Five tips to thrive at USD as a freshman

Satvika Nitya/ A&C Editor

Coming to college and starting a new chapter in your life is always a daunting experience. Whether you are staying on campus or not, finding your place on a college campus while navigating a new system of classes, fresh social groups of friends and constant reality checks from adulthood is and always has been challenging.

Identity crises, fear of the lack of belonging and your anxieties around picking a major are an everyday part of being a college student. But having insider information into the workings of the university you are attending can help ease and aid the stressful period of transition into college life. Here are five tips and tricks that you need to know to help you get more comfortable and give you a head start here at USD. 

Go to the Alcalá Bazaar and Welcome Events: The beginning of the school year is filled with opportunities to connect with new students and folks across the staff and various departments. One of the best ways to get rid of feelings of loneliness and solitude is by utilizing these opportunities. The Alcalá Bazaar is an event that takes place at the beginning of every semester as a collection of all student organizations, university centers and local vendors present at the university. It’s a chance for students to walk around and find what groups and people match their personality and interests ranging across academic, multicultural, changemaker, athletic, spiritual, special interest and fraternity and sorority interests.

Along with the Alcalá Bazaar, there are always school- sanctioned social events that happen at the beginning of every semester, each with the goal of semester, each with the goal of initiating conversations amongst and beyond people who identify with certain labels. Welcome events like Movie Night on Paseo de Colachis, A Night At Fashion Valley, Meet and Treat,etc. are fantastic ways to meetand interact with other students. 

USD Junior Itzel Esparza talked about her experience with socials during her first year. “I honestly regret not going to the socials and events in the beginning of the year,” Esparza said. “It would’ve been so much easier to make friends and find people with like-minded interests as you, because it can get lonely very quickly as a freshman. I highly suggest making use of every social opportunity that USD provides.”

A Planner/Calendar is your best friend: One of the most nerve- racking parts of being a college student is the amount of things you need to keep track of. Class timings, clubs, events, social calendars, assignments, meetings, impromptu plans, finances, grocery lists, self-care — the list is almost never-ending.

The only way to master the system and thrive in a heavily scheduled environment is to have a heavily organized calendar. Adding your to-do list items and tasks all in one calendar helps you visualize the load of work that is on your plate to complete. It also eases the process of planning your days and weeks, making it super convenienttomeetdeadlinesand keep up with responsibilities.

Whatever system of organizing works for you, make sure you stay on top of it often in order to handle all the different hats you have to wear as a college student.

Make good use of your Meal Swipes: As a first-year student at USD, it’s mandatory to have a meal plan that allows you to experience different food spots available on campus.

One of the provisions is called a Meal Swipe, and it’s one of the most underrated and underused parts of student dining. Meal Swipes are essentially an all-you-can-eat offer available at dinner and weekend brunch for students; you walk through the dining hall, pick the items that you want and walk out by paying through a swipe, instead of paying for each item individually. This is one of the easiest ways to fully utilize dining services on campus where students can pick up food at dinner and also save it for breakfast or lunch the next day.

Find a study spot early on: Finding your comfort spot/s on campus for you to spend time at while you get your tasks done is very important. When you get to college, the academic challenges and requirements of being a student change. Finding a spot that feels comfortable enough to work in to meet the new and elevated needs of college is important, especially at the beginning of the semester.

USD junior Soniya Malla shared her take on study spots around campus.

“Places around campus get filled up pretty fast,” Malla said. “Personally, I think it’s good to study around West Campus, because it’s a long walk from the residential areas so there are less people. The library is such a good spot on West Campus because it has a huge reading hall named after ‘Harry Potter,’ but even in general, there’s always a lot of space and each of the spaces is differently suited to students’ needs. My favorite spot of all time is the Legal Research Center but it all just depends on what kind of environment you like. Each place on campus is different, and it’s always good to scope out yours first.”

Talk to your Resident Assistant:Lastly, having an open chain of communication with your Resident Assistant (RA) makes life at college so much easier. RAs are students who have already been through their first year on campus and are trained specifically to help newcomers navigate their way around USD. They are responsible for being a resource for students to go to when they require assistance.

Their position as student leaders is extremely unique, because they’re also students who are experiencing and going through the same motions of college, while having access to knowledge about the campus. Having regular conversations with your RA can help first years not only navigate roommate conflicts and the rules and regulations of residential areas, but also have a friendly resource to come to when dealing with the daily stresses of life. For commuters, Commuter Assistants and the Commuter Commons act as an equivalent resource.

These easy tips are a helpful starter kit for making USD a more familiar ground to enter as a first year. Of course, there is so much more to learn and experience through one’s own exploration on campus, but it always helps to have a helping hand and a window to peer through when starting out a fresh new chapter.