Top Five: Surviving and Thriving in College

College can be overwhelming, but there are ways of surviving and thriving. Going from high school to college launches students into a world of more independence, a more intense workload, and a new scope of options for extracurriculars and opportunities to engage with. While it can be a bit surreal when you first come to college, once you know how to navigate college life, it’s a great place to grow not only as a student, but as a person and a professional.

Make the most out of your college experience with this advice from current college students about how to grow personally, professionally, and socially in college.

1. Take Advantage of Career Development Opportunities

One clear distinction between high school and college is the range of opportunities available to grow your professional skills and experience. Along with learning more about your profession through classes, resources like internships, work study programs, and extracurriculars on campus can help you get real-life experiences in the field you’re interested in.

Mya Sato is an incoming junior at New York University (NYU), studying East and Southeast Asian politics, war, and violence through a post-colonial lens. She is interested in working in local communities to make positive change, potentially as a lawyer or public defender. Throughout their time in college, Sato has engaged in a work study program as a research assistant, internships with organizations like PEN America and the NYC Mayor’s office, and various extracurriculars on and off campus.

“At the beginning of college, as every freshman [experiences], it’s harder to get a job that isn’t a federal work study job. With that being said, I did get a federal work study job as part of my FAFSA package,” Sato shares. To this day, Sato works as a research assistant at the NYU Center for Social Media and Politics, an opportunity she was originally connected with through a professor of their politics class. “Definitely connect with your professors to see if they have any jobs they can refer you to,” Sato suggests.

Outside of work study opportunities, colleges have a wide range of internships and extracurriculars that you can get involved with to explore your interests- and if nothing catches your eye, you can always start a student group that you want to see on campus.

Sreya Nandanampati did just that when she started the Encode Justice chapter at Barnard College, an organization that educates and advocates about issues in technology like AI bias and data privacy. Nandanampati is double majoring in computer science and archaeology at Barnard and will be a junior in the 2023-24 school year.

“I helped spearhead this club at Columbia during my freshman Spring [semester] and we’ve been able to host a lot of different discussions about data privacy and talk about AI…more specifically, how AI is integrated onto our campus and within our community,” Nandanampati explains. Along with learning more about AI and tech, the club has helped Nandanampati develop her leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. “That’s been a really cool and fulfilling role for me,” she reflects.

2. Don’t Neglect Your Social Life

Making the most out of college isn’t just about school and professional opportunities. It’s also about letting yourself thrive socially. While balance is important when it comes to social life, spending time with peers is just as important as other responsibilities in college. Besides the importance of a good social life for wellbeing, it also helps you grow as a person and expand your social skills, which can help you professionally and in relationships.

Further, investing in your social life doesn’t have to look like partying, if that’s not for you. Spoiler alert: partying is not going to make or break your college experience.

“I think a lot of people get trapped in seeing how college students live out their lives on social media,” Sato states. “You don’t need to go out to have fun….you can stay in, invite your friends to come over, and do something more relaxing.”

Nandanampati echoes this advice, sharing that she prioritizes her social life by studying with friends, eating out, or doing activities with peers on the weekend. Whatever quality social time looks like for you, make sure you make time to pour energy into it. A good support system and circle of friends can go a long way, both in college and in life. “Your friends are going to be there through everything that you do,” Nandanampati emphasizes.

3. Allow Your Perspectives to Change and Expand

One of the most exciting parts of college is shifting and expanding on your perspectives. While this can be a surreal part of college, growing and challenging your own views is a crucial part of developing your beliefs and yourself as a person. Whether it be through new people, classes, or environments, college will expose you to new experiences that may change your mindsets- and this isn’t a bad thing!

Nandanampati had a life-changing experience when she had the opportunity to go on an archaeology dig in New Mexico through her school’s archaeological department. Nandanampati states that the goal of the dig was to collect data and artifacts to help the community learn about their history, to then use in legal and educational contexts. While she learned about practical applications of her majors and interests, Nandanampati also learned about different worldviews that influenced her perspectives. “I was able to really challenge my own comfort zone by going to a place and engaging with people and communities that I haven’t [engaged with] before,” she reflects.

She also notes that the experience gave deeper meaning to school lessons and history that she had only heard about before. “For the first time, I had really intimate [experiences] and conversations with indigenous communities. We got to live on a reservation and work really closely with tribal leaders there.”

