Meet Josh Jensen. Josh is a junior studying Industrial Engineering at the U of A from Austin, Texas. In addition to serving as a Lead Parent Ambassador, he is also the Outreach and Special Events Student Coordinator for R.O.C.K. Camp 2017 and a member of the Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity here on campus. Even though the University of Arkansas is 8 hours away from home, he can’t imagine living anywhere else.
College is stressful no matter what major your student has chosen. A majority of that stress comes from the transition that students experience when they step into their first college courses. High school prepared your student with good study habits and some time management skills but entering college is like having all settings turned up 4 levels. Your student can no longer wait until the last minute to study for their math tests or expect the professor to go over the optional homework in class. Trust me, I’ve been in their position and waiting until the last minute like we did in high school isn’t going to fly in college.
Your student has the freedom now of choosing when to go to bed, when to study, when to eat, and when to hang out with friends and sometimes, it’s not “fun” to choose studying over going to a movie with friends. That is something college teaches your student, how to balance school with everything else going on in your student’s life. For their first year (two semesters), I would encourage your student to not overdo it with classes. Let them discover how they best study and how they can balance their school responsibilities with their social lives. There is no rush for your student to graduate in less than 4 years so make sure they understand that taking 18 hours every semester isn’t a good idea until they know they can handle it.
Remind them that their advisors are there to help them! I can’t tell you how many times I should have walked into my advisor’s office asking for help rather than googling my questions. Your student’s advisor is there to make their college life easier and if they can’t accomplish that, they know other offices or people at the University of Arkansas that can help them. Their advisor will tell them if their course load seems too much and give them some options for how to fix that. Even though a lot of people say that college is about your student going out on their own becoming an adult, it’s more about finding their support system. Here at the University of Arkansas, your student has a support system waiting for them and all they have to do is contact their advisor!