends in college. Emma Ahearn (‘19) said she fears “struggling to make new friends because I have attended Collegiate all of my life.” Changing environments at any point in life can be daunting, but for many students this is their first major transition. Luke Myers (‘19) says he is worried about having “trouble making new friends because there is less of a schedule.” The daily life of a high school student is on a concrete schedule. This means that students are guaranteed to spend a certain amount of time with each other, and naturally this leads to friendships. College, however, has a much more flexible schedule, and this means students are less likely to spend much time with each other throughout the week.

While some students feared making friends, others worried about becoming homesick in the first few months of college. As students graduate from high school, many students may be leaving home for the first time. The UCLA Higher Education Institute found that over 60 percent of college freshman are homesick. Michael Brost (‘19) pointed out he will miss his “mother’s delicious home-cooked meals,” which is as much a comment on the importance of family support, as well as food. Sitting down to a home-cooked meal is a time to connect with family. Brooks Moore (‘19) also is worried about “missing family and getting homesick” during the first few months of college. Robbie Beran (‘19) is petrified at the fact that he will “miss the dogs” while being away from them for months.

Other students feared the transition to college could lead to weight gain. In a study about college freshman weight gain, on average 52% of first-year students gain weight. The study also suggests, however, that the stigma around the infamous “freshman fifteen” is less prevalent than society suggests, since only 5% of all students studied gaining fifteen pounds or more. Anne Claire Quindoza (‘19) fears falling victim to endless options of tempting meal plans and “getting fat” in college. Chris Brennan (‘19) also feared gaining weight due to a meal plan, and he commented on the freshman fifteen, joking that “next year is all candy and donuts for me.”

At Collegiate, the sport requirement means that a majority of students compete on two teams per year. In college, it can be increasingly hard to become motivated to get exercise without a requirement in place. Zack Hunnicutt (‘19) agreed that exercise could be an issue in college when he stated that “not having a sport requirement may make it harder for me to workout.”

Amongst all of the expected responses, there were perhaps a few more lighthearted ones. Josh Spivey (‘19) claims that “not having a locker” is his worst fear of going to college. The truth behind this claim is uncertain, as last year the only thing in his locker was a vibrant mix of cluttered papers layered with dust. Connor McCluskey (‘19) asserted that he “was a diehard fan of the dress code at Collegiate,” and he fears “seeing girls’ exposed shoulders for the first time.” While on a cross country tour exploring colleges with his parents, he “went to tour while students were not in school, because I was not ready to see so much shoulder.”

College can be scary. It can be so different than high school. Graduating seniors have similar fears about transitioning to college, so as a student at Collegiate, YOU are not alone.

Featured photo credit: Tero Vesalainen.