In Nandanampati’s case, the dig was a great way to grow her knowledge and expand her views. “I was really able to leave with a whole new set of knowledge, experiences, and stories.”

While not everyone will have the opportunity to go on an archaeology dig during college, Nandanampati’s experience parallels the possibilities in college. Coming into college, you’re inevitably going to have experiences and interact with new people who prompt you to think differently. It’s okay for perspectives to change and it’s a momentous part of continuing to grow as a person- be open to it and allow your thinking to shift and expand.

If this makes you feel anxious or worried, Sato has some advice for approaching this part of college. “Push those boundaries of what you’re used to,” she emphasizes. “I find that it’s really fulfilling to actually spread out and have a lot of friends in a lot of different places.” Having a variety of friends and peers allows you to learn from different perspectives and expand your mindset. “You don’t want to get stuck in the same way of life [and] the same way of thinking.”

4. It is What You Make It

One of the first things you’ll notice about college is that there are so many more possibilities than there were in high school. Combined with new independence, you have a lot of freedom to decide what you want your college experience to look like.

“Really put yourself out there and take advantage of every opportunity that’s in front of you,” Nandanampati suggests.

Sato recommends organizing your extracurriculars and experiences based on your priorities. “Be real about what you actually need, what you actually want to do, and see how you can best prepare for that while recognizing your own limits.”

Once you know your priorities, Sato shares that it’s really just a matter of balancing your energy and eliminating what you don’t have time for. “Being able to know, what is something that is really important to you that you can’t give up, and what is something that you need to live [like a job], and what it is that you can give up that isn’t as important,” Sato explains.

While the range of opportunities available to you in college is useful, it can be challenging to decide what you want to allocate your time to. Put time into things that continue to be interesting to you, while also taking time to explore new things that you’re curious about. It’s normal for your interests from high school to shift and your early years of college is a great time to experiment with new interests.

5. Be Patient with Yourself- Balance Takes Time

If finding the perfect balance in college, with so many options and responsibilities feels unattainable to you, here’s a reality check: balance takes time. It is a never ending process to find a balance in your life, where you feel satisfied with what you’re spending time on, while also not feeling too busy.

For Sato, balance didn’t happen right away. “I highly recommend not doing what I did this past year, which was push myself to the edge of my limits.”

They reflect on their mistake in taking on too much work. “I attempted, at one point, to add onto the three jobs that I already had,” Sato laughs. “That didn’t work out, I quit about two weeks in, just because I realized the workload and expectations were a little bit higher than I’d initially [thought].”

Even if you feel overwhelmed at first, rest assured that balance takes time. As you adjust to the college environment and find new opportunities, you’ll be able to better organize your priorities and decide what all you want to experience during college.

Some Final Words of Advice

As for what they would tell incoming college freshmen, Sato and Nandanampati have some words of advice.

“Make those relationships with your professors…find [a professor] that you would like to be friends with, that you would like to have a genuine conversation about your interests [with],” Sato advises. “That would be the first and probably the most important step because it really allows you to exercise some of the skills you haven’t [used yet as a] freshman and also to have some sort of referral.”

As Sato shares, building relationships with your professors is a great way to get a head start in your field and have someone to get recommendations from.

Nandanampati encourages a similar approach to college. “There’s going to be a lot of really cool people and peers and teachers who will be able to share so much knowledge and really pull perspectives into life,” she emphasizes.

Ultimately, college is what you make it. It’s a whole new world full of opportunities to gain experiences in your field, make connections with peers, and learn in many ways. It comes with a learning curve, so don’t be discouraged if everything doesn’t fall into place right away. Freshman year is the perfect time to explore potential interests and figure out what your passions are. A little uncertainty is okay at first- have an open mind and allow yourself to grow.

“Stepping out of your comfort zone is a really rewarding process and I think it’s something to gravitate towards, rather than stepping back into a safe place,” Nanandampati urges. Sato adds that it’s all about balance: know your boundaries, but don’t hold yourself back either. “Don’t discourage your own self before you take that first step. Protect yourself, protect your space, but also push yourself a little bit for the things that you do want.”

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Hailey Dickinson (she/her) is a creator passionate about using writing and digital platforms to build community, make connections, and ignite positive social change. She is a Communications Major with a social media emphasis at the University of Minnesota and will graduate in December 2023.