Freshman Follies : Education: Surviving the first year in college depends not only on academic diligence, but also on a student’s ability to cope in a stimulating world removed from the security of home.
You’re finally a college freshman, braced to broaden your intellectual horizons, to ponder the meaning of existence, to find out why Van Gogh really cut off his ear.
Yeah, right. That’s what you said on the application anyway. But sitting on your thin dorm mattress and staring at those creaseless books, what you really want is far less complex: To survive.
Your first college exam may be traumatic, but observers say what happens outside the classroom can make the difference between dropping out and graduating.
So get out that highlighter with the dizzying smell and consider this guide your first assignment.
Chapter One: Strangers in the Night
Freshmen who imagine idyllic compatibility with a roommate-- Let’s share clothes! Let’s make curtains to match our bedspreads! Let’s put on a play!-- might be in for a big surprise.
Ramin Achak, a USC senior from El Toro, says his freshman roommate washed his clothes only once all year, throwing them instead on an ever-growing heap, extracting a garment and ironing it when he needed something to wear.
But you may be able to preempt some of the trauma.
If it’s possible, talk to your roommate about worrisome things before tension builds, says Ceci Hyoun, a sophomore at Occidental College from Silver Spring, Md. Do you mind if your roommate has overnight guests? Borrows your best clothes? Leaves the room a mess? Sits on your bed?
The big lesson, upperclassmen say, is that Roommate might not mean Best Friend.
“I like to think of it as a living arrangement,” says Brad Weber, a USC senior from St. Louis, Mo., and a dorm adviser. “If friendship comes out of that in addition, that’s a bonus.”
Chapter Two: Toto, I want to Go Home
You’re an adult, you’re cool . . . and you’re homesick.
“After that first week, you’re like, ‘God, I miss home,’ ” says Greg Gottesman, who wrote “College Survival: A Crash Course for Students by Students” (Prentice Hall, 1991) after figuring things out the hard way his freshman year.
Students sometimes don’t admit or don’t even realize they are homesick, but might call home to inquire casually about their brother or the dog, says Peggy Kravitz, director of orientation at USC.
Arianne Dickson, a UCLA senior from Upland, says she was so hyper her first year that she didn’t notice her homesickness. Yet as a sophomore, she yearned for weekend visits home and didn’t want to leave come Sunday night. Only then did she realize she had been homesick the year before, too.
Making friends is a universal cure, and joining a club can give you an instant circle of acquaintances. Phone calls and trips home can ease the initial pangs of homesickness.
Chapter Three: Where Have All the Dollars Gone?
Pizza delivery and burgers eat up more cash than you might realize, so pay attention to what you’re buying and even write it down, students say.
Students at UCLA spend an average of $100 to 150 a month eating out and socializing, according to an informal survey.
Money also goes into dorm furnishings that are more sophisticated than the popcorn poppers and hot plates of old: TVs, VCRs, computers, CD players.
Many new collegians have a checkbook or a credit card for the first time. Credit cards are common, easy to get--and freshman splurges can haunt one for years.
“I learned the hard way,” says Tessie Florendo, a UCLA senior from Los Angeles. “I applied for each and every single one of them and just bought everything I wanted.” She’s still paying off her debts.
Bank of America branch manager Tony Cordero, whose bank across the street from USC handles many student accounts, cautions about bad money ideas:
* Not recording checks.
* Trusting roommates with checkbooks and ATM passwords.
* Using charge cards for splurge flights to San Francisco.
His advice? Reconcile checkbooks with monthly statements and know how much money you have. A well-kept checking account can provide a credit reference, Cordero says. But if the bank closes your account, that record can follow you around the country.
Chapter Four: The Great Unwashed
Gottesman devotes an entire chapter of “College Survival” to the perils of washing clothes--presumably reflecting the magnitude of freshman ignorance:
* Read the labels.
* Make sure you have enough quarters.
* Never use hot water.
* Don’t overload the machines.
* Fold clothes right away.
* Separate darks and lights.
