What to expect during your freshman orientation (for real)

I don’t want to pile on any extra worry or stress on those of you who are preparing to leave for college. But I don’t want to lie to you, either. In the spirit of total honesty and realism, I want to tell you about some occurrences you will probably experience during your freshman orientation. Before I delve into this weird rite of passage, let me reassure you that it is only a few days and should not cloud your judgment about the entire college experience. During orientation, you just need to remind yourself that it can only get better.

• You will meet a lot of overenthusiastic older students who will simultaneously scare you, annoy you and comfort you.

• You will be forced to participate in at least 10 “ice-breakers” that will introduce you to the same people over and over again.

• You will be overwhelmed with all the tours, events and information sessions. (The only way to retain it all is to take notes.)

• You will probably not make really close friends during orientation, even if you put a bunch of new numbers in your phone.

• You will be tired and irritable, and will want to go home.

• (In some cases) you will be required to participate in “convocation,” a useless ceremony where the college president welcomes you to your class.  It’s like a bizarro-graduation.

• You will have to unpack your things, say good-bye to your family and make awkward conversation with your new roommate. All within a few hours.

• You will be having an internal crisis while everyone around seems to be confident, comfortable and happy (they’re not really).

Now that I’ve ruined your day, let me reiterate: Once classes start, it gets a whole lot easier and you will enjoy yourself. Orientation is an evil process, but once you get through it you will feel like you can face anything. And your real, awesome college experience will begin.

— By Rachel Montpelier

> For more on surviving your freshman year, check out this great article at NextStepU.com.