Five Challenges You’ll Face in College (& How to Overcome Them)
College can be a lot of fun and presents opportunities for students to take courses they’re interested in, meet new friends, and learn how to be independent. It’s all about having the freedom to make their own decisions. However, the transition from high school to college requires adjustment to a new set of academic and social systems. The increased personal freedom that occurs during the first year of college can often be experienced as both liberating and frightening, and may stand in the way of academic success.
In this blog, we look at the five most common challenges that international students face when they move away from home: too much freedom, academic pressure, homesickness, financial stress, and career uncertainty. But fear not. Apart from daunting challenges, we’ve also thrown in a couple of ideas of how to overcome them. After all, it doesn’t look so scary when we know what to expect.
Too much freedom
It might sound counter-intuitive, but having too much freedom can be a problem. In high school, life often feels overly structured. Eight courses, numerous clubs, sports and orchestra practices after school, and part-time jobs on weekends. Although some may resent it at times, having structure and routine is key to efficiency and better time management.
One of the best things students can do to maximize their time in college is to treat college as a 9 to 5 job by creating a schedule for health, fun, and academic success. This can be a new morning coffee ritual, a plan to exercise, block out times to study, and weekly social activities. Making a pleasant routine and sticking to it will make the process fun and productive.
One trick I used throughout college was planning ahead. Take out 15 minutes every Sunday to plan and highlight priorities for the following week. At the end of each day, take 5 minutes to cross out completed tasks and write down to-be-completed items for the following day. Manage tasks using an online project management software or keep track of everything the old-fashioned way in a notebook.
Grades may get worse
High school classes are highly structured, compact, and designed to ensure content acquisition through daily assignments. College classes, on the other hand, are much larger, more complex, and require more self-supervision to create patterns of success. And guess what? It’s okay to not ace all the exams or understand everything right away. Failures and not getting things right the first time are what drives growth and improvement.
Instead of getting anxious about not doing well on exams, focus on learning how best to study, who to study with, and what to study. Another “obvious” trick is to talk to your professors. Go to office hours or reach out via email. Some might be surprised by how cool and eager professors are to ensure their students’ academic success and well-being.
Beyond that, most colleges offer peer tutoring where students get paired up with another volunteer student of higher academic standing. Peer tutors can provide academic as well as emotional support. They are also a great resource when it comes to selecting courses and planning your college experience.
Homesickness
Starting over is hard. Starting over in a new country is really hard. The truth is there will be days when things aren’t going right, and being far away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings just make everything worse. Sometimes, the feeling of loneliness can become overwhelming. But remember, homesickness is a natural feeling and a common part of studying abroad. The key is not to let it get in the way of making studying abroad an incredible experience.
Some tips that really helped me cope with this:
Call family and friends on a regular basis
Be comfortable with being with yourself
Branch out and make new friends
Financial Stress
With freedom comes responsibilities, and … bills. Some students may be lucky to land a scholarship, which will help reduce their financial burden. Others may be able to rely upon their parents to send them money and supplies, but this isn’t always the case. That said, it is essential to learn how to manage day-to-day finances and budget properly, no matter what the situation is.
Apart from tuition, there are other invisible expenses that need to be taken into account, such as housing, food, transportation, textbooks, entertainment, and other personal expenses. Costs are generally more expensive in bigger cities, but it’ll depend largely on lifestyle, choice of accommodations, and spending habits.
The worst thing students can do is just “not think about it” and hope that everything will work out. Take time to evaluate spendings on a weekly or monthly basis, and decide whether money is spent on all the necessary things. While not having additional financial support may cause some stress, take this as an opportunity to learn how to budget and manage money.
If money is really tight, it may be time to consider looking for a part-time, on-campus job.
Plan for What’s Next
Many students spend college floundering, and it’s a waste of opportunities and resources. At this point, it might be difficult for students to pinpoint their future careers (or what to major in), but it is prime time to take classes that seem interesting, start making connections, and applying for internships. Yes, school is a great place to explore what to do and who to be, so get a head-start and start thinking about it now (rather than later).
If you’re ready to start your college application process, check out our “Ultimate Senior Year College Application Checklist.”