http://www.universityadmissionconsult.com/2018/01/problems-facing-year-onefresh-students.html?m=1

Congratulations on being accepted into higher institution. Be it University, Polytechnic, College of Education,Merit, Supplementary, second list, third list, forth list, the most important thing is, you are admitted into a higher institution, Congratulations one more time.

The transition from high school to University is one of the biggest you'll ever make. What should you expect from your first year at university?

The freedoms that come with leaving home for the first time will occupy most students’ mind when it comes to their first year of University, the reality of studying at the undergraduate level will quickly dawn on many for whom the experience will be quiet often shock from the confines of the classroom. Just imagine a lecturer like Grandpa teaching you the first time in FSC115 class, just go home and start thinking about how to cope ( If you know you know).

The first few weeks at university are amongst the busiest of a young adult’s life, but the challenge of new learning styles and independent study can add to what is already a very full plate of activities for most.

Put simply, university is very different from high school in terms of what is expected either in the classroom or the laboratory or social life.

ACCOMMODATION PROBLEM

Let’s take a look at the accommodation the school provides for the student and the excitement one could derive from them. I will be using Unilag as a typical example, there are 12 hostels, 5 male hostels and 7 female hostels with over 18 thousand students, the number of hostels which were made for both the male and female gender on separate places are both skimp for the number of students that would like to stay in hostel. As a fresh student, you need to decide if you are staying in the school hostel and meet the staylite on how to go about it. To those that will stay off campus you need to act fast, you have been admitted why wait : go get your apartment and be ready, this will settle the accommodation stress.

INDEPENDENT LEARNING

High school instructors both teach and ensure that work is completed with the intention of achieving a basic level of education, the role of University lecturers and professors is largely to provide students with a framework and the skills from which they can explore their academic subject.

No one tells you what to do at university, the look in the eyes of many first year students as they adjust to so many changes in their first few weeks in university. Nobody will tell you to read chapter three tonight or do this paper tomorrow, you will be free as in "BETTER FREEDOM".

This kind of freedom can go to a student’s head,(GISTING, PARTYING,WATCHING FOOTBALL e.t.c) but the good students recognize that they need to set their own targets and work consistently and steadily to ensure that they keep up with the pace of university studies. It’s all about maintaining a balance between studying and living.”

SPEND YOUR TIME WISELY

I remember my first term at university very vividly, receiving less than 7hours of lectures in a week , one assignment and was not compulsory ( IF YOU LIKE SUBMIT).

"You will think you are in heaven after you see your first semester exam then it will be dawned on you that the free time was what university was actually all about. It allowed you to get grips with the subjects lecturers were introducing to you.

"You can explore what interest you and what you enjoy. You need to develop learning on your own opinion and your own view and once you have done that, there is time to do everything else as well.”

There is no doubt that the first semester at university is full of distractions, but being aware of what is expected of you as a student and how subjects are taught can make a big difference to making the most of all opportunities and settling down to a successful university career.

There will still be challenges but knowing what lies ahead can make a significant difference to those first few weeks.