“The funny thing is, people are walking around campus with pink socks, pink T-shirts, and you know that underneath those pants is pink underwear,” he says.
Chapter Five: Scammers and Third Roommates
Dating is one subject no one ever breezes through. Group dating when you’re just getting to know someone is preferred by many students, Gottesman says.
His tips? Quit agonizing over whether someone will go out with you and just ask. Be creative: try a picnic or hiking. Listen to your date. And beware of “scammers”--senior men who use pick-up lines on first-year women.
Amanda Kemp, a USC junior from El Paso, Texas, says to bolt from lines like these:
* “Want to see my fish tank?”
* “I hate your lipstick.” (Female: “Why?”) “Because I think it would look better on me.”
* “I’m not like the typical USC guys. I’m different.”
* Said with an intense gaze: “I think I’ve just met my future wife.”
Lines that make you groan--or honest, loving relationships--both raise questions of sex. “A lot of students have a third roommate that first year,” says Gottesman.
How do you handle unwanted visitors? By establishing ground rules before the situation develops.
One sobering phenomenon: Rates of sexually transmitted diseases like genital warts (the No. 1 STD on campuses), the human papilloma virus and chlamydia are skyrocketing.
“We really are seeing an epidemic on college campuses,” says Dr. Carol Otis, student health physician at UCLA for 10 years. What is new is that these are viruses--that is, they won’t go away with antibiotics--with risks of cancer or infertility. And, of course, there’s AIDS.
“The risks are greater than they were five or 10 years ago,” says Otis, who co-wrote “The Campus Health Guide” (College Board, 1989).
If you decide to have sex, Otis says, a condom decreases risk of infection. Only 30% to 40% of sexually active UCLA students use condoms regularly, she adds, but students have fewer partners.
College officials are also concerned about date rape. Sgt. Jerry Prieto of Cal State Long Beach campus police advises women to double-date or invite a friend for casual study sessions--don’t go alone if you don’t know your date very well. He also holds seminars for men only to tell them again that no means no.
Chapter Six: The Freshman 10 and Other Hazards
The standard campus reply to a breezy “How are you?” is “I’m so stressed out!”
Students consider stress their No. 1 health risk, Otis says. Reserve time for yourself--movies, dancing, exercise, listening to music, whatever recharges you--and consider it non-negotiable, she says, especially around exam times.
The real No. 1 risk to students is alcohol-related car accidents.
Student health officials also suggest that students carry health insurance and update their vaccinations, especially measles.
Taking care of yourself includes crime prevention. Prieto says the top campus crimes are burglary, theft and assault, and most offenders are not students. Auto burglary is the most common; many students leave expensive car stereos or valuables in plain view. Theft of book bags and backpacks is next. Ask friends to watch them or take them with you. And avoid assault by using common sense: Take well-lit paths with friends or campus escort services.
Also be advised you may be courting the dreaded Freshman 10 (or 15 or 20)--the pounds that advertise indulgence in late-night pizza and beer and all-you-can-eat dorm food.
Chapter Seven: It’s Not the ‘60s Anymore
Although a few students use cocaine and marijuana, these drugs today are considered uncool. Lighting up a joint, students say, will earn you chastising looks.
Alcohol, while illegal for those under 21, is the collegiate drug of choice. Beer and mixed drinks with names like Sex on the Beach are popular, and there is some peer pressure to imbibe.
At some Santa Monica College parties, “You want a 40?” is a common question. Translated, it means you’re being offered a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. But sophomore Keith Hawkins says, “You won’t get put down at a party if you don’t.”
Student surveys say about 70% of incoming freshmen nationwide have tried alcohol, Otis says, and about 30% drink regularly.
A Final Note
Although the first year of college may look insurmountable, upperclassmen say, they survived and you can, too.
“This is an exciting time of life, an opportunity to explore things and get to know people,” says Brooks Atherton, a senior at Occidental from San Diego.
“Once the first year is over with, you really do adjust and feel like this is your home and these are your friends.”
