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University Bound!

Now What?

By Laura TPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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University Bound!
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

That moment. The pop-up notification telling you there is a new email in your account. The non-descript white envelope arriving in the post. It’s that moment. You have slaved away for your high school years, missing big parties, making sacrifices, all for that one moment – the acceptance letter to university. Congratulations, it reads. Welcome to the class of 2025.

The excitement is colossal. Within fifteen minutes of receiving the news you have texted all your friends, shared the news with your parents, and called your grandparents. There might be a party, a meal ordered in, maybe a cake. There might be a pat on the back or a handshake, or a “Well done, kid”. As the days’ pass, the news sinks in. September 2021 will be your year, a new beginning, a fresh start.

As the days turn into weeks, that initial elation might start to dissipate. You might be thinking about all the uncertainty. What will university look like in September, will we be in person? Online? Some combination of the two? Where will I live? Will I make friends? What classes should I take? Will the professors be really hard on me?

These are really great questions. All have value and are worth considering, but let’s take it one day at a time. The first thing to remember is that you are not done yet. High school won’t be ending until June, and while your headspace might be thinking all about university, you still have to finish your current courses if you want to keep that spot. Put your head down and push through for these last couple months.

Once summer hits, take the time to enjoy it. Your friends might all be going off to different schools, and even if they are going to the same school, you probably won’t be in the same classes. University is a time where you can reinvent yourself (while still staying true to who you really are). Think about what you want to achieve.

It’s worthwhile to think about orientation programming. Orientation usually happens in the first few weeks before the start of classes and generally encompasses both fun and academic components. While it might be tempting to party for the weeks prior to school, taking in some practical information might also be useful. University isn’t quite like high school. It’s not markedly different, but it’s different enough that you will be able to notice. The thing about High School is that there are some smart kids and some, well… not as smart ones. At university, pretty much everyone is smart. This means that even if you were an ‘A’ student all through high school, you might not be one in university (which is totally fine).

Now, the goal here is not to scare you. The goal is to get you off and running so that you have an advantage over other first year students. If you take some time during orientation week to learn some fundamental skills, like effective note taking or time management, you are going to be able to jump right into classes with a clear plan and a dedication that is light years in front of your peers. This is going to help you more than you can possibly know.

So… congratulations on that acceptance letter. University is going to be an awesome new experience for you filled with ups and downs, successes and hopefully not too many failures, and yes, you will meet friends, you will find classes that you like, you’ll do fun (and maybe some stupid) things and you will thrive. Welcome to adulthood and definitely enjoy the ride along the way.

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About the Creator

Laura T

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