The end of the school year is quickly approaching, and with it, comes the time for students to make the transition to the next grade — and for some seniors, this means moving up to college. College presents a variety of changes to a student’s daily life, such as adjusting to living on campus and potentially sharing communal spaces with a roommate, as well as gaining the ability to build a personalized schedule and select the time students want to attend classes. These classes are more difficult and intensive than the familiar high school workload, which may require a different mindset moving forward on how to best approach academics.

This new environment, along with more independence, means that college students should be more conscious of their habits and health. Eating right and forming healthy habits will help make the college experience easier. Eating right could look like getting all three meals a day and choosing healthy food options instead of fast food.

“Stay proactive for yourself,” said Olympic College freshman Theanna Easton. “Try to eat well and get good sleep, maintain good habits, and begin forming better ones now.”

Along with the increase in independence, the academic workload also spikes. Students will likely study for longer periods of time and with more depth. Some classes are almost completely independent and self-guided, which means that the professor will give a due date months in advance and it’s up to the student to learn the material. Planners and calendars can be really helpful for staying organized with classes.

“I would recommend that seniors learn how to be more independent with their schoolwork,” said Western Washington University freshman Paige Dixon. “Being able to organize when you need to do your homework and learning how to use a planner can be really helpful in college.”

It’s important to take advantage of the counselors and programs provided to the incoming freshmen to help get accustomed to college life. Incoming students have the opportunity to go to the welcome center and have help accommodating to the new school.

“I’d recommend making an advising appointment with a counselor or your college’s welcome center,” said Easton. “Those appointments fill up fast and they’re really useful, especially for a freshman who is new to the college environment.”

Making friends in college can also be really helpful in easing the process of getting acclimated to the college environment. Students have the option of joining clubs, sports teams, or getting to know their roommate or classmates.

“For me, making friends in college helped me a lot,” said Dixon. “I would recommend trying to socialize in new classes as well, because a lot of the people in those classes want to know more people as well.”

In college, new students may want to participate in the typical “college experience” which, for many, means partying with friends. These parties could include substance use such as drinking and smoking, which could present dangers to not only the student, but a student’s education.

“Good luck out there and don’t stress out too much over the whole thing,” said Easton. “You can always apply for college (or whatever you’re going for) later. Not getting into that one university now doesn’t mean you can’t try applying in the future. Go get ‘em out there!”