Rock your First Day of Class!

So it’s the Sunday night before your first day of college classes begin. You have met your roommate, moved into your new home, and picked out a killer first day outfit. A lot has been accomplished these past few days, but tomorrow will be the true test… class! As you lay down to sleep, you start to think about what tomorrow will bring. Will I like my classes? Where will I sit? Will I find them all? What if I didn’t get the right books?

Throw these worries aside and have no fear! Just follow my tips for how to rock your first week and people will be coming to you for advice!

1. Eat Breakfast

I know that you may be nervous your first day and not really feel like eating anything, but trust me, when you are sitting in your eleven  o’clock English 15 class, and the cute boy next to you keeps glancing your way, not because you look fabulous in your sun dress, but because your stomach sounds like a garbage disposal, you will have wished you had grabbed a quick bite to eat. For a quick easy breakfast, I recommend a granola bar or a piece of fruit.  But if you find yourself with a bit more time, go for the bowl of cereal or instant oatmeal.

2. Set 2 Alarms

If you are anything like me, you like to sleep…A LOT! Adjusting from the summer schedule of sleeping in until noon everyday can be a bit hard at first, especially if you have an 8 am class. Teachers appreciate students who are in class on time, or even better, a little bit early. My suggestion is to set two alarms.  I use both an extra loud digital alarm clock (oh yeah, they make extra loud alarms) and my phone (which can have three alarms set at once. So really I use 4 alarms!). Also to make sure that you wake up on time, make a deal with your roommate. If she has a morning class too, then agree to make sure that you both are awake in time to get to your first class.

3.Plan Out Your Route Beforehand

If you haven’t heard, Penn State is a pretty large school. Not only in student population but also in campus size. To ensure that you don’t get lost your first day, grab a campus map, a pen and a highlighter. Use your pen to circle the buildings that you have class in and use the highlighter to highlight the route that you plan to take between classes. Keep this map with you to use between classes so you don’t get lost. And don’t be embarrassed to be seen carrying around a map. Even I still have to use a map from time to time.  Trust me, it is way worse to walk into your class of 100+ kids late and have them all stare at you as you walk in then it is to be seen with a map. Also, if you have time on Sunday, it is definitely worth it to take the time to walk the campus and find the building that you have class in on Monday. Make it a social event by grabbing your roommate or your new friends from WEPO!

4. Class Books

Don’t worry if you haven’t gotten all or any of your books for the first day of class. Most teachers don’t expect you to have them the first day and sometimes it’s better to wait because in some cases, the teacher will tell you not to buy the book at all. Now what if you have bought the book already and the teacher says you don’t need it? Don’t worry! The Penn State bookstore offers full returns for the first 2 weeks and most other bookstores downtown have similar return policies. If you bought your books online, then this presents a great opportunity to meet our friendly Penn State mailman Mike, who works in the post office on campus when you mail them back.

5. Seats in Class

Where to sit is often a source of much stress to many new people. If it’s a big class, I would definitely recommend sitting up front. The class is only as big as you make it. So, if you sit in the first three rows, then from your perspective, the class is only three rows big. Sitting up front makes it easier to see the board and it’s easier to pay attention because there are less people to watch. Also, the teacher will get to know your face, which is always a great thing in a large class room. Odds are you will already recognize some faces because of WEPO. So even if you didn’t actually talk to the person at WEPO, you should still definitely sit down next to her and introduce yourself. The best part is that you already have WEPO as a talking point. I bet you will be “besties” in no time.

Follow these five tips and your first week of classes will be a cinch. I know that the first week is filled with lots of questions and worries, so if you do get lost, or your teacher tells you to open to page 5 and you have no book, don’t worry. Every new big change requires time to adjust, but soon you will get the hang of your new routine and will wonder why you ever worried in the first place.

Kaitlyn Johnson is a junior majoring in Industrial Engineering. She is a Mentor for WEPO 2011, and is also involved in SWE, Phi Sigma Rho, EON and AICHE. She has completed an internship rotation with Westinghouse. Feel free to contact her at kmj5161@psu.edu.