Transition to College

Let’s talk transition …

You just graduated from high school after dominating the school scene for 9 months. Maybe you’re from a tiny school out in the country and have been with the same classmates since kindergarten. Maybe you’ve finally learned all the best teachers to take and how to earn your A’s. Maybe you’ve never been away from home except for the week-long mission trips you take with your youth group in the summertime.

Whatever your situation, you are about to uproot yourself from your familiar surroundings, pack up your suitcase and move to Roseville, Minnesota, where you will have new teachers, a new courseload, new friends, new surroundings, and a new routine.

Aren’t you glad you’re going to a Christian college?

Here’s what I wish someone would have told me:

It’s okay to be nervous.
You are definitely not the only one! It is a BIG DEAL to change so many things about your life all in one swift move. The day before move-in and the day after move-in are two separate lifestyles! Recognize that it is a big change and that you’re NORMAL for feeling apprehensive!

Connect with your RA.
Your Resident Assistant is so excited to meet you – these are typically upperclassmen who have sought out this leadership position and stand ready to help you, give you advice, listen to your problems. They WANT to know you, and they are people worth knowing. Use them as a resource – they will probably become your friends and mentors.

Your roommates might not become your best friends.
Although the housing office works hard to place compatible people in rooms with one another, it doesn’t always work out that you end up best friends with your freshman year roommates. It’s ok if you and your roomies have separate groups of friends!

Take advantage of the information fairs.
There will be a church fair, a club fair, employment fair, etc., where tables will be set up for you to gather information and ask questions. Peruse the information and gather what you need.

Don’t go home right away.
The tendency might be to hurry home back to normalcy, but try to resist the urge – at least for the first couple of weeks. Stick around on the weekends and meet lots of new people; take advantage of the planned activities so that you can connect with new friends through school events.

Give it TIME.
I wanted to have my new set of friends all figured out by the 2nd week I was here. It didn’t happen, and I was disappointed. However, by homecoming, I had made friends with two terrific girls named Tracy and Megan – girls I lived with the following year and whom I am friends with to this day!

Pray.
You are in the hands of your loving Savior. Keep petitioning Him that your transition will go according to His good will.