The truth about first year

Katherine Bennett Goss, 19
Biomedical Engineering
University of Guelph

What was your first-year living arrangement and how did it work out?
I lived in residence and mine was pretty big — it housed about 300 students. I had a double room and shared it with my roommate, whom I didn’t meet until move-in day. I was pretty lucky because we got along well and living together in small quarters was easy. Living in residence was definitely one of the best experiences and I recommend it to anyone. 

What do you wish you had known before starting first year?
Before starting first year, everything seems very stressful — and you’ll figure it out. But everything will work out, even if it seems like it won’t. 

What did you worry about that ended up being no big deal?
The thing I worried about most was the workload and whether I’d be able to handle it. All of my high-school teachers talked so much about how hard it was at university, and when I got there it was way easier than I expected. Honestly, if you study and work then you'll do fine. Meeting people I’d actually enjoy hanging out with was also a concern of mine, but residence made it so easy to find a new group of friends who were super cool. 

Bryan Cox, 20
Police Foundations
Seneca College

What was your living arrangement and how did it work out?
I am living at home and commuting. It works really well for me: I have all the comforts of home from sleeping in my own room, to home-cooked meals, right down to wake-up calls if I sleep in. On the downside, I don’t necessarily have all the freedom I’d have if I were living on campus.

What do you wish you had known before starting first year?
It would have been nice to know going in that midterms and finals can be worth up to 30 per cent of your grade. Some of those tests had up to 100 multiple-choice questions, and that was a shock. It was definitely a wake-up call that I couldn’t start studying the night before.

What did you worry about that ended up being no big deal?
I was really worried about the amount of work. I was expecting to be studying three to four hours a day just to stay on top of everything, but I found that there wasn’t as much work as expected.

What’s a surprising thing you did need to worry about?
Definitely my grades, because police forces do look at post-secondary grades. I was always an honour-roll student, and school always came very naturally to me. But post-secondary is completely different. I found that the first test is a big wake-up call for most students — they can’t coast their way through like they could in high school.

What’s one thing you would have done differently?
I definitely would have studied more effectively for my midterms and finals.

Is there anything you plan to do differently for second year?
Make sure that I keep on top of all my assignments and studying for tests. It will help out with my stress levels.

What advice do you have for this year's new students?
Keep on top of everything. Do your work and study for tests on time. Nothing is worse than being really behind and 

Fahad Malik, 18
Arts and Science
Queen’s University

What was your living arrangement and how did it work out?
I lived in residence, within a triple — a single room with three beds and desks. It went pretty well. I already knew my roommates so we each had a general idea of our lifestyles. We had no awkward getting-to-know-each-other phase.

What do you wish you had known before starting first year?
I wish I was taught how to eat healthier before going to school. When you go to school, there’s a lot to distract you from having a healthy meal. For the first couple weeks, I’m pretty sure I exclusively ate cheeseburgers, pizza and Nestea.

What did you worry about that ended up being no big deal?
I kept worrying about what I’d do when I was bored at school. In residence, there’s always something to keep you busy. Whether it’s going to the lobby, talking to floor mates, going outside to throw a baseball, watching a movie with a couple friends, I never found myself looking for something to do.

What surprising thing did you end up having to worry about?
I never thought that carrying garbage bags away or properly cleaning dishes would be one of my primary concerns. 

My issue was never throwing out things — it was taking the bag to the garbage room. Consequently, my room always had a full garbage bag.

What’s one thing you would have done differently?
Slept earlier. I didn’t realize how valuable sleep really is. I stayed up late nearly every night first term and struggled every morning and felt exhausted all day.

Is there anything you plan to do differently for second year?
Be a more active member of the school community. In first year, I primarily stayed busy with my close friends. Universities are filled with so many clubs and groups that share common interests, and I feel as though I didn’t fully embrace that opportunity first year.

What advice do you have for this year's new students?
Smiling and laughter is contagious and really helps with meeting new people and making new friends. 

Zeinab Saidoun, 18
Journalism
Ryerson University

What is your living arrangement and how did that work out for you?
I live at home with about an hour commute to Toronto every day via GO train. It’s working out fine for the most part.

What do you wish you had known before starting first year?
I wish I had known how many readings were really required. In high school, you can easily find online summaries of the books. University readings are much more advanced and almost impossible to find summaries of online. As it came closer to exam times, it really hit me that I didn’t do a whole lot of my readings.

Did you worry about something that ended up being no big deal?
I worried that I wouldn’t make good friends. However, with most of my class sizes being about 30 people, it wasn’t difficult to make friends at all. It’s important to keep in mind that others want someone to talk to them as well.

What’s a surprising thing you did need to worry about?
Marks. Professors and TAs mark way harder than high-school teachers and many don’t give much feedback. If you were an A+ student in high school, don’t get too discouraged when those marks don’t match up in university.

What’s one thing you would have done differently?
I would have not worked as much [at a job] and asked more questions to get feedback. It would have been more efficient if I had just worked a lot in the summer and taken some time off in first-year to focus on class.

Is there anything you plan to do differently for second year?
I plan to get a head start on my readings and try to get them all done. It’s the worst thing ever having to cram everything in the last week of the semester before exams. I was also very good at time management in high school but found that harder to do in university. I found myself hanging out with friends during breaks, which I don’t regret because that’s how I built good friendships. However, making time to study during breaks is so important.

What advice do you have for this year's new students?
Don’t get discouraged. Professors can be tough markers and as long as the focus is to improve, marks will increase. Join a student union or club that you have an interest in. Open up to new classmates because you’re going to be spending the next four years with them.