← Anushree Aggarwal

Advice to incoming college students.

  1. Get your bloodwork done. Your vitamin D/B12 levels affect your energy, mood, and performance far more than you realize.
  2. Prepare for one course in advance. Your first quarter is a once-in-a-lifetime social window. Getting slightly ahead academically gives you more freedom to meet more people, attend more events, and explore without falling too behind.
  3. Show up! Go to the dinner, the club meeting, the office hours, the random event someone invited you to. Being someone who consistently shows up is incredibly powerful. Don’t flake. I am still learning this one the hard way.
  4. Say hi first. The other person is probably standing there hoping you will do exactly that.
  5. Go to office hours. Build genuine relationships with your professors and teaching staff. These relationships can shape your career in ways you cannot predict.
  6. Be authentic. You will reinvent yourself in college many times over, but stay true to your values. Don’t waste your college years performing a version of yourself that you think other people will like.
  7. Be a good friend + choose your community wisely. You truly are the average of your top 5 people.
  8. Content builds confidence. You will have your lows, but the only way out of a slump is to get up, leave your room, and start doing things even when every part of your brain is telling you not to. Momentum comes before motivation.
  9. Go the extra mile. Being a try-hard is not cringe. The world is full of people doing the bare minimum. Caring deeply will always set you apart.
  10. Do not cry over your crush for more than a week. Feel your feelings but also preserve your dignity, and move on. 😉
  11. The freshman fifteen is real. Stay hydrated, move your body, and get your fiber.
  12. Prioritize getting new experiences. The only way to make time feel slower is to fill it with new memories. Take that trip, go on the late-night walks. Say yes to the slightly ridiculous adventure.
  13. Call your family! No matter how much cooler or more independent you think you have become, your family may be among the only people who will love you selflessly and endlessly.
  14. Your friend’s success is not your failure. College can make life feel like a constant comparison game. It is not. Just focus on being 1% better every day.
  15. Do your laundry!