COLLEGE 101 // what you need to know before your first year.

i just finished my first year at UCLA during the pandemic, so here's my advice for your freshman year of college/university. we are covering topics related to academic preparation, class planning, time management, dorms, social life, and adjusting to the return to campus after the pandemic. these are the most essential tips that i think you need to know, but i might do another video later with some more "advanced," less basic tips. lmk if that interests you :)

✰ MORE VIDEOS

✰ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 intro
0:14 academics
3:21 betterhelp shoutout (sponsored)
4:52 back to academics
7:33 class planning
11:17 social life
15:42 dorm life
18:25 life in general

✰ EXTRA EXTRA
⋅ instagram - @studyquill

a guide to planning & notetaking techniques for students!

✰ THE 'FIT
⋅ sweater - originally from urban outfitters, i got it on thredup
yes i am wearing mismatched earrings on purpose... i repierced the right one like a week ago haha

✰ EQUIPMENT
⋅ adobe premiere pro

any link marked with an asterisk (*) is an affiliate link, meaning i get a commission if you buy anything through my link.

✰ MUSIC

[hannahcosgrove]

I used to be the person saying: "Is anyone else watching this even though they are not in highschool yet". -- I am now entering my first year of college and can not get over how quickly it happened.

[hiyaitsmoriah]

" i want us to be the most financially literate generation of young adults to ever exist " — will keep this in mind for motivation

[EXENED]

*if you’re a freshman in college, it’s okay to be stressed at first but remember that you will get through EVERYTHING no matter how easy or hard it may be*

[trishapuxsupachat]

the fact that I used to to binge watch “things you need to know before high school” and now I’m watching this video about to enter university is crazyyyy

[coolfool]

Advice about studying (and this one might hurt): stop highlighting, stop making aesthetic notes, and stop rereading. There are lots of people on YouTube who have talked about the scientific literature surrounding active recall, but the two best methods are spaced repetition (like anki) and self testing (practice problems and practice tests). This is especially true if you’re doing any sort of science or analytically minded classes. Your recall and problem solving need to be on point to do well on some exams that can go quite fast.

[mayas]

single exception to the textbook rule: if it's a workbook that the school/professor has designed, buy that early because you're probably gonna need in class/get homework from it

[novemberninth]

"You are there because you are qualified to be there."
Thank you! I recently got accepted into one of the top universities in my country and I know I worked so hard to get in (tears were involved). When I got in, everyone seemed so talented and has achieved so much more in life than me, even though we're around the same age. But I know I'll get through the insecurity and learn from them.

[emilysmith]

can we just acknowledge the fact that: SHE IS GLOWING✨💓

[otrmeeu]

The difficulty jump from high school to college in classes like chem and calculus and phyiscs is BIG. Maybe not for humanities/social science classes, but for STEM classes, absolutely beware T.T

[qramone]

as someone who's gonna go to college this fall as a freshman, thank you so much for this !!! this makes me feel a little better about college. :) ❤️

[meg]

another tip: make friends both in your major and outside of your major. having friends with the same major has helped me immensely with career-related and academic advice, and it's really amazing to see so many people who have the same interests and aspirations that you do. however, i've found that socializing primarily in my major (since it's compsci) sometimes creates a level of pressure and imposter syndrome, since a lot of compsci majors don't have a lot of time or interests outside of their field. i think this would apply with premed as well, since i know a lot of the study community is from there and it requires a lot of dedication. (props and big respect to y'all tho, it's super hard and important work.) anyway, it's important to socialize outside of your major so that you have an aspect of your life that isn't tied to your future at all. it's really easy for your studies to take over your life and it's easy to forget to have fun, and having friends outside of your major helps a lot with that. college will be hard at times, but u got this! <3

[theahartley]

And also remember that a lot of people are overly qualified for certain non-“elite” universities and colleges. Just because you weren’t accepted to those “elite” colleges doesn’t mean you’re not qualified for them.

[katie-kbqd]

“if you got all 5’s on your AP exams you should be fine”
me with my 2’s this year bc my AP teachers didn’t help us much during the pandemic 😭

[sugarkookie]

i just graduated from high school and i’m scared that i’m actually much dumber than i think i am lol

[dannygalitzer]

literally counting down the days until classes start for me and as a freshman I am mildly terrified so thank you for this

[napstablooky]

The biggest difference for highschool vs college from my personal experience was that there's less classwork and more homework depending on the class. I didn't know was going to happen when I started college, class time was mostly used for lecture and taking notes and all of my assignments were worked on outside of class.

[JohnFourtyTwo]

I hate communal bathrooms however drying off in the shower will prevent most of the puddling and wearing shower shoes will help transiting those wet spaces. As for shower shoes, I prefer something with some stability like Okabashi or Crocs, the regular flip-flops I would use as a last resort or backups.

[endeavor]

I suffer from imposter syndrome bad and it’s kind of interfering with my ability to get excited about the school I’m going to. I really appreciate the advice in this video and the reassurance during that part, it’s really nerve-wracking but watching videos like this makes me feel more prepared :)

[charisfranks]

The realization that I have to survive as a college student in less than a month just hit me, but this made me feel so much better about it, thank you!!

[zeydalynn]

18:57 I love her point about this. One story I heard that really helped drive the point is "I learned quickly into the industry that i hated being a lawyer. but I thought I should continue because I spent so much money and time in law school. I continued being a lawyer for another miserable 50 years. I wasted 50 years doing something I hated when I could have stopped right then."