Your first semester of your college career is coming up! There’s likely a plethora of thoughts and emotions running through your mind right now. A new school, a new city, a new country, a new place to call home. I am here to give you some tips to help you become a pro and rock your transition into the University of Colorado Boulder!
Get out of your comfort zone: College is truly a transformative time in a person’s life. This is when you can get out there, challenge yourself with new ideas and experiences and truly find out who you are as a person. Once you’re on campus, get out of your residence hall and interact with the incredible world and the incredible minds around you! Challenge your brain in your courses and challenge your body with all of the activities that the Colorado outdoors and the CU Rec Center have to offer. There is always something new to learn or explore at CU Boulder!
Reach out: The first few weeks of your freshman year are incredibly exciting, yet challenging at the same time. Whether you’re an in-state student from just down the road, a student from another state or an international student from across the globe, everyone is in the same boat. Don’t be afraid to go out of your way to make friendships with the people around you. This tip is highly important to building the community that will be your support system for the next four years. Yes, it can be slightly awkward, but challenge yourself to build relationships with your roommate, classmates and peers. Asking a classmate if they want to study with you is a great way to get past the initial awkwardness and do well in class at the same time! When you’re looking back on your college experience, you’ll remember the experiences you shared with these people and the knowledge you gained from them, not the process of getting to know them.
Get to know your professors: Talk to them after class, attend office hours and send them emails. Building these relationships will undoubtedly help you clarify questions from the lecture, learn how to approach the class, prepare for tests and ultimately help you achieve a higher grade in the course. Whether a professor helps you reinforce what you learned in class, gives you tips on studying for the exam, you’ll never know how much you can gain from these relationships until you create them!
Get involved with the community: CU Boulder has hundreds of different clubs, organizations and intramural sports as well as campus events such as concerts, performances, art galleries and international conferences for you to choose from. Whether your interests include ethnic or cultural heritage, political involvement or environmental issues, joining a club is a great way to get involved and meet people. I would recommend checking out some of the more traditional groups such as student organizations from your region of the world as well as some of the more obscure groups such as my personal favorites: the Taylor Swift Appreciation Club and Inner Tube Water Polo. Check out our Getting Involved page to see all of the amazing opportunities that will be available to you as a Buff! Chances are if you are interested in something, there is a student group or campus event for you. You can even Be Boulder and start a new student organization!
Utilize the support system: Our campus is full of resources designed to help you be successful. The International Student and Scholars Services (ISSS) office can help connect you to everything you’ll need as an international student. Whether you need support in cultural adjustment, immigration support and information, English as a Second Language (ESL), academic or writing tutoring, physical and mental health support, on campus engagement resources, or career services where you can build connections with potential employers, explore your interests, and find opportunities, we have a support system for you! So make sure to get to the ISSS office and learn about all of the resources available to you as a student.
With these tips in mind, you can rest easy at night knowing that you have everything you need to get the most out of your college experience at the University of Colorado Boulder! But if anything else comes to mind in the lead up to your first day of classes, feel free to reach out to your admissions counselor who you worked with when applying; we’re always here to help!
“Written by CU Boulder Office of Admissions”