Freshmen adjust to college life, OU helps

As students across the University of Oklahoma’s campus cram for mid-term tests, first year students are still studying another issue: how to be a college student.

Freshmen often deal with homesickness and other problems near the middle of the semester, said Megan Denney, academic adviser in College of Exercise Science.

In addition to homesickness, freshmen students need to adjust to their newfound independence, dealing with sharing a room, time management and financial responsibility, Denney said.

“A lot of topics they haven’t had to deal with on their own, so they’re finding they’re having to adjust to and sort of delve into in their first year experience,” Denney said.

However, freshmen don’t have to make these adjustments alone, Denney said.

In the Gateway to College Learning program, for which Denney teaches a class about health and wellness, instructors help first-year students find the tools they need to succeed.

“It’s equipping them. We can’t do it for them, but we can tell them what they need to know,” Denney said.

In her class, Denney teaches her students about time management, emotional intelligence and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, she said.

“They’re trying to balance between what they knew and what’s new to them,” Denney said.

In addition to taking part in the Gateway program, which Denney said she recommends, students can help make the transition from high school to college before their first semester even begins.

OU’s summer freshman orientation program, Camp Crimson, provides students with a unique experience to open up and make new friends, said Armando Melendez,  the camp’s MC this summer.

Though some of the more than 2,000 students who take part in the orientation enter the program bold and prepared, that isn’t the case for many, Melendez said.

“The majority, unfortunately, kind of come in and they’re really timid, they’re freaking out,” Melendez said.

Camp Crimson counselors strive to provide a safe environment where students can grow, Melendez said. During the experience, students meet other incoming students and an older student-mentor, Melendez said. They also learn about the academic resources at OU, Melendez said.

“You’re going to have a great time, you’re going to get tons of resources, and then in addition to that, you’re going to make friends,” Melendez said.

Whatever the program they decide to participate in, Denney said she suggests that freshmen take the advice of teachers and older students, she said.

“A lot of times they think that we don’t know because we haven’t gone through what they’ve gone through, but we have,” Denney said. “And, you know, if they could take our mistakes and our lessons our victories and apply them to their own lives, they’d be better off for it.”