What do freshmen fear?

By: Olivia Romick

This season reminds us of haunted houses, ghosts, witches and evil spirits. Halloween makes us think of everything scary, but we often forget the most terrifying experience of all: being a freshman in college.

College students have it pretty rough, especially this year. Freshmen typically worry about finding their classes, making new friends and taking college-level exams. The incoming class, however, has a new type of freshman experience; one with few in-person classes, almost no ways to make new friends and taking exams completely online. With this new form of college life, what do freshmen fear most?

Most of the responses had a theme of fearing the workload of college. One student said, “When I first started, I was scared of the professors, because high school makes them seem so strict. Also, I was afraid of falling behind, because the workload is much greater than that in high school.” Five other students responded almost the exact same way, saying they feared the workload that came with college. Perhaps freshmen were most afraid of the extra work because they knew a majority of their classes would be online.

One of the other most popular fears was not being able to find friends. One student said, “My biggest fear as a freshman was probably just not being able to find friends or being able to fit in.” Several other students felt the exact same way, one saying, “My biggest fear was not being able to make any friends, but it’s so much easier than I thought it would be.” Hearing that students found making friends easy is surprising to hear, considering the majority of campus events have taken place online. There are few ways to meet new people here on campus, especially as a freshman coming to a completely new territory.

There were a few other fears that were less popular among students, but they are still viable fears. A student said, “I’d say one of the biggest fears coming to campus was being homesick. Even though I only live about an hour or so away, it’s still a new experience to be away from home this long- especially after spending the past few months in quarantine with them.” Another was scared of balancing school work with sports. Several were scared of maintaining their grades. Another student said, “What I was scared of the most of all about coming to campus was having enough time to get to my classes, because I’m a commuter and it takes me about 30 minutes to get up the hill onto campus.”

As a freshman, there are many things to fear when coming to campus for the first time. What makes the freshmen experience better, however, is knowing that every freshman is just as scared as you are. Don’t fear talking to new people, asking for directions to your in-person class or asking for help with your workload. Any upperclassmen would be happy to help you, and any freshman will be glad to conquer their fear.