The end of the first semester is a very busy time for most students as they are preparing for finals and a particularly important time for students completing their first semester. 

Some University of Minnesota first-year students took some time to reflect on their first-year experience, commenting on how their first semester went and how college did or did not meet their expectations. 

“I expected myself to have a lot of time to do stuff that I would want to do,” said first-year student Sarang Tantry. “But my commitments are kind of overbearing, so I don’t have as much time to go to the gym or go for a run or stuff like that.”

Tantry said managing academics has also proved to be a challenge for him as he has transitioned to college life. 

“It’s a lot less structured than high school was for me,” Tantry said. “It’s a lot of doing my own stuff to keep up with schoolwork and understanding content. So, yeah, that’s the biggest challenge.”

Next semester, Tantry said he is looking forward to pursuing research opportunities in preparation for a medical career.

Another student, Lauren Gomez, said a challenge she faced was not having a parental figure to rely on. She added the social aspect of college was also challenging at first.

“If I wanna be around people, I have to talk to people,” Gomez said. “It’s not as condensed in high school where if you were in an activity, you were probably gonna make friends. It’s more like you’re on your own.”

Gomez was surprised by the challenges of independent living.

“The amount of things I didn’t have to deal with in high school, such as keeping my space clean, doing laundry and maintaining my spaces, I will say, is something I was not expecting coming to college,” Gomez said.

Next semester, Gomez said she plans to join a choral ensemble and is looking forward to meeting new people and making stronger connections.

First-year student Katelyn Graham said coming to college has helped her become more social and extroverted.

“I feel being here with a lot of different people and not the same people that I’ve seen over and over like in high school has pushed me to be more of an extrovert and talk to more people,” Graham said. 

Graham also said building relationships in her classes’ helped her make friends. She added that going to sports games added to her early college experience.

“Keep pushing for meeting people,” Graham said. “At the beginning of the semester, I was definitely worried that I haven’t really met anyone, but now I have friends in each class. So, just keep going, keep pushing and looking for friends